This doesn't surprise me one bit. The last time I saw him in October of 2006, he left the decks on several occasions, walked around and was talking to people on stage. It was obvious he had a complete lack of interest in the crowd or what he was doing and was there merely for the paycheck. It was disgusting to see and his mushroom cap hair only added to the misery.

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My experiences of Oakie have varied from the down right dreadful to the sublime.
I warmed up for him last year as I have already explained in the djbooth forum at the time.

Now I am aware that Oakie has stired up a lot of critisism in the past and I am sure that it may well be justified. I agree having someone pretend to play a DJ set is pretty cheap and I would feel cheated.

When I warmed up for the man he actually came on afterwards and totally blew the roof of the place. During the change over we even did a few back to back mixes and you can tell that the man has skills and an amazing ear for tunes. There was nothing fake or pre-recorded about that set and it goes down in history for me as one of the best I have heard ever.
He didn't have any problems with us residents being in the booth at any time and was easy to deal with and looked to be having the time of his life to be honest.
I am not some noob who is easily overwhelmed by a name as I have played with many of them and been doing this for a very long time.

In contrast you had PvD play a few weeks later and he basically started emptying the place and reportedly played the same set he played at the Turnmills earlier that month.

Now I'm not saying that Oakie didn't do those things that the thread starter said, on the contrary I have heard things like that about him too many times and where there is smoke there is fire.
But that night I got to warm up for him, he reminded me exactly what it was to be a DJ when the Dance music culture was at its peak in Europe.

Tiesto is the real deal in terms of being a DJ, he does the mixes albeit a little crap, he is into the crowd and gives a good show. Also has a fantastic ear for a good track.

The best DJ I have ever worked with though has to be Ferry. Great DJ skills, good ear for music and consistantly good productions. No attidude with the man either.

That said a lot of people still love Oakenfold, he is where he is today, plays for sell out audiences and makes insane amounts of money of royalties. He's laughing his ass off and we are bitching on an internet forum...

cheers
Nem

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quote:

Originally posted by Nemesis44 I warmed up for him last year as I have already explained in the djbooth forum at the time.

Was this when he played Honeyclub last year?

like i have said earlier in the post. i'm not too familar with oakenfold, but what i have always picked up through what i have seen is that he is like a commercial dj. so not really what im looking for in the style off music i like. but on the contrary, i have never seen him play and he could be keepin' it real on the trance and house front by playing up to date tracks that rep the scene (which a dj should do.)

regardless, playing a pre mixed set doesn't fly, it's cheating the audiance in my opinion, which totally is not cool, unless there a technical reason for it.
still all the hate he gets i don't understand either. it's a sad thing in trance that anyone who gets "big" or makes a name for them self is automaticly hated on (for no, or the dumbest of reasons mostly)
like tiesto, tyas and even deadmau5. people should recognise what guys like this are doing for the scene, if it wasn't for the leaders in the for front (hopefully making money) and making things a little more, and i hate to use the term but main stream(because it's not really), we would not be able to go out to clubs and enjoy this music we love, and half the people who are into trance, house, progrssive...whatever. wouldn't even have had the chance to hear this mucis that is a soundtrack to so many lives in the first place. so before people plave there judgement on what others are doing/ should be doing. fisrt ask your self what are you doing to contribute to the scene....which in most cases isn't anything... so just enoy what people are working there asses off to do.

quote:

Originally posted by lowski like i have said earlier in the post. i'm not too familar with oakenfold, but what i have always picked up through what i have seen is that he is like a commercial dj.

Well, he hasn't always been as commercial as he is now, he did GU compilations back in 97/98 or so

quote:

Originally posted by Jono404 Well, he hasn't always been as commercial as he is now, he did GU compilations back in 97/98 or so

yes i forgot to say, i also understand that he had a huge and positve effect to trance,sadly that was before my time though. i think it is important for producers to know and understand where it all came from so you can get a good sense of direction to where , the for-fathers wanted to see trance go and hopefully add your part. so really i need to get educated on my history and appreciate the people who made trance what it is today. but also if anyone has a chncae at taking what they love to do (which im sure oakenfold had if he still doesn't) and making a living out of it, you have to go for it regarless of the stupid loop hole you will have to jump throught to be "marketable". really i just hope this scene gets its act togther so it can have longevity, and have producers getting the credit (and all that goes with it) they so strongly deserve.

trance is here to stay, and that is no doubt, how ever it may grow and and transform.

I feel kind of sorry for the guy. He really exudes this negative, droll energy, which makes me wonder what is so wrong with his life that he doesn't seem happier with his success.

He basically lost his passion; I can relate, but there's always hope.

quote:

Originally posted by DJ Shibby He really exudes this negative, droll energy, which makes me wonder what is so wrong with his life that he doesn't seem happier with his success.

When I saw him play a couple years ago, he had a look on his face like somebody was making him dig ditches or something. Just completely glum and bored.

well when i go to the club, im not really thinking too much about the dj. as long as he plays good music then i couldn't care less if they were mixing or not. but does that justify the pricetag to go see the show? to go see the house dj the cover might be 10 bucks but on "perfecto night" or somethin it might be 30 bucks. there's no justification from my point of view.

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The real question here is that did the average club goer that night feel cheated that he played a less inspired pre-mixed set? In my own experience both playing in and just attending events is that NO! They are often too drunk or wasted and very rarely pick up on the little things that make the electronic scene special. Point in case....i went to Tiesto's Element of life show and out of the dozen or so people i know who were there....i dont think they could list 10 songs he played that night...but to them it was the best night ever...lol

from inthemix:
"If you’ve got an idle $US10 million lying round, you could be a contender to buy the Hollywood mansion formerly owned – and kitted out – by Paul Oakenfold.

According to the Los Angeles Times, the superstar DJ has one “of the most unusual views in the Hollywood Hills”. His three-storey, 4,500-square-foot house is positioned almost directly above the Hollywood Bowl (where Oakey has played before), with views extending beyond the LA Basin to the ocean. And because he’s, y’know, a musician, there’s a custom-built recording studio, plus a spa overlooking the Bowl for those after-after-parties.

The estate has been on the market for a while now, so there might be time for you to make a few big trance records and cash in! "

from inthemix:
"If you’ve got an idle $US10 million lying round, you could be a contender to buy the Hollywood mansion formerly owned – and kitted out – by Paul Oakenfold.

According to the Los Angeles Times, the superstar DJ has one “of the most unusual views in the Hollywood Hills”. His three-storey, 4,500-square-foot house is positioned almost directly above the Hollywood Bowl (where Oakey has played before), with views extending beyond the LA Basin to the ocean. And because he’s, y’know, a musician, there’s a custom-built recording studio, plus a spa overlooking the Bowl for those after-after-parties.

The estate has been on the market for a while now, so there might be time for you to make a few big trance records and cash in! "