Carl Cox

Very well, thank you. I’m here in Miami at the moment. I played over the weekend at Club Space, which was incredible. Before that, I was in Chicago. I’m just starting out my U.S. and Canada tour now, after spending time in Europe. I’ll be going to Montreal this weekend, then to New York and Brooklyn. So yes, it all continues — life after Ibiza continues.

Yesterday, I was very happy to still be in the Top 20 of the DJ Top 100, so that made me quite pleased. It actually went up instead of going down, which is nice — always good to go up! What’s really interesting about the Top 100 is that when you’re at the top, the only way to go is down.

Exactly. Once you’re number one, the only direction left is down. But I’ve managed to stay just under the wire and continue representing myself in my own way. I don’t campaign for it whatsoever — the voters decide. People know I work hard, and I reach them through that hard work, by physically being there. Of course, social media and creating content are other ways to connect with people, and that’s great — but it can also be a slippery slope. But I’ve been able to keep going, keep going, keep going. Seeing that recognition in the Top 100 was fantastic, and I’m really, really pleased about it, as you can imagine.

No, because I was born before social media. Back then, if you wanted to meet your friends, you’d walk to their house and knock on the door, only to find out they went out ten minutes earlier. You’d be standing there in the rain thinking, you could’ve told me you were going out! That’s the era I was born in. So, I’ve had to adapt to where we are now and use these new mediums in a positive way that makes sense to me.
Today, everyone has an opinion on everything. I could play an amazing ten-hour set, but if I make one bad mix, that one mistake can unravel the whole thing. Suddenly people say, ‘I used to be a fan, but not anymore.’ But mistakes make it real — they make it human. You learn from them, you grow, and you move on. That’s where we are now compared to how things used to be. My strength — what’s kept me here all these years — is that I’m directly connected to the public. People buy a ticket to see me perform. Whether I’m playing techno, funk, soul, or disco, it all comes from my mind, heart, and soul. The crowd trusts me to give them the best time possible. If it’s Tomorrowland, it’ll have a certain sound. If it’s Burning Man, it’ll be different. If it’s UNVRS Now, it’ll have its own feel. It’s never the same as Space Ibiza — each event has its own character.

That’s how I approach everything — from performing to supporting other artists, making music, signing acts, and doing my live shows. I’m a self-employed DJ. This is my craft, this is who I am, and that’s still true today. I get booked to play incredible events, and I’m grateful for the chance to show who I am as Carl Cox. Whether I’m in the DJ Top 100 or not, my phone keeps ringing. People still want to book me, they still want to pay me. After forty-five years, people know who I am and why they want me.
That allows me to pick and choose what I do, and how I do it, without the pressure of creating a number-one hit or competing with the new TikTok DJs. They might have fifty million followers — I’ve got about three million. But those are real people, genuine fans who’ve followed me for years. And every day, new fans come along, both young and old. I’ve got people who’ve been with me for twenty-five or thirty years, and now a new generation discovering who I am.
Here’s a story for you. I was in Uruguay once, staying at a house where the cleaning lady was working, and she told her daughter, ‘There’s a famous DJ staying here.’ The daughter asked, ‘Who?’ She said, ‘Carl Cox.’ The girl replied, ‘I don’t really know him.’ Then her mother said, ‘He’s a really good friend of David Guetta.’ And the girl went, ‘Oh my God, David Guetta!!! You know David Guetta?’

(Laughs) Exactly — the friend of David Guetta! That was quite a few years ago, and now he’s become the number one DJ again. So yes, being friends with David Guetta definitely has its benefits. That’s where I’m at.

Well, I’ve been coming to Dubai for over twenty years. The first time I came was in 1995. I used to play at a place called the Peppermint Club. It was inside hotels that turned their ballrooms into clubs. I’d play downstairs — ballroom by day, nightclub by night. So I’ve always been interested in the scene in the United Arab Emirates. Back then, we’d play from eight o’clock until two in the morning because they needed the ballroom back the next day. That’s how it all started for me there.
Over time, I saw how the scene developed into what it is now — a place where people can express themselves more freely, dress how they want, and really enjoy nightlife. At the beginning, you had to be a member to even have a drink, so things were quite restricted. But I was there from the start, watching that transformation. Now, it’s a completely different energy — you’ve got Ushuaïa, Pacha, Soho Garden… it’s all happening!
When Pacha Group reached out, it just made sense. I’ve been associated with Pacha in Ibiza for years; I know them well. They’re good people with a mature crowd who want to have fun, spend money, and feel good — they want a piece of Ibiza in Dubai. And what better way to bridge that gap than with me? I’m more than happy to do it because I genuinely enjoy playing in Dubai. In fact, I’m now having a property built there. I even have my ID [shows me the ID].

