“Pete Tong said it perfectly: getting a release on Perfecto is like a badge of honor,” Paul Oakenfold recalls. “A dance music badge of honor! Those words really meant a lot to me as we began to consider how to properly pay tribute to Perfecto’s first three decades as a record label.”
Pete Tong, of course, is dance music’s longtime tastemaker supreme – but don’t just take Tongy’s word for it: in 2003, none other than the late Queen Elizabeth bestowed an award on Oakenfold on behalf of the British Empire as a “Pioneer of the Nation” for his contributions to dance music. All aspects of that legacy are coming together with “Perfecto 30”: a expansive series debuting in 2023-2024 spanning unique global events, musical releases, and exclusive artist/DJ performances that reflect not just 30-plus years of the Perfecto imprint’s success, but the goalpost-moving achievements of Oakenfold, Perfecto’s co-founder and figurehead, as well. Indeed, it’s hard to separate Perfecto’s landmarks from Oakenfold’s storied history as arguably the first global superstar DJ, paving the way from Ibiza and the Glastonbury main stage to smash Las Vegas residencies; as a hitmaking producer for everyone from Happy Mondays to Madonna and U2; a pioneer of contemporary electronic music soundtracks for games and hit Hollywood movies like Swordfish and Bourne Identity; and an innovator of DJ
culture across genres, crucial in bringing underground club sounds from trance to EDM to a worldwide mainstream audience (and that’s just a partial list). “Paul’s attitude in starting Perfecto was quite visionary, quite refreshing – I think he started a brand, really, that also happened to be a label,” Tong notes in the upcoming documentary Welcome to Perfecto.
“I’m going back to doing straight club records – underground tracks that I love,” Oakenfold says. “You have to understand, Perfecto is now a thirty-year-old brand: there are generations that have grown up with the sound. They got into dance music and have grown up with the label, collecting our vinyl from day one. It’s turned into much more than a label. So to celebrate that spirit, I’m just going to do what I’m good at and really love – and go out in a blaze of glory for my last dance!
The Crystal Method
For nearly three decades, The Crystal Method has remained one of the most influential and well-respected acts in electronic music. Co-founded by Scott Kirkland and Ken Jordan in 1993, the GRAMMY®-nominated duo pioneered the big beat genre and defined the sound of a generation, beginning with their platinum-selling debut, Vegas (1997).
To date, The Crystal Method has played more than 1300 shows—headlining EDC, Lollapalooza, and Ultra Miami—while their music has appeared in more than 100 film, TV, and video game soundtracks. Along the way, TCM has released such best-selling titles as Tweekend (2001), Legion of Boom (2004), and Divided by Night (2009)—the latter two of which earned GRAMMY® nods for Best Dance/Electronic Album. While Jordan retired in 2017, Kirkland reimagined The Crystal Method as a solo act. Now, the innovative artist continues the evolution with TCM’s seventh studio album, and his second solo outing, The Trip Out.
