Described as both pioneer and unifier, Carl Cox is admired not just for his technical skills (like his signature three-deck mixing), but also for his joyful and authentic presence. We caught up with him for a chat about the vinyl-only set marking his fifth-anniversary performing at On The Beach Festival in July.
This is your fifth year at On The Beach – what keeps bringing you back to this particular event? I have been living in Brighton for many years and feel very much a part of the scene, so it’s great to have this opportunity to be able to play such a great show year after year. Whether it was year one or year five – it always feels like I’m coming home. No matter where I am in the world, it feels like when I come back to Brighton, that’s my home event, my hometown. Each year it’s just getting better, it’s incredible. As long as everyone likes to see me come back I’ll just keep playing.
What makes On The Beach stand out in your touring calendar? The event is different to probably everywhere else that I play. I don’t really play any other beach party whatsoever. It’s also the people that come to the party that make it special. There’s a really magical energy, from the way the crowd interact with me, to the DJs playing alongside me. You can just feel and see that everyone’s excited to be there.
Has it evolved over the years? Not really. From day one we had a crowd who are supportive of the music and happy to be there.
Does returning to the same event allow you to create a deeper connection with the crowd each year? Well, of course I create a different set every year. So, people can check the sets out and see my music and approach is different every single time. I want people to come back every year to know that I care about what I create. It’s always forward thinking, it’s always about the dance floor. It’s always about the expectations and, for me, it keeps me on my toes and doesn’t allow me to get too complacent.
This year, you’re going vinyl, what inspired that decision? I’m using this platform to really show people where I came from. When I became a DJ, every single event I played was always a vinyl set. It was nothing else. It was just the way it was. I haven’t been able to exercise that over the last 20 years or so, as it all moved to playing digitally. So I thought it’d be a real treat to be able to make the fifth anniversary vinyl-orientated. It’s going to be as exciting for me to play vinyl as it will for the people to hear the vinyl set.
Can you give us a sneak peek into the kind of records you’ll be spinning? Are there any timeless tracks making a comeback? When I started playing vinyl, nobody knew what I was gonna play. All they knew was that the music I was playing was always going be good, great or amazing. So let’s just keep that as a mystery of what I’m going to be pulling out of my flight cases, but obviously I’ll be bringing out some classics and playing some of the tunes that made me who I am. I think people will like to see the old Carl Cox come back in some way. It’ll be very special.
Any moments in your career where vinyl made a comeback in a powerful way for you? When we were all locked down in 2020, I decided to give fans an insight into my record collection, which is obviously vast! Being locked down in Melbourne, Australia, gave me the ideal opportunity to do a live-streaming show each week where I’d show the expanse of my record collection, from R&B to funk, jazz, soul, hard techno, breakbeat and rave music, really eclectic. For 52 weeks, more or less two-hour shows, I showcased the depth of my record collection, and was allowed to present myself as a person who just loves music. It was a really awesome way for people to understand where I truly come from. And, what’s great is, you can go onto YouTube and see every single one of those sets.
Do you find the vinyl format influences your mixing style or set flow in a way that digital doesn’t? I’ve always been about owning the style of my mixing. Over the years people knew me for my free deck mixing style. But when you’re playing digitally it’s very different, and I do have a different style between the two. But the experience is the same at the end of the day, the outcome is the same, as far as I’m concerned.
What message do you want to send to younger DJs and fans with this special vinyl performance? A lot of younger DJs have not seen me do this. There are a lot of fans out there that have seen me do it, but there’s a lot of younger ones that won’t have either. I want people to know it’s something that I can still do and am passionate about. Ultimately, I just want any younger DJs and fans out there to enjoy it, it’s going to be very special vinyl performance.
On The Beach: Carl Cox – Sat 26 Jul 2025 13:00–22:30
