Second Sign

Across the globe, when club crowds are asked who they'd most want to have spin, it's Carl Cox they request. Promoters who need an arena to go off at three in the afternoon, or a club to stay full until the early hours, know Carl's their man. He may not be a household name but in the scene itself, he's a living legend, as big as they come. Quite simply, Carl Cox is the People's DJ.

A musical ambassador since he was in short trousers, a professional DJ since his early teens, a veteran of acid house and a champion of techno, Carl Cox emits a love of his work that's dangerously infectious. When he's behind the turntables you can't mistake his ecstatic visage, dripping with sweat as his head bobs up and down to the beat, his body swaying back and forth.

Now, having extricated himself from his own thriving but overly time-consuming business empire, Carl is finally concentrating on a solo career. Which brings us to his highly anticipated third album, 'Second Sign', anything but a straight-up techno affair.

Two years in the making, 'Second Sign' is a reflection of Carl's attitude to life. He has brought in a few friends to collaborate with, including Fatboy Slim, Roni Size, Josh Wink, Fats and Small, Saffron [Republica] and Kevin Saunderson, and they've mixed up styles you seldom hear together: house, soul, punk, techno and drum n' bass, into a high energy, cohesive whole.

This mixed album of largely original material is aimed at taking you on a journey - the same kind of journey Carl Cox has been on over the last few years, in a live situation, where he's at the peak of his not inconsiderable powers. Seriously bangin'.