A perennial favorite as the best DJ in the world according
to fans as well as the major mixing magazines, Carl Cox has
been a part of Britain's dance scene from the heady days of
disco through to the global clubland of the '90s, with
temporary pit-stops covering hip-hop, the rare-groove
movement and the immense rave revolution of the late '80s.
That large span of time has undoubtedly affected his choice
of records, since Cox routinely detours through breakbeat,
Italian house and the dance mainstream during his usual sets
of hard techno. Perhaps the best testament to his mixing
skills is his immense popularity despite his focus on music
much more intense than the brand of arena trance spawned by
Oakenfold, Sasha, Digweed, and others.
Cox was born in Manchester in 1962, to parents originally
from Barbados (they later moved back, after he grew up). Cox
began DJing family get-togethers at the age of eight,
selecting records from his parents' stack of soul 45s. He
was buying his own records soon after, and owned his first
pair of turntables at the age of 15. The rest of his teens
were spent making spare money at any event he could DJ;
though Cox studied electrical engineering in college, he
quit after six months and began working various jobs until
he could become a full-time DJ.
Cox had followed the musical trends from disco to
rare-groove on to hip-hop during the late '70s and early
'80s, but the introduction of house into Britain during the
middle part of the decade convinced him that he had found
his niche. After moving to Brighton in 1986, his reputation
bloomed during the acid house explosion of 1988-89; Cox
played the opening night at Shoom, one of the defining club
nights of Britain's house revolution (as well as other
legendary hot-spots like Land of Oz and Spectrum). In front
of 15,000 at the 1989 open-air event Sunrise, he unveiled
his use of three decks on the mix; that signature technique
built him into one of the top DJs of the late '80s and early
'90s.
By 1992 Cox had signed an unheard-of long-term production
deal with Paul Oakenfold's Perfecto Records and hit number
23 on the British charts with his debut single, "I Want You
(Forever)." His second single "Does It Feel Good to You"
also reached the Top 40, and he quickly diversified by
setting up his own record label (Worldwide Ultimatum) and an
international DJ agency (Ultimate). The onset of a more
hardcore rave sound (and the fact that he was increasingly
becoming pigeon-holed within it) forced Cox to spend several
years re-establishing his niche. In a bit of irony,
commercial successes like Cox's own steered him away from
high-BPM candy-core and towards the still soulful house and
techno scene.
Three years after his hit singles, Cox returned with the
first volume in what became a genre-defining mix-compilation
series, F.A.C.T.: Future Alliance of Communications and
Tecknology. After the first volume dropped in 1995,
surprisingly high sales figures earned a second two years
later (released in America as well). One year later, Cox
released his first studio full-length with 1996's At the End
of the Cliché. Mix album The Sound of Ultimate B.A.S.E.
followed in 1998, with another studio album, Phuture 2000,
appearing in 1999. One year later, he released the
self-explanatory Mixed Live, recorded at Chicago's Crobar. A
second edition of Mixed Live appeared two years later along
with the mix CD Global. The DJ's next busy year was 2004
with the Pure Intec mix CD appearing in August and Cox's
entry in the Back to Mine series dropping in November.
DJs
