Perfecto

Perfecto Records is a United Kingdom based Trance record label founded by famed trance DJ Paul Oakenfold in 1989.

Perfecto was founded by electronic music maverick Paul Oakenfold in 1989. At the time, house music and the balearic style was beginning to break into the mainstream and Paul was working as an A&R man for Champion Records. Paul decided to apply his A&R skills to the burgeoning electronic music scene and create a place where new artists could develop their careers and so Perfecto Records was born.

Perfecto has released singles from such artists as BT, Tilt, and Carl Cox. It has also released mix albums from Sandra Collins, Seb Fontaine, DJ Skribble, and Paul Oakenfold himself.

Apart from singles, Perfecto has released a few full-length albums.

Perfecto Fluoro

Listening to this, listening to other Oakenfold sets and seeing him live - you really understand why this man is so amazing! His unique understanding of music coupled with his extremely eclectic taste, makes for a fascinating listening experience. Take the last part of disc two, for instance. How does Oakey end his set? Two dark trance bangers are followed by (drumroll, please) JUNGLE! Don't start shaking your head now, because it works! And that's the great thing about Oakenfold.

"Perfecto-Fluoro" is basically a showcase of Goa Trance artists signed on Oakenfold's Perfecto-Fluoro label, back at the height of Goa's public appeal (1996). While the sound quickly wore out its welcome (This month's issue of "Muzik" even gave Oakenfold a "Goa denial rating") this album shows that "Oakey" truly believed in the style. Tracks by artists such as Juno Reactor and Man With No Name are mixed alongside film soundtrack music by composers Wojciech Kilar ("Dracula"), Ryuichi Sakamoto ("Merry Christmas Mr. Lawrence"), and the venerable Ennio Morriccone ("The Mission"). There's even a snippet of Barber's Adagio for Strings straight out of "Platoon." And it's not half as cheesy as its interpolation into Skip Raiders "Another Day."

By no means is this "original" Goa Trance. The sound had been evolving since the 1980's and Oakenfold was actually one of the last to catch on. BUT, he made the first real effort to bring it to public attention.

Perfecto Presents Another World

The Host Of Seraphim by Dead Can Dance blares through the speakers, warming the pinnacle of disk-one's climatic entrance. Then, shortly after a "Majestic" reprieve from female singing, Led Zepplin rocks the house with trance as its background. If that's not eclectic enough than I don't what is--. The major problem with a lot of techno these days are the repetitive atmospheres that claim to be original and new. Bah! Do you know how many times I hear the same old same old in terms of sound? It gets quite annoying at times and very unappealing to its uninventfulness. Paul, however, is an exception to this complaint. He seems to reinvent himself with each new release, blessing his listeners with something fresh and flat-out marvelous. And if anybody thinks that this is unoriginal and frankly "boring," than they need to open their minds more to change. The consistant breaks of New Age-type songs are a blissful relief to the constant pounding of the grandious synth lines & groove beats conjured by Oakey, proving techno to be much more than just obnoxious noise. It can also provide you with a source of meditation and emotion, as portrayed here in such tunes as Song To The Siren by Sabel (as heard on a perfume commercial), Rachel's Song by Vangelis, and Sanvean by Dead Can Dance. I think it's a perfect blend of two genres weaving naturally into one colorful hue. And I have to agree with an earlier reviewer who pointed out that Oakey's intent of Perfecto Radio was not made for the purpose of dance clubs but moreso for the reason to produce something to groove to at home without wishing you were raving instead.

Paul Oakenfold
Paul Oakenfold Org