Yeah, that’s my Dubai ID. So now I’ve got even more reason to go back. I’ve always loved it. My girlfriend back in the day, her father worked in Dubai, so I used to go there on holidays. The first hotel I stayed at was the Jumeirah Beach Hotel, and across from it they were building the Burj Al Arab. I remember swimming and watching this incredible sail-shaped hotel rising from the sand. A few years ago, I finally went up to the restaurant at the top — it’s an absolutely stunning building. Now, with the Palm Islands and everything else, I barely recognise the city anymore. The expansion of Dubai is just incredible — it’s grown upward and outward at the same time. The energy, the growth, the positivity — it’s all infectious, and that carries over into the club scene. People want to go out, feel good, enjoy themselves, and have a great time.
I’m really looking forward to coming back and playing. The last time I performed was at Soho Garden, with Enrico Sangiuliano, and it was an incredible night. I imagine some of the people who came to that party will also be at Pacha this time around.

It’s been a long time coming — for almost twenty years. The first time I played for Ultra Music Festival in Miami, Jane’s Addiction were already legends in America. Perry Farrell always came to Ultra; he loved electronic dance music. So, here was this rock legend — this god of Jane’s Addiction — walking around the festival, and people were freaking out, going, ‘Oh my God, we’re not worthy!’ I was like, ‘Who’s this dude?’ And someone said, ‘That’s Perry Farrell.’ Then I thought, right — I get it now.
For years, he kept coming to Ultra and to my sets. He loved it. We never met properly, but we were trying to collaborate. The timing never worked — the band was back on the road, and things just didn’t align. Then, about two years ago, around the lockdown era, there was talk again about doing something together. I said, ‘How are we going to do it? I can’t get to you, and you can’t get to me.’ He said, ‘If you’re making any music, send something over.’ So I thought, I’ve got this live track I’ve been working on; maybe I’ll send that and see what he thinks. He came back saying, ‘That’s awesome! That’s exactly what I want. I want to sing and make a track around your track.’And I thought, Well, that was easy! (Laughs).
I didn’t have to go into a studio, sit with musicians, or build something from scratch, which can be a bit laborious. I’d already made a track that represented me, and when I sent it to him, it inspired him. Then we had the perfect storm. He recorded his vocals over my music without changing a thing — just being Perry Farrell. And suddenly, I’ve got this rock god singing on my track. It’s my production, but it’s his song because he’s turned it into something completely new. It’s really a clash of the titans — me and him coming together to create something unique that doesn’t fit neatly into any genre. If you take his vocals out, it’s a techno track. Put them back in, and it’s a commercially accessible song. It’s dance music, but with that Perry Farrell, Jane’s Addiction edge.

I’ve been performing this track live as the closing piece in my shows, and it really brings people together. When they hear it, they go, ‘What is this?’ But it all makes sense once they feel it. That’s why I called it Joya, which means ‘gem’ in Spanish. When you look at a gem, you see all these beautiful colours, and that’s exactly how this track feels. Everything just fell into place with this one. I absolutely love his contribution — some of his words make perfect sense, some don’t, but that’s Perry. He ad-libbed in such a brilliant way, and I’d never have thought of doing what he did.
I’m really proud of the piece. I’m going to play it at Pacha for sure. I’m very proud of it, as you can imagine.
I actually finished the track about two years ago, so people have been subliminally hearing it in my sets, asking, ‘When’s it coming out?’ Well, now it’s coming out — we’re letting it fly like a dove. It’s ready. It’s a great piece of music, and I think sometimes you just have to stand by the music you’ve made because it’s great. Don’t do it for anyone, don’t do it for likes — do it because we’re creative souls who should be free to express what we believe in. And between me and Perry Farrell, we’ve done exactly that. Whether it becomes a big record or not, I don’t care. People enjoy it when I play it, and that’s all that matters to me.

