Carl Cox has now distilled his life’s work in a limited edition artwork entitled 'Carl' in collaboration with British photographic artist Mark Vessey to be launched at Enter Gallery (Brighton) on 20 July. Chosen from his 150,000 piece vinyl collection, he has selected his ‘absolute superstar’ records, authentically reflecting the key musical moments that define his career from funk, soul, disco, rare groove, rave, Detroit techno, hip hop, electro and ‘80s pop.
Carl Cox: “Each record I choose has a story behind it and it was very emotional choosing the records that helped shape my journey. Watching Mark work really makes me understand how you can look deeper into art and it makes me realise what I privilege and responsibility I have when sharing my love of music with the dancefloor.”
This new artwork is an extremely personal window into the history of Carl and dance music as a genre that he continues to play such a pivotal role in. Through his personal vinyl collection, which exceeds 150,000 pieces he has chosen some of the records that are most important to him. Many of these were played by him from his beginnings as a mobile DJ and then onto the rave scene where he apparently became known as the ‘Three Deck Wizard’ and still find their way into his headline festival and stand-alone show sets.
Showcasing his well-thumbed, worn and regularly played vinyl, 12-inch singles and long players, during lockdown, he turned these tracks into ‘musical medicine’, aiming to bring people together and reaching out across inaccessible borders.
Through the pandemic, Carl broadcast 52 episodes of his ‘Cabin Fever – The Vinyl Sessions’ show where he went through his personal collection and showcased different genres, the very special tracks he wanted the world to hear and his iconic tribute show to his late father where he played his father’s actual records that inspired a young Carl to become a DJ.
This artwork includes some of those tracks featuring releases by varied artists including Run DMC, Carrie Lucas, Fleetwood Mac, Duran Duran, Lil Louis and Doug Lazy and many many more.
From growing up in the ‘60s and being heavily influenced by his Barbadian father’s modest record collection, Carl eventually took ownership of it and further established a collection of his own. Built upon the pillar of his father’s musical legacy incorporating rhythm & blues, country & western, reggae, soca and jazz.
Carl Cox: “Every single one of these records are not promos, I literally went to the record store and stood there and went through the music… this collection is the best of the best”.
The passion and spirit of this collection has been captured visually by artist Mark Vessey, possibly known for exploring and celebrating icons of contemporary pop culture, he lovingly curates, the subjects of his images which include magazines, books and vinyl records that have had special significance within the popular cultural heritage of the 20th and 21st centuries.
This new print and photograph follows on from his work with Norman Cook aka Fatboy Slim and founder of Defected Records, Simon Dunmore, continuing his DJ and vinyl music theme.
Mark Vessey: “It has been an honour to work with Carl Cox, to have his trust and time to explore his archive. Carl Cox is unique in sewing together multiple generations through his passion of music. That passion and love has been shared and absorbed by him through his vinyl collection, each one of his vinyls holds its own piece of his story. My hope in photographing them together, is that they visually reflect his love and shared history back to us.”
Mark Vessey has previously created photographic works that showcase collections of dance music subgenres including house music, funk ‘n’ soul as well as collections inspired by Bowie and Kate Moss.
'Carl’ is a photographic print from a limited edition of 50 and comes with a certificate of authenticity signed by both Mark Vessey and Carl Cox.
© justaweemusicblog.com
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