Carl Cox: Showing you the Second Sign

Whilst he hasn’t hit the top spot in the people’s polls lately, ask any of the DJs who have ranked no.1 who their favourite DJ is and you will most likely be hit with the same answer, Carl Cox. This man is just as well known for his friendly down to earth attitude as he is for his amazing technical skills behind the decks.

From humble beginnings selecting the music at his family gatherings, he soon became known as the boy to have in charge of the music. It wasn’t long before Carl Cox was the man to have behind the decks. His third solo album Second Sign is due out early next year and I just had to know what we could expect from one of the greatest artists of all time. “Second Sign is going to be full of all different styles. Live musicians, instrumentals, everything! There’s even some punk rock guitar. Norman Cook will be featured on it, as well as Saffron from ex-Republica. Basically I had around 26 tracks I really liked and had to narrow it down to 12, so it’s going to be some great stuff. I’ve learnt some new things since the last albums, and I’m confident that this is my best to date.”

Many fans will remember Cox’s cameo role playing night club owner Pablo Hesan in the cult classic Human Traffic. With news of another upcoming movie appearance this time in a Hollywood flick called LA DJ, I was curious to know if Carl might be making a more full time approach towards acting. “Acting is just a bit of fun for me really. I really revere actors. I think what they do is brilliant. Just take a look at Gwyneth Paltrow or Samuel L Jackson. When you see these guys on screen, that’s not them, that’s the characters they are portraying, that takes major skill. I was nervous about playing Pablo Hesan, and when I saw myself up on the big screen at the premier I wanted to hide, but at the same time everyone was cheering and telling me how good I was. I hope maybe I was a bit of an inspiration to others out there who maybe want to try their hand at acting, but don’t think they have the skills”.

So aside from acting and being one hell of a DJ, does Carl have any other interests that we don’t know about? “That’s a good question, not much has ever really interested me more then music, but one other thing I like is cars. If I had a hobby that I would like to turn into something professional it would be Drag Racing. When I was younger, if I was not mixing, I would be running around doing up cars to race”. With a track record like Carl’s, I’m left with no doubt that if he was too take up professional racing, it wouldn’t be long before his name would be up there amongst the top drivers. So does Carl have any advice for someone just starting out with a dream of making it big? “It’s a very difficult time to start out now, very competitive. When I started out the rave thing was just taking off and it was still very underground. People wanted to know about it, so they took a big interest in your work. These days it’s not as underground as it is massive. My advice is stick to the music you believe in. Don’t go changing your style to what ever is the flavour of the month. Stay true to yourself. You might love Drum and Bass, and it’s not too popular at the moment, don’t go changing because it wont be too long before its back in again.”

So what has the man been doing with himself besides putting together a wicked new CD? “Been doing a lot of work with the super club Space in Ibiza. This club has given me so much in the last 2-3 years. I can control exactly what I think is required at the club, we have a massive understanding. I take a lot of time out and put it into the club and people like it. Fans of mine know that if they turn up at Space there going to get artists that I have personally chosen, so they know its going to be of interest to them. Space is just an amazing place. People who make it too Ibiza and manage to come and visit the club, always leave having felt as if they just had a truly amazing experience. Me and the team have been working on some great concepts for the place for next year, and whilst I can’t disclose too much at this point, I am confident people will be amazed.”

Carl will be gracing our shores next January, many would say that it’s been too long between visits, and can’t wait to see him down under again. “When I come to Australia, I think more then anything else people are going to see a more energised Carl Cox. This year for me has been amazing. A lot of the music I have been making has been going really well, my labels have been going great, and a lot of producers have been making excellent clash style music which I’m going to be playing. I’m going to be playing all different styles in the one set. These past few years have seen so much excellent music released, better now then ever before, a new resurgence has happened.”

You can catch Carl Cox touring Australia as part of the Big Day Out, as well as at selected solo club shows, this January and February:

Sun 23rd Jan – Gold Coast, Parklands (SOLD OUT)
Wed 26th Jan – Sydney, Homebush (SOLD OUT)
Fri 28th Jan – Sydney, Space (BUY TICKETS)
Sat 29th Jan – Melbourne, Room (BUY TICKETS)
Sun 30th Jan – Melbourne, RAS Showgrounds
Fri 4th Feb – Adelaide, Royal Showgrounds
Sun 6th Feb – Perth, Claremont Showgrounds

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