Never Mind The Bollocks… Here’s Paul Oakenfold

Never Mind The Bollocks… Here’s The Sex Pistols, or should I say Paul Oakenfold!

In the 1970s, The Sex Pistols released an album carrying the message to screw the mainstream, not just in music, but politics as well. Despite its success and managing to top the UK charts, it also received its fair share of negativity, mainly due to the name.

So, given how controversial it was back in the ’70s, it could be said that Paul and the Perfecto have taken a risk using such a name with a similar message, "A straight up two fingered salute to all industry politics, a complete focus of all energies on the music and nothing else" was the message shared in the press release. If Paul’s intended message isn’t felt throughout the mix, then the whole release would be a complete failure.

The release of ‘Never Mind The Bollocks… Here’s Paul Oakenfold‘ simply couldn’t have been timed better. A rebellious album against the cheesy commercial scene hitting the shelves just as artists such as John ’00′ Fleming, John Askew, and the man himself Paul Oakenfold have been speaking out against the greedy commercial scene which is destroying trance and EDM, along with Simon Patterson and Bryan Kearney showing their disappointment of how lower BPM music seems to be the norm nowadays, is just what the doctor ordered.

So, how did he do? As any Oakenfold fan will know, he doesn’t stick to one genre just for the sake of it. Like he said he would, Paul compiled the whole mix using the simplest of techniques that you would have thought every DJ would use. That technique is simply to not use big names just because they’re more recognisable, but instead filling each of the two Discs with a flawless blend of floor filling music.

Both Discs pass by quickly in a 2 and a half hour mix that’s about nothing other than great music. It’s a blend of what is mostly trance with a bit of hard house, techno, and the odd breaks track produced by a few big names, along with some you might never of heard of. A few tracks that stand out from the rest are Richard Durand’s "Dryland (Phynn Remix)", Man With No Name’s "Teleport (Nick Sentience Remix)", Paul Oakenfold’s "Tokyo (Beatman & Ludmilla Remix)" and Yodis’ "Amore Trio".

Verdict:

I put it to you that if you don’t like this album, you don’t appreciate music made with soul. For the genuine trance fan and fans of EDM in general, ‘Never Mind The Bollocks… Here’s Paul Oakenfold‘ is not only a fantastic listen, but throughout the mix I’d be surprised if there was anyone who didn’t have a gleaming smile on their face thinking "this is how music should be".

9/10

For more info related to Paul Oakenfold check out the following links:
www.pauloakenfold.com
www.twitter.com/pauloakenfold
www.facebook.com/Oakenfold
www.myspace.com/pauloakenfold

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