Paul Oakenfold
The legendary Ibiza main man and remixer tells us about his track
> Dance music icon Oakenfold takes on Simon’s Crazy Love, Vol II. We caught up with him for a little insight into how he approaches reworking a track.
What’s your approach to remixing? “I’ve remixed many, many artists. My U2 remix of Even Better Than The Real Thing charted higher than the band’s version. The secret of remixing is keeping the integrity of the artist, giving it a melodic flavour, and making it something people can dance to. I start a remix by pulling everything off the original that I will not use.”
Which are you most proud of? “I’m most proud of my remix of Massive Attack’s Unfinished Symphony, U2’s Even Better Than The Real Thing, and also the remix I did for Madonna’s Hollywood.” In your version of Crazy Love, you kept the same types of instrument and the same basic song structure, but you gave the sound design a very modern update. What was the thinking behind this? “On every remix, you need to make sure that the song is both current and danceable. It also needs to be able to be played on dance radio shows around the world.”
Is there anything you’d love to remix but haven’t yet had the chance? “Interesting question. Not really. I’ve been asked over the years to do all different genres.”