At just 36 years old, Paul Oakenfold has spent
two decades mixing and producing music for
artists like New Order, U2 and The Smashing
Pumpkins. But his skills are most celebrated on
the world's dance floors especially those
covering British soil. Oakenfold's most notable
residency a twoyear gig at Liverpool's
legendary Cream club ended last year; Perfecto
Presents Another World, his second commercial
offering, is what he's been up to since.
The length of this doubledisc album suggests
Oakenfold has been compiling vibrating sound
bytes for years. But considering his rabid
touring schedule and the diversity of sound he
presents here, Oakenfold doesn't seem as
interested in selling records as he is with
showering the masses with progressive trance.
Though sometimes redundant, the music on Perfecto
is still beautiful and engaging. And unlike the
fun or silly ghetto stylings of hiphop
influenced dance music, Oakenfold's brand of
electronica is passionate, sultry and hypnotic.
A good example is "Majestic," a surging song that
employs rich textures and eclectic rhythms. "Ubik
(Dance Mix)" is another, while "Northsky" is a
nearly seven minutelong onslaught that features
the slight shriek of seagulls in the distance.
Make no mistake about it
calling Oakenfold's
sounds "trance" isn't a fluke. This is music that
infiltrates you, entering through your mind and
melting through your body.
As if that's not enough, there's a handful of
hypnotizing vocal tracks on Perfecto, too. At
times, the voices make a stunning effect; Sarah
McLachlan's falsetto flow on "The Silence 2000
(DJ Tiesto Remix)" is interspersed with layers of
baseboard bass. And while most of the vocalists
on Perfecto are female, Oakenfold's "Quiver Mix"
of Led Zeppelin's "Babe I'm Gonna Leave You"
might even please Robert Plant. Oakenfold's
reworking of the song into an electronic opus
works remarkably well; it's the complete opposite
of, say, Puff Daddy's bastardization of "Kashmir."
Sure, it's downright impossible to replicate the
buzz of good club turntabling. But on Perfecto
Presents Another World, Paul Oakenfold has made
it quite easy to slip on some headphones, turn
out the lights and forget that you're at home.
