Paul Oakenfold Takes Controller DJing To Everest

Well, we’ve always said that controllers help DJs to play gigs in places where other DJ gear just can’t reach, but trust veteran superstar DJ Paul Oakenfold to take the concept to its logical extreme, with a gig today at Everest’s base camp.

“We are here now doing sound checks,” Oakenfold told Agence France-Press yesterday. “We are really looking forward to the show tomorrow. Everyone is really excited here.”

He spent 10 days walking to Everest base camp, with animals and sherpas carrying the DJ gear.

“The audience will probably be sitting mostly. The air is so thin here, you will run out of breath quite quickly,” Ranzen Jha, a Nepali DJ accompanying Oakenfold, told AFP.

The gig today opened Oakenfold’s SoundTrek series, the purpose of which is to “take electronic dance music to many of the planet’s most remote and challenging locations, at the same time raising awareness of environment matters and interacting with local cultures and charities, raising funds along the way”.

• Paul Oakenfold streamed part of his gig on Facebook Live, which you can see on his Facebook Page.

Denon DJ conquers new territory…

A footnote to this piece of news is not so much the fact that Paul is using a Denon DJ controller for this gig, the MCX8000 (after all, it’s a popular device), but that – in this video where he is explaining about the trip before he set off from his studio – there is a full Denon DJ Prime set-up in the background.

It really does seem that big-name DJs are taking to Denon DJ’s new gear in some numbers…

Pushing DJing to its limits? A great idea? Plain daft? Or all three? Let us know your thoughts in the comments.