Press Release, June 15, 2006 OAKENFOLD ANNOUNCES U.S.TOUR DATES TO SUPPORT ‘A LIVELY MIND’ RELEASED JUNE 6

JUNE 15, 2006
FR: ALEXANDRA GREENBERG/MITCH SCHNEIDER/BRANDIS DEZON/MSO

Following the release of his new artist album A LIVELY MIND for Maverick Records, OAKENFOLD has announced he will tour the U.S. this July with DJ sets at some of the country’s hottest nightclubs and events.  On each date, international dance music sensation Paul Oakenfold will spin cuts from the album including the first single–the Billboard Hot Dance Club Play #1 chart-topper (6/6) “Faster Kill Pussycat” featuring Brittany Murphy–and material from his worldwide million-selling debut Bunkka plus as an assortment of his favorite current dance music.

 
June finds OAKENFOLD touring Europe for the album which also highlights contributions from Pharrell Williams (“Sex N’ Money”), Grandmaster Flash (“Set It Off”) and two artists signed to OAKENFOLD's long-running Perfecto label: Spitfire (who performs on "No Compromise" and "Feed Your Mind") and Ashley of the rock band Bad Apples (who adds his talents to "Vulnerable").  On Friday, July 7 OAKENFOLD will return to the states via Scottsdale, AZ to kick off his 13-date trek to all major U.S. markets including stops in Las Vegas, San Diego, Denver, Portland, Seattle and New York City.  On Saturday, July 22 in Los Angeles , he’ll headline the GIANT VILLAGE Summer In The City street festival.

 
Meanwhile, the video for “Faster Kill Pussycat” is presently the #6 Most Played Video on Y Music (Yahoo!) and the album has been garnering heavy attention in the press:
 

“… Brittany Murphy, who is surprisingly good on the Madonna-ish ‘Faster Kill Pussycat.’  Elsewhere, the Grandmaster Flash-abetted ‘Set If Off’ and the pounding dance floor filler ‘Sex ‘N Money,’ featuring studio wizard Pharrell Williams, further illustrate Oakenfold’s sonic skills …”

 
"… moments of pure bliss (the New Order-hued "No Compromise" featuring Spitfire)…”

 
"…the world's most internationally recognized DJ-remixer-producer…an absolute road warrior…."

 
“After 12 tracks of electronic bliss, it becomes obvious Oakenfold certainly has earned his icon status …"

 
“’Set It Off,’ featuring Oakey and rap legend Grandmaster Flash giving each other shout-outs, adds an old-school hip-hop flavor to a modern dance anthem with a bouncy, Apache-inspired keyboard riff; “Switch On” taps the aggressive big-beat energy of The Prodigy and the jump-up, Manchester sound of Happy Mondays; and ‘Vulnerable’’s singer Ashley (of the band Bad Apples) captures the soaring bombast of U2.”

 
"…[Brittany] Murphy makes a remarkably alluring and confident recording debut on ‘‘Faster Kill Pussycat,’’ a ridiculously addictive track with thick, pulsing bass lines and beats bouncing off the walls….one of this summer’s sauciest singles. Oakenfold starts things in overdrive and hardly lets up on the pedal. ‘‘Sex ’N’ Money’’ is a floor pounder that’s bound to blow eardrums. It features Pharrell Williams, who does just enough to goose the track along. Oakenfold is a club auteur, and though he uses guests vocalists to define his vision, they are never gratuitous cameos, so the focus is on the hyperkinetic beats and insinuations of sex and salvation through rhythm. Oakenfold layers the sumptuous sonics here and isn’t interested in bludgeoning listeners. ‘‘Vulnerable’’ is just that — a big, sweeping slice of melodrama. It adds an odd choice, Ashley Bottoroff of the Bad Apples, to the mix and makes for a nice change of pace. ‘‘The Way I Feel’’ is a trip to Club Emo, with its peek into a tortured psyche from vocalist Ryan Tedder. But Oakenfold really lets loose on ‘‘Set It Off,’’ which supplies somersaulting beats for a laconic Grandmaster Flash to soar over. ‘‘Praise the Lord’’ is an ironic bow to the altar of the almighty dollar ."

 

“…well worth the wait. Pharrell and Grandmaster Flash both appear. Plus 8 Mile-r Brittany Murphy, incredulously. On "Faster Kill Pussycat," no less. This is the producer's second LP. Emphasis on the unquenchable, club-ready beats.”

 
OAKENFOLD’s tour dates in support of A Lively Mind are as follows:

 

Date                            City                                         Venue

 

Fri        7/7                   Scottsdale , AZ                          Myst

Sat       7/8                   Las Vegas , NV                         Empire Ballroom

Mon     7/10                 San Diego , CA                          Stingaree

Tue      7/11                 Denver , CO                              Vinyl

Wed    7/12                 Salt Lake City , UT                      In the Venue

Fri        7/14                 Sacramento , CA                      The Rage

Sat       7/15                 Portland , OR                           Crystal Ballroom

Sun      7/16                 Seattle, WA                              Club 131

Mon     7/17                 Vancouver , BC                         Atlantis

Wed    7/19                 Stateline , NV                            Montbleu Resort

Fri        7/21                 San Francisco , CA                   The Fillmore

Sat       7/22                 Los Angeles , CA                      Giant Village (downtown Los Angeles )

Wed    7/26                 New York , NY                           Bed-ny

www.pauloakenfold.com

www.myspace.com/pauloakenfold

For more information on OAKENFOLD and A Lively Mind, contact:

MSO 818-380-0400

National           
Alexandra Greenberg x223, agreenberg@msopr.com
Mitch Schneider x235, mschneider@msopr.com

Regional          
Brandis Claire Dezon x241, bdezon@msopr.com