The thing is, if I make something, I have to be able to play it. That’s the key. I don’t really sit there trying to make pop songs or thinking about what it’ll sound like on the radio — that’s difficult for me. I’d love to make pop songs, but I just can’t. It’s not in my nature to work that way. Calvin Harris, for example, he can make a pop song. He’s perfect at it. He’s a genius at turning his ideas into both radio hits and dance floor anthems. Does that make him the best DJ in the world? Probably not. But he doesn’t claim to be either. He writes and produces songs that people connect with, they love his sound, and he’s enjoying where he’s at in his life — and there’s absolutely nothing wrong with that.
From my point of view, though, I’ve always been a bit more underground. People often wonder, ‘Where’s he going with this? Why isn’t he just doing what everyone else is doing?’ But that’s never been me. I like pushing boundaries, not following trends. It would be easy to just make the kind of music people are into right now, but that’s not what drives me. I used to play drum and bass, ravecore, gabber, funk, soul, disco — all of it. I still love and appreciate all that music. My ears are always open to what’s happening out there today. But for myself, I have to make music that I believe in — music that represents who I am, even if it doesn’t fit neatly into a genre. And I’m fine with that. You’ve got to push the buttons.

I’m sure Gary Numan, when he made Cars, didn’t think about the dance floor or radio. He just went [hums the melody] — this dirty little bassline — and it wasn’t radio friendly at all. “Here in my car…” But you listen to it today and think, wow, there’s still nothing that sounds like that. Those are the records I love. David Bowie’s Golden Years is another one. You listen to it and wonder, where’s that funky bassline coming from? Then there’s his singing, a harmonica — complete freedom. And eventually, it becomes a classic because it was made in such an honest, fearless way. My music follows the same idea.
I’ve made five full albums now — no ghost producers, no shortcuts. It’s just me. Whether it’s good or bad, at least it represents who I am as someone who’s been given the opportunity to make and release music into the world. My last album, Electronic Generations, was created on that premise. I did it all electronically and live, coming out of the pandemic. It was truly amazing. See behind me? [shows background photo]

No, that’s my live setup.

(Laughs) No, that’s real! It’s my setup when I play live. I’ve taken myself out of the DJ realm and into the live electronic artist realm. Making, playing, and performing my own music for people who might not even know what it is. But they trust me to give them the energy and belief in the sound that represents who I am. And that’s been brilliant. I’ve been doing both hybrid shows and full live shows. The hybrid show mixes DJ equipment with some of my live gear. But the full live show — that’s no DJ equipment at all. It’s all machines. And honestly, I’m getting to a point where I’m enjoying that a lot more than DJing.

Well, with DJing, you’ve got all the music you could ever want to play. If the vibe isn’t quite right, you can always just switch to another track that you know will work. But with the live setup, it’s different — you have to feel your way into it. It’s all happening live. There are breakbeats coming in, chords building, I can stop it, take things out, bring new sounds in, even stop everything, grab the mic, and then drop back in again. It’s so much fun. You’re flying by the seat of your pants the whole time.
But you have to keep challenging yourself. I could just turn up and DJ — two hours, play this record, that one rises, this one drops. But if I ever get to the point where it feels routine, that’s it. It’s over. I’m nowhere near that yet, though. I still love DJing very much. But this live performance thing — that’s my next story, my next chapter for the future.

I believe that the unification of analogue and digital is really coming together now. My setup is both — I use Moogs, I use analogue synths, and of course digital elements like Ableton and the Push controller. Making these things work together is what gives me my sound. But if I were just in the computer and I stood there pressing play, all these people wouldn’t come. It would look like I was checking my emails — it doesn’t work. You’ve got to get hands-on. You have to do something. You have to feel it. People need to see that tangible connection — it’s in the air. I don’t play guitar, I don’t have a drummer or a vocalist; it’s just me.
I kind of model myself, in some ways, on Jean-Michel Jarre. He was one of my idols. It was him and his machines. The record that first grabbed me was Oxygène, parts one and two. When the record label signed it, they asked, ‘Where’s the hit?’ It was just this continuous piece, a whole sequence. So they just cut it into side A and side B. You’d drop the needle and eventually find where you were — that was it. You could hear everything he was doing, and I loved that renegade spirit. The record label was brave too — they didn’t try to turn it into a pop hit or chop it up into something commercial. They released it as a full, live electronic experience of his sound. That really inspired me. My sound is obviously different from his, but the inspiration — that idea of one person creating something completely their own through machines — comes directly from him.

