Perfecto 30: Paul Oakenfold and Carl Cox – Concentrate
It all seems so long ago the early 90s. When I saw Paul Oakenfold and Carl Cox then did I ever think they’d still be doing their thing thirty years later? Doubt it. And yet here they are with their first ever collaboration, Concentrate.
No point in any potted biog of either Paul or Carl. You surely know both of them, legends. It’s been a long time since I listened to Paul Oakenfold. His descent into cheesy prog lost me long ago. Carl was always a great DJ but his recorded output was a bit of a disappointment. I remember listening to 1995’s At The End Of The Cliché and really wanting to like it but finding it a mild let down.
How has time treated them on Concentrate? They probably had a good time recording it. There’s a lively bounce to the track. It’s more Cox Techno than it is Oakenfold Prog House. It unashamedly wants to be a main room banger. And it is. That’s their natural home.
It opens with some classic techno house piano stabs before the chunky beats come in. It’s all very uplifting peak time music with the track title sample used regularly. They know how to pace a track to give you that perfect bouncy ride. In a club this will work ever so well. Hands will be in the air.
There’s also something reassuringly familiar about the sounds. This doesn’t challenge you or offer you anything new. This takes you back to those halcyon days with a rose tinted perspective. But one from a couple that know what it was really like. Back to the future? Not really possible mate.
Solid track nonetheless.
ACID TED 