Paul Oakenfold, one
of electronic music's long-standing DJs and producers, will release A
LIVELY MIND, a brand new full-length album for Maverick Records that
introduces the next element of his career.
A Lively Mind--a title which means "an active person," says
its creator--features 12 new songs composed and created by Oakenfold.
The album is the result of three years of dedication. His debut artist
album, Bunkka was released in 2002 and featured such popular singles as
"Ready, Steady, Go" and "Starry Eyed Surprise". Bunkka sold over a
million copies worldwide. It showcased such guest vocalists as Perry
Farrell, Ice Cube, Tricky, Nelly Furtado, and--in what would turn out
to be his final recorded appearance--Dr. Hunter S. Thompson. A Lively
Mind continues the tradition of employing unique vocalists.
This time around, Brittany Murphy, known for her
roles in such films as 8 Mile and Sin City, makes her vocal recording
debut on the album's upcoming first single, "Faster Kill Pussycat." The
actress-turned-diva was recommended to Oakenfold by a mutual friend. "I
was looking for a different genre and a different feel and something
just original for me," explains Oakenfold. "I knew I wanted a girl
vocalist but also someone who's not known as a singer. It had to be
someone from a completely different world than mine. It ultimately
seemed that film was the right place to look because I was venturing
more and more into that world. But even more importantly, I needed
someone who could sing--who could really, really sing--and Brittany
Murphy fit the bill."
The world of film--or at least of Hollywood--influenced another of the
album's standout tracks, this one featuring vocals by modern hip-hop
great Pharrell Williams. Inspired by the four years the London-raised
Oakenfold has called L.A. "home," the track is titled "Sex 'N Money."
"It's a song about how soulless the Hollywood party scene can be. I’ve
been in situations where people are introduced to me and then they spot
a celebrity, standing nearby, and they disappear, literally mid
sentence. So the track is really Hollywood in a nutshell for me--it's
all sex and money. We deconstructed our original track and rewrote it
for Pharrell, in a way that's melodic and hypnotic and just keeps
coming back at you in waves."
Other vocalists appearing on A Lively Mind include two artists signed
to Oakenfold's long-running Perfecto label--Spitfire (who performs on
"No Compromise" and "Feed Your Mind") and Ashley of the rock band Bad
Apples (who adds his talents to "Vulnerable"). And then there’s one who
can only be described as a true living legend. Grandmaster Flash, the
man who gave birth to the whole hip-hop movement in the early '80s with
his classic "The Message," joins Oakenfold on "Set It Off."
A Lively Mind is just the beginning of an amazing 2006 that
will find Oakenfold working on the scores of at least three new
films--as well as remixing a number of singles including "Sorry" from
Madonna's new record Confessions of a Dance Floor and a track from the
legendary Burning Spear. At the same time, Oakenfold's Perfecto label
is releasing debut albums by the aforementioned Spitfire (whom
Oakenfold
compares to a young Anthony Kiedis) and the London-by-way-of-Los
Angeles Bad Apples. Details on the U.S. support tour for A Lively Mind
will follow at a later date.
Taken form InternetDj
