Paul Oakenfold
His set is as free-form and eclectic as you would expect from Oakenfold and the punters are as
knowledgeable and appreciative as you would expect from Cream. It's perfect synergy between DJ
and dancefloor as he delivers a four-hour ride of ever-widening ripples of classic house,
friendly trance and harder, complex breaks and the dancefloor replays the favour with a
non-stop frenzy of the kind that only the Cream crowd deliver.
And when Oakenfold drops
the Daft Punk-meets-disco flavour of Stardust's 'Music Sounds Better With You' (his
prediction for Tune Of The Summer), the whole venue hits Spinal Tap's fictional "eleven".
Suddenly everyone's mouthing wordlessly at one another like dazed goldfish in a bowl of
neat vodka.
Later, we meet on Amnesia's outdoor balcony, watching the sunrise and Oakenfold asks, "What
did you think?" At first I think he's after some kind of approval (from me?). But then I
realise he's just checking I've had a good time. That desire to share once again.
The truth is that Oakenfold is still preaching the music gospel. Not house music. Or club
music. Just good music.
"I grew up on pop music," he says. "Because of that I'm open-minded. If you're only into one
sound then where do you go when that sound dies? In all kinds of music there's a lot of crap.
It's just a question of knowing what's the best of each type. And that stems from coming to
Ibiza ten years ago when the DJs were brave enough
to do that."
Of course Ibiza's very different these days. Oakenfold's memories of way back when are
littered with references to long-forgotten bars, a time when Café Del Mar was off the
beaten track outside San Antonio and the term 'superclub' was used only of Manchester
United or Real Madrid. And there are regrets too: the rampant commercialism, the attitude
of some of the Ibizencos and the attitude of the English lager boy/thug element.
"I have an on-off, love-hate relationship with this island. Like last year I was here for
six weeks and my Dad died, Princess Di died and I saw a kid killed in front of me, knocked
off his motorbike. I've finished with girlfriends here. A lot of relationships have fallen
apart. Mixed emotions. But Ibiza has changed my life. It touched me deeply and continues to
draw me back."
Listening to Oakenfold's 10-year-old memories outside Amnesia (apart from the obvious irony)
is a melancholy experience; kind of like looking at the baby photos of British popular culture.
But the proud father is ever optimistic.
"The whole scene's still growing. Divisions in music are breaking down. Kids who buy Oasis also
buy the Chemical Brothers, my mix of U2 outsells the original, turntables outsell guitars and,
musically, everyone's eyes are on England."
And Ibiza?
Paul Oakenfold continue