He’s the globally renowned DJ and label manager whose sixteen-year stint at Space Ibiza is the stuff of house music legend. But recently, Carl Cox has been swapping the mp3s for the EVs as he makes a name for himself in the zippy world of electric car racing. DJ and producer Kris Di Angelis, sat down with Carl for CircleZeroEight in an illuminating and wide-ranging conversation, and found out all about his career, Carl Cox Motorsports, and exactly where his need for speed came from.
KDA: So, Carl Cox Motorsports! I’ve spent my entire life knowing you as a DJ, so it’s fascinating to know you’re also wildly into the speediest thing you can do in the world.
CC: It’s an absolute mindblower. Some people like to play golf. Some people like to fly planes, or power sailing. I’ve always been into straight line speed racing – but also just racing more generally.
KDA: From what I understand, you’ve just taken home your first Extreme E podium this July.
CC: Yeah, that was the second race of the Extreme E meet in Scotland. So, here’s the thing: anything can happen in Extreme E. The actual track itself is the gnarliest thing you’ll ever experience. There’s no real line; there’s no place to really overtake. Once those cars go, they have a mind of their own: rollovers; doors flying off; windscreen wipers not working. So just by chance, if you’re in fourth place and the car in front of you gets a puncture, and you just happen to be there to pass him then you get on the podium: yes!
KDA: Had it crossed your mind that you could get on the podium?
CC: We weren’t thinking about it. To come in as a brand new team in the second race of the season and actually get on the step, everyone was a bit like, “I don’t know how you’ve done it”. Because don’t forget, you’ve got Lewis Hamilton’s team who’ve been there for three years. Nico Rosberg’s team who’ve been there for three years. You’ve got all the motoring legends in it, and for me to roll up – an ex-scaffolder DJ – and be on the step with champagne, it’s so funny. But on our next race we were shunted right into the hay bales and there was damage to the car. But that’s racing!
The fastest I’ve been on a quarter mile is 252 mph. I’m the fastest DJ in the world. I can’t see Sasha, Digweed, or Tiesto even thinking about going this fast.
— Carl Cox
KDA: You’re not driving in these races, are you? Have you ever driven?
CC: I’m actually a professional drag racer. My whole experience of it goes back to the 1980s – to a place called Santa Pod Raceway in Northamptonshire, where they do a thing every Saturday called ‘Run What Ya Brung’. Whatever piece of shit car that you had, you’d take it down the Pod, and just run it – my first car that I took down to Santa Pod was an 850 Mini. I was always into motorbikes as well, and I have an extensive collection – up to about 80. So I’m really into it all: sidecar racing; hill climb racing; historic muscle car racing. But what I do now is get myself into a car called a Pro Mod, where the fastest I’ve been on a quarter mile is 252 mph. I’m the fastest DJ in the world. I can’t see Sasha, Digweed, or Tiesto even thinking about going this fast. When people see me going in this car, they think I’m doing it for the PR, but it’s genuinely the one thing I like to do. If I don’t do it, there’d be a hole in my life that needs to be filled.
KDA: Why aren’t you afraid? I’d be terrified of going that fast.
CC: Every time I get in, I feel like it’s my purpose. The G-force of it is 3.2 g going out, and when you get to that quarter-mile, you’ve got two massive parachutes coming out to slow you. If you’re going 250 mph plus, brakes alone aren’t going to stop you. I’ve had my rite of passage where only one chute has come out, and I’ve gone down and had a crash. But I’m still here, and everything's in the right place, so let’s go again.
KDA: Has the music taken a bit of a backstep?
CC: My life’s taken a very different turn in terms of purpose. I’ve kind of put the past – Ibiza – behind me now. I had been there every year since 1985. So what am I supposed to do? I could carry on, but I’ve been there a million times. Go to Greece, go to Italy – Ibiza is set in stone now. It’s on everyone’s lips.
KDA: That’s entirely because of a few people sticking there. Why would you still want to be there? There’s a lot in this world rather than being in one place.
CC: I do get it. I’ve seen a lot of changes over the years. My church was, of course, Space, and I was there for sixteen years straight. It’s not there anymore, so my purpose is what? Go and play for Pacha and go and grab some money? I don’t want to be that person who just goes there to pick up change. I went there to make a difference.
KDA: And you have made a difference.
CC: I’ve laid those irons in the fire for everyone else now. Back in the day there were no resident DJs; no big clubbing companies going in; no concerts. It was quite unusual at the time, but it’s the norm now. If it’s the norm, then there’s nothing for me to be excited about anymore, because it’s already there.
KDA: I was thinking about what it took to do Space for sixteen years and practically invent a whole industry. What does it take to become Carl Cox, and then Carl Cox Motorsports? Is it that you were really ambitious about DJing, or were you absolutely not ambitious about DJing and that’s why you were so successful?
The whole world could be falling apart around you, and you go to a club and hear ‘Strings of Life’, and all of that goes away in that moment.
— Carl Cox
CC: I think in hindsight I was hellbent on entertaining people with my music. I’d think, “Got a record, got to play it, it’s giving me goosebumps”. Like [Derrick May’s] ‘Strings of Life’, I couldn’t wait to play that record. And when I did, it moved people. The whole world could be falling apart around you, and you go to a club and hear ‘Strings of Life’, and all of that goes away in that moment. I make all those pivotal moments happen based on my passion for the music, and how I put it together. I’ve never once sat there and thought of a set. I’ve got a whole bunch of great records to play, but I don’t know until I get there how it’s going to work out. I think I’ve always been that DJ that’s been able to cut through anything. You can put me on before or after anyone, and it doesn’t matter. Because one record is going to change your life. And I can put that on, and no matter what’s been played that day, people will go, “That’s the one”. Even if it’s a brand new record that you’ve never heard before, I just drop it, and everyone’s in tears.
KDA: You’re not afraid. I’m looking at a parallel of you doing that, and also hitting those cars and going for it. You don’t see fear.
CC: Whether I’m a number one DJ, or number ten, it doesn’t matter. Here I am. I’ve taken all this knowledge, and all this energy, and all the things I’ve learned about myself, and I’m applying all of that to motor sports. I still don’t have a clue, but what I do know is the passion for what I love. People ask me why I didn’t get into Formula 1. Because F1 is for rich idiots who have too much money to spend!
KDA: Tell me a bit more about Extreme E.
CC: It’s very conscious about the world around us and sustainable energy. It’s the perfect platform, because whether we like it or not, that energy will exist and we’ll be utilising it, for the world to benefit from the lower carbon emissions.
KDA: There has to be a way forward. It’s really good that you’re paying attention to it. How are you finding it with other people in other companies? Are you seeing across the board there’s a commitment to sustainability, or are there still dinosaurs in motorsports.
CC: There’s a pushback. There needs to be someone like myself: a person of colour, coming from a completely different world to motorsports.
KDA: And having some charisma and communication ability helps too!
CC: I think so, but I don’t really know anything about anything. I was born on this planet, and I’ve had to deal with all the issues on this planet like anyone else. I think Extreme E presents it really well, in all aspects – especially the equality within the sport, which we have with female drivers and male drivers racing together. How many female drivers do you have in Formula 1? None!
KDA: Can I ask one more question? I promised myself if I ever got to speak to you, I’d ask this. I remember reading somewhere that at one point you had a Minidisc player installed at The End nightclub, so you could mess around with Minidiscs when that came out. Is that true?
CC: 100% true. I actually rifled through my garage earlier, and found my Minidisc player, and said to myself, “What is that?”
KDA : Thanks Carl!
