The 10 Best Paul Oakenfold Remixes

Over the past three decades, Paul Oakenfold has been a true pioneer within the dance music scene. From the early days of Ibiza being a mentality as we

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Complex Original

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Over the past three decades, Paul Oakenfold has been a true pioneer within the dance music scene. From the early days of Ibiza being a mentality as well as a beautiful city, to championing acid house, through his work with the various machinations of Perfecto on through his work with the mainstream music scene, back before there was a such thing as "EDM" or "electronica," Oakenfold has been on the forefront of the evolution of this sound. House, trance, breakbeat, you name it, he's helped propel dance music to the masses on both sides of the coin. This has afforded him the opportunity to remix a number of acts, and you'd be surprised at how well his evolving sound matriculated through the years. Take a look back at Paul Oakenfold's best remixes.

Paul Oakenfold vs. Afrika Bambaataa & The Soulsonic Force - "Planet Rock (Swordfish Mix)"

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Label: Tommy Boy

Year: 2001

Back in 2001, Oakey was commissioned to produced the soundtrack for Swordfish. This "thriller" focused around computer hacking, and it made sense for everything from N*E*R*D* to Muse to be filtered through Oakenfold's dance music vision. We were definitely surprised by the twisted he gave the classic "Planet Rock," which maintained enough of the original's rapping, but added more big beat-style bass and drums, turning this one into the epitome of the tail-end of America's obsession with "electronica."

Moby - "Natural Blues (Perfecto Dub)"

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Label: Mute
Year: 2000

Tracks like these are what the last wave of electronica was made of. Just get wrapped up in the alternating movements in here, from the constant bass to the tiny melodies made out of blips and waves of technology. The result of a number of waves crashing down on this one vocal, which ends up dwelling somewhere amidst this vibrant sea.

Justin Timberlake - "Rock Your Body (Paul Oakenfold Mix)"

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Label: Jive

Year: 2002

Justin's "Rock Your Body" was already a throwback, disco-charged number, and while Paul didn't reinvent the wheel with this rerub, he took his ability to fatten up the groove and gave this one a chunky, mid-tempo swinger.

Underworld - "Born Slippy NUXX (Paul Oakenfold Mix)"

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Label: Junior Boy's Own

Year: 2003

It feels like Oakenfold gets these wild looks off of his name, but then you actually press play on the remix and get sucked right in. You'd think it wouldn't work, especially which such an important track like this one, but Oakenfold might be to dance music what Diddy is (was?) for rap and r&b: they both know how to add enough to take the more "underground" sound and make it palatable for the masses. We get enough of the NUXX to keep us invested, but he picks out the perfect snippets and expounds upon them, turning this into a mesmerizing display of electronic bliss.

Sneaker Pimps - "6 Underground (Perfecto Mix)"

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Label: Virgin

Year: 1998

Why yes, Oakenfold has more layers to him that acid house and trance. The Sneaker Pimps is one of those groups that had their day in the electronic sun back in the 1990s, but you hear not one word from them today. For Perfecto's remix of "6 Underground," Oakenfold brings the fuzzy, laidback electronic vibe to those beautiful vocals. Those alternating breakbeats are choice.

Giorgio Moroder - "The Chase (Paul Oakenfold Mix)"

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Label: Logic

Year: 1999

Moroder's a legend in the electronic music realm, and while you might say that remixing him is blasphemous, we're not mad at Oakenfold's take on this classic. It's almost like he was inspired by the original, as this one takes on a nine-minute life of its own, but it builds atop the signature bassline and turns it into a fast-paced, strobe-lit piece of ecstasy.

Massive Attack - "Unfinished Sympathy (Paul Oakenfold Mix)"  

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Label: Wild Bunch

Year: 1991

You can't improve upon perfection, but Oakenfold and Steve Osborne definitely added some solid low-end to Massive Attack's classic, giving it a bit more of a groove for the clubs.

Robert Owens - "I'll Be Your Friend (Perfecto Re-edit)"

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Label: Perfecto / Sony BMG

Year: 1991

Back when there was always a soulful house track to throw in the mix. You can look at Oakenfold's history and chart the progression of house music throughout the mainstream, from the more underground "deep" sounds to cuts that are unabashedly main room tools. You'd think it was just Robert Owens' perfect vocal, but Perfecto laid a perfect base for his material.

U2 - "Even Better Than the Real Thing (The Perfecto Mix)"

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Label: Island

Year: 1992

Fun fact: the "Perfecto Mix" of "Even Better Than The Real Thing" charted higher than the original (making the title much more ironic). During U2's ZooTV tour, Oakenfold was asked to perform as their warm-up DJ, touring the world throughout 1993.

Olive - "You're Not Alone (Oakenfold & Osborne Remix)"

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Label: RCA

Year: 1997

A heaping helping of the unexpected, understated vibe on this one makes this a truly classic in Oakenfold's story. He might have done his best work with Steve Osborne, and this is why. Totally different than the majority of vibes you hear from him, this 10-minute opus takes its time. It spends the first three minutes alone on some more breakbeat-y, leftfield vibes before kicking in with the rave-ready chords and builds. And even though you know how it'll roll out once it does, you can't help but succumbing to its beauty.

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