Oh my God, it’s scary! I think it’s very scary. There was something on TV the other day — in Hollywood they had this first AI actress. And if they hadn’t told you, you wouldn’t have known. She had her hair blowing in the wind, she was running around, things were moving, she was talking to people — and you’d think, oh, that’s the new Scarlett Johansson. But no, that’s the new AI-generated female action hero. So you start to wonder, what’s real and what’s fake?
And the thing is, Spotify just announced they’ve removed seventy-five million AI-generated songs from their platform. Seventy-five million! Can you imagine that? Fake, fake, fake — delete, goodbye. Because when you’re listening to music, you want to know who the artist is. You’ve got George Benson, Oasis, any live electronic act — you know these guys. You can go and see them. You can throw something at them if you want! (Laughs) You can swear at them, and they’ll swear back at you. With AI, you don’t get any of that. You just get the music, the idea, the cleverness — but not the human element. You want to see someone play, make a mistake, take a risk. AI doesn’t do that. It’s all perfect.
In a perfect world, I like the idea of music being generated by binary numbers. And I do think we can work in synergy somehow. But I don’t see it as a takeover, because you still need us to programme it. Unless, of course, AI regenerates itself, kicks us out, and suddenly there’s an AI-generated Carl Cox with beautiful hair! (Laughs) We wouldn’t be having this conversation then.

(Laughs) Yeah, exactly! I think it’s scary, but I’ve never been afraid of the future. We don’t have flying cars yet — we were supposed to by now! They’ve been trying to make them, but do I want to get into one? No way. Now I’m twenty-four stories up — imagine taking off out the window and it just… doesn’t make it. So, no, we’re not there yet. We’re allowing ourselves to believe AI is ready to take over the world, but it’s still early days. Of course, it’s happening, we can’t deny it.

Quiet, quiet! (Laughs)

(Laughs) I think I’ve said enough. Elvis Presley, Dolly Parton, Duane Eddy… I’m open-minded. My family played all kinds of music at home. It wasn’t just reggae, calypso, soul, funk, or rhythm and blues. I’ve been exposed to it all. I love artists! I love people who can stand the test of time and actually get up and perform. To me, Kylie Minogue is one of the best I’ve ever seen. I know her, and also her sister Dannii—I’ve been living in Australia, so I’ve gravitated toward her a lot. I used to watch a program called Neighbours, and she was in the couple with Jason Donovan. Everyone loved her, but they didn’t know she was a little songstress.
After Neighbours, she got signed to a record company and started making music. She did songs like Locomotion and really took the leap to pop stardom. And that was forty years ago! She’s still performing. I went to see her at Hyde Park—ninety thousand people from all ages, all walks of life, gay, straight, everyone! She’s this tiny [shows a small size with his fingers], and yet she connects with everybody, bringing them together. She sings her songs, and everyone has the time of their lives. Her show was outstanding.
As underground or Berghain as I am, I appreciate people who can sing. I remember she was going to play at Glastonbury but had to cancel because of cancer. After three years, she came back because they asked her to, and she was very emotional about it, and played Sunday night. You could not move where she was performing—over two hundred fifty thousand people. That’s what I’m talking about! And she’s still out there touring. She doesn’t need to do a bloody thing, she doesn’t need the money, she just loves performing. So if I had to name a guilty pleasure, it would be her. But I could say the same about Britney Spears, Whitney Houston, and others. In our lifetime, I seriously think Kylie Minogue is THE one.

Oh, one hundred per cent it has! When I go out performing, it’s just me and my tour manager — two people. Now you’ve got DJs with a stylist, a videographer, a photographer, people arranging transportation… ten people! And all for someone who’s putting a USB stick into a machine to perform for the crowd. Then they want fireworks, a huge production, every record to fit the setup… We’re going in the wrong direction. If you’re putting on a concert, that’s fine. But if you’re performing as a DJ, just perform as a DJ. People are buying a ticket to see you—and that’s it. If they want to pull out their phones and record you, so be it. But the pressure to make everything ‘content’ for social media, to push promoters into spending more money… it’s unbelievable. And all that expense gets passed onto the ticket buyers. Then the tickets get resold on the black market for more money. What’s happening here?

I’ve always tried to keep things simple. I don’t have an entourage that makes my performance better or worse. Hypothetically, imagine I get £500,000 for a show, but the production costs £2 million just to have content. Why would you do that? Just to be ‘relevant’? It’s very short-lived. Look at Coachella: 75% of the lineup is dance music, but 60% of that is probably TikTok influencer artists who’ve had one hit on TikTok. People go to see them for that one song, so they’re on their phone during the set. And when that viral song plays, they start recording. What happened to three-hour, four-hour, six-hour sets? I did a six-hour set the other week. Others only do one or two hours and say, ‘My contract says two hours; I don’t have more records to play.’ Excuse me? That’s not normal. The generation coming up thinks this is normal, but it’s not.
There are so many talented people with so much to give who aren’t getting the opportunity. You could have the best violinist in the world, but if they only have four followers on TikTok, they won’t get booked—while others get Coachella slots because of social media fame. I find it very difficult to watch. Where things are going now, it’s not the best place.