DJ Paul Oakenfold Profile

The dance music world has it's charlatans, its wannabies and neverweres.  Though above the dirge, there is an admirable clutch of movers and shakers creating and pushing the scene into new areas.  There is however, a supreme elite.  A crack squad who can claim to have actually brought the UK's dance industry to the position it hold today.  Paul Oakenfold's influence spreads so much further, from being the crucial connection between London and the New York hip hop scene back in 84' to circumnavigating the globe with an Paul Oakenfold inspired U2.

As a qualified but disillusioned chef at the tender age of 16, Paul Oakenfold packed his ladle and headed for the Big Apple, then the very core of dance music.  Wandering Manhattan blagging promo's he returned just over a year later to carve a ground breaking niche in A&R, signing amongst others, Jazzy Jeff and Salt 'n' Pepper.  As hip hop began to erupt in the mid 80's, Paul Oakenfold single-handedly fanned the flames in Britain.

Paul Oakenfold began setting up Ibiza inspired club nights: Funhouse, The Project and most notable Spectrum at Heaven.  Touring with it's successor, Land of Oz and Future, Paul Oakenfold pushed the club to the fore front of the Acid house phenomenon and still he refused to stand still. In 1990, as the scene began to fragment, Oakenfold distanced himself from Rave and created his 98 bpm movement, a unique fusion of dance grooves, hip hop and indie rock, laying foundations cemented by The Stone Roses and Happy Mondays, remixing the acclaimed "Wrote for Luck".

As a DJ Paul Oakenfold has since played as the official support on U2's world-wide Zooropa Tour playing up to 95,000 people per night. Whilst remixing U2's "Even Better Than The Real Thing" and "Lemon"  we saw Paul Oakenfold re-inventing U2's entire image in the process.  As producer of Happy Mondays' "Thrills, Pill and Bellyaches" he created a platinum album to complement his Brit award nomination.

As Paul Oakenfold continues his residence in one of Europe's premier clubs and overseeing his label Perfecto's sales of well over 500,000, Pa.

Paul Oakenfold's links to Fantazia

Paul Oakenfold appears on Fantazia House Collection 6

This can be purchased here.