[divider]Journey Through Travel[/divider]
Paul Oakenfold has traveled the world over for music in the past, going to Goa and bringing back musical influences, as well as from Israel and Ibiza. These musical influences have at times shaped the direction of his career, such as bringing Goa trance to the masses. However, in the present day, we have phone applications that can figure out a song that plays on the radio, or when you’re at a party, you can know the name of a song immediately. No one needs to travel halfway around the world to find new music; it’s available at our fingertips.
There also used to be the experience of going into record shops and finding new music, as if uncovering a new hidden piece of gold. Today, it’s a bit different. We don’t physically have to go out and find new music; it’s just a phone swipe away. However, we can still discover new sub-genres, and new sounds, which is how Oakenfold says many of his newer fans find him. They start with hearing music at festivals that speaks to them, and then keep digging to find music that’s new and different from what they’ve heard before. So, we’re still traveling for new music, just not in the physical sense.
We’ve exhausted all avenues in terms of where music is coming from…We’re so quick and so easy through the internet to find it without going there. So, you don’t have to go to Goa or Israel, you know, you used to have to go there.
He talked about how supporting local record stores and shops is still important, as there are a lot of great opportunities to “dig deeper” and expand our musical horizons. He wants to bring old trance hits to new generations, and is doing so through avenues such as the release of his album, Trance Mission, by taking songs that are from other decades, and giving them a new life. His hope is that newer generations will want to learn as much as they can about the history of dance music. He hopes that “the scene can help you get into something that you maybe didn’t even know about or wasn’t aware of, because there are a lot of genres” and directions you can take in terms of musical exploration.
Important things happen in Pacific Northwest nightlife, and DMNW will send you alerts!
