Oakenfold is embarking on this 17-day Central and South American
tour to preview new tracks from his long-awaited sophomore effort,
A Lively Mind, out next month on Madonna's Maverick Records.
Like
Bunkka, best known for its radio hit "Starry-Eyed
Surprise" (recently immortalized in a widely popular Diet Coke
commercial),
A Lively Mind is full of guest vocalists, including actress
Brittany Murphy