Paul Oakenfold on Madonna: new material is 'the sound of tomorrow'
British DJ and remixer extraordinaire Paul Oakenfold would like to clear something up: He has never been naked in a recording studio with Madonna. “That was a joke,” he laughs, referring to Madonna’s April 23rd tweet via manager Guy Oseary’s account (@guyoseary): “paul oakenfold is running around the studio naked.. because i wont put the air on.. its hot in here.. but the music is hotter!!!! -M.”
But Oakenfold, who recently released Perfecto: Vegas, a two-disc set celebrating his popular residency at the Palms Casino, from which he recently took a break to join Her Madgesty’s Sticky and Sweet Tour in Europe, is dead serious about getting people on the dance floor with “Celebration.” The song, which he co-wrote with Madonna for her upcoming greatest hits package (in stores Sept. 29), is he says, “meant to be positive in the respect that you can do it, let’s have a good time, let’s enjoy ourselves.”
And while the song, which leaked online in July, has a party-time feel, Oakenfold tells us that he and “M,” as he calls her, were all business during their first in-studio collaboration. “It was very focused, very professional,” he recalls. “When you step up to this level, it’s an interesting process because you’re on someone else’s time, and you respect that. And that’s really what it’s about. So I was extremely organized when I went in there with the team that I had.” And he’s pretty proud of the result: “It’s definitely the sound of tomorrow. Which always becomes the sound of today.”
Music Mixers, what do you think — is “Celebration” the music of tomorrow, or a blast from the past? Watch below as a stadium full of fans wish her a happy (51st!) birthday at a concert earlier this week in Poland, and tell us: Does Madge still have what it takes to — with the help of friends like Oakenfold — make the music that helps the people come together?
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