Melissa Lane

With his ultra-recognizable dome, movie cameos and unparalleled tenure and trade mastery, Carl Cox is the Alfred Hitchcock of danceworld. Remarkably, he is one of the very few to achieve global star status spinning something other than trance music. Cox plays a fast-driving, hyper-intense but soulful combination of acid house and techno. The same spark that ignited the British house explosion in the late eighties--DJ Pierre's "Acid Tracks"--also set this South London kid ablaze. He promptly dropped his hip-hop vinyl for the new sound and ran with it. He went on to play the opening night of the legendary Shoom, ran "The Project" with Paul Oakenfold, and held residencies at Brighton's ZAP club and other mainstays during the infamous 1988 and `89 Summer of Love--including his legendary three-deck throwdown at Sunrise. After he signed to Oakenfold's Perfecto label in 1992, his first single "I Want You'" debuted at 23 on the charts and landed him on the Top of the Pops. At the same time, the rave circuit that had nurtured him as a DJ was gravitating towards hard-core. Not a direction he wanted to follow, he ducked into behind-the-scenes work, creating his own imprint, "Worldwide Ultimatum" and booking agency, "Ultimate." In hindsight, it was a deft move. Having survived the tumultuous rave years and clubworld's momentary resistance to techno, he has come out on top of the game--and retained his soulful brand of techno hysteria, something that was never a foregone conclusion. In the decade that followed, Carl Cox has released a wealth of studio full-lengths, remixes and compilation mixes, including last year's installment on the "Back to Mine" series. And he's still doing cameos. He next appears in "L.A. DJ," the upcoming film from the makers of "American Pie." (Melissa Lane)

With Loco Dice in the main room, and residents Spin and Sativa in the Dome at Vision, 632 North Dearborn, (312) 266-1944, on October 8. (2005-10-04)

Also by Melissa Lane

Demonology
Not only does Carl Craig preside as the most innovative techno producer of Detroit's second wave, he links the two generations in a traceable lineage
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The man whose compositions are credited with single-handedly revitalizing opera has also been dubbed "the Godfather of Trance."
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New Pop Idol
When Annie visited Chicago last June, I delighted in listing all her dance-pop predecessors: Debbie Deb, the Mary Jane Girls, The Tom Tom Club, and Madonna, circa her first album. Of course, the ubiquitous Kylie Minogue comparisons are apt, in as much as they hit on their mutual use of warm, synthy beats and simplistic pop aspirations. But even with this clearly being the goal of her debut album, "Anniemal," no one could mistake Annie for a studio-created, plucked-from-nothing pop tart
(2005-09-13)

Tip of the Week
Together, these two constitute a virtual drum `n' bass institution
(2005-09-06)

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Purple Reign
(2005-08-23)

Tip of the Week
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Tribe of Fathers
(2005-08-16)

Spin Control
(2005-08-09)

Tip of the Week
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Tip of the Week
(2005-07-26)

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