Oakey Dokey

“Oakey”, who in the '80s introduced Ibiza's Balearic house to England before championing power-trance, moved to Los Angeles nine years ago. There, Glastonbury's inaugural main-stage DJ was poised to play a pivotal role in America's EDM boom, becoming a regular presence in Las Vegas. Today Oakenfold commutes between LA and, strangely, Amsterdam, his European base. “It's a great little town,” he says croakily. “I enjoy it here. It makes a lot more sense than being in London. London's incredibly expensive. So I can have a little apartment in Amsterdam and it works.” Never mind that Celebrity Net Worth declared him the world's second richest DJ, worth US$55 million...

Oakenfold, his Perfecto Records lately integrated into Dutchman Armin van Buuren's Armada Music, is wrapping up a third 'artist' album, Pop Killer, to follow his Four Seasons mix compilation extravaganza. “It's nearly finished. Funnily enough, I just recorded a song with Azealia Banks, which I'm really proud of – and that could be the first single.”

Oakenfold has always been prescient in his choice of vocalists, hiring OneRepublic's Ryan Tedder mid-decade. For 2002's debut 'artist' album, Bunkka, he convinced Hunter S Thompson, the late 'gonzo' rock journalist, to cut vocals. “I was very lucky to work with him because a few people had contacted him and he'd turned them down. I think where me and Hunter connected was I explained to him that the electronic movement has embraced his work as a writer... I told him this, and he was very shocked.” The tragic 8 Mile starlet Brittany Murphy sang his 2006 hit Faster Kill Pussycat. “She was a very talented woman,” Oakenfold laments. “It's a shame 'cause she was gonna do her own album. I was gonna work on it and produce some of it. But, unfortunately, she passed away.”

The gracious Oakenfold, too, now has a Hollywood profile, his first significant OST being 2001's Swordfish. He's contributed music to The Matrix Reloaded and Collateral.

Beyond that, Oakenfold has forged an enduring relationship with Madonna as a tour DJ, remixer and producer. She released his albums on Maverick. Madonna's foray into EDM-pop, MDNA, copped a backlash from critics that Oakenfold believes is unjustified. “I'm currently on tour with Madonna and I'm doing a lot of shows with her. I don't think [the critics are] fair, to be honest. I've seen the show many times. The album represents where she's at at the moment and what she wants to do. Whatever you do in life, not everyone's gonna like... I think at the end of the day she's a really great cutting-edge artist.”

In 2007 the DJ published Paul Oakenfold: The Authorised Biography, penned by Richard Norris of The Grid fame. It charts Oakenfold's formative days as a rare groove DJ, youthful stint in New York, brief A&R career, fateful discovery of acid house on an Ibiza holiday, and production run with his own vehicle Grace, The Happy Mondays (Pills 'N' Thrills And Bellyaches) and U2 (that ultra-cred remix of Even Better Than The Real Thing). Oakenfold himself has been immortalised on screen. “It's funny,” he says, “in the last year I've played myself in three movies, the last [as-yet-untitled] movie was [by director] Terrence Malick with Christian Bale and Natalie Portman. Electronic music is very big at the moment in Hollywood. There will be a few films based on our scene.” Still, he acknowledges that US dance is “very commercial”. “If you wanna be part of the scene, then it's the same 20 records played by 50 DJs,” Oakenfold philosophises. And so he's going back to his roots, unexpectedly re-embracing Goa's psy-trance. “I'm really into representing the underground sound and playing new music,” Oakey says. “Coming to Australia, I wanna represent new music, I wanna encourage people to get into it and enjoy it and be a part of it – and that's what the tour's all about.”