Hear Paul Oakenfold Cover 25 Years of Trance Favorites in a Fresh Mix
Next Friday, Paul Oakenfold will release Trance Mission, a new album featuring covers — not remixes — of a few of his favorite tracks from the past 25 years. “A remix uses parts from the original composition whereas a cover uses nothing except the notation of the original riff,” the DJ explains in a statement. “I didn’t want to be restricted in any way by having to use parts from the originals and in doing so fall into the ranks of other remixers.”
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Here, listen to a few of those covers played alongside recent Oakenfold tracks like Matt Gross collaboration “Touch the Sky” in a mix that will air on Paul van Dyk’s radio show the same day that the album drops: June 20th.
“These records meant so much to me during their first existence that I knew I had to be careful, complimentary and respectful to them,” continued Oakenfold. “But I also knew that I didn’t just want to make updated versions of the originals. Instead I wanted to approach them all with a new perspective.”
While finishing up the album in August, Oakenfold told Rolling Stone the new project posed a few unique challenges for him. “In terms of technology it’s very difficult because everyone’s got access to the same sounds,” he said. “That makes it very difficult to do so you have to really dig deep to try and find those moments. What’s really changed for all of us is that house music is pop music now.”
With that in mind, his statement also assures fans he’s not restricted by genre on the new LP: “Don’t worry there’s trance (given the album title it would be pretty odd if there wasn’t!!!) but there’s also breaks, progressive, ambient, deep techno and even our dear old pal EDM.”