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DJ and Record Producer Carl Cox joins Mission Makers this week for our Season 2 opener. In this special two-part episode, we begin by reflecting on Carl’s legendary career and his 16-year residency at Space. Carl also goes on to share his thoughts on the future of the music industry. In part two Carl opens up about his love of cars, racing and what it takes to manage a motorsports team.

 

It's mid-February, temperatures are plummeting, snow is unexpectedly covering much of the U.K and the national lockdown is feeling like it will never end. What Mission Makers needed more than anything at this point was a good old-fashioned pick me up. Thankfully we got just that when we sat down with Carl. The British DJ, whose career spans over four decades, has made a name for himself as not only one of the most accomplished artists this country has ever produced, but also as one of the nicest guys in the music industry. It is little surprise then that we are instantly greeted with Carl’s trademark smile. His enthusiasm to share his thoughts on his two loves of music and motorsport, would prove to be infectious.

 

We start part one by exploring Carl's early fascination with music and what drove him to pursue a career as a DJ. Reflecting back on that time he is now able to connect the dots, “It's almost destiny that I ended up being where I am in my life today,” he says before going on to explain, “I have always felt free in the ideal of sharing music.” We learn that this ideal was initially borne out of wanting to avoid his early bedtime and perhaps a subconscious meaning behind his name. It seems that those late nights playing music for his family revealed to him the true purpose of music, which as he makes clear is always about giving and never taking. That philosophy has stuck with Carl and continues to inform his approach to his music and career.

 

On the topic of Carl’s career, the conversation soon turns to perhaps his crowning moment, his fabled 16-year residency at the world-renowned nightclub, Space. Carl is quick to acknowledge the importance of not only the club but the whole island of Ibiza in making him the man he is today, “Space was my whole essence,” he says.  

 

In part two we discuss a topic that many of Carl's fans will perhaps be less familiar with and that’s his love of motorsports, and many may be surprised to hear that his dedication to cars is as strong as it is for music so much so that in 2013 Carl took this devotion to the next level by launching his own motorsports, Carl Cox Motorsports. Despite the competitive nature of racing, Carl is sticking to his tried and tested principles of focusing on the journey as opposed to the result because as he points out, “I know what it's like to win and I know what it's like to lose.”

 

As the interview draws to a close, we circle back to our original topic, music. It's become clear at this point that the secret behind Carl’s success has been his utter dedication to the art of music making, which has allowed him to not only build a formidable career but also a long-lasting relationship with his one true love. Carl probably sums it's up best, “I am 59 this year and I still have the same essence to DJ today than I did when I started.”

 

Carl’s episodes can be found on the videos below and on iTunes and Spotify.

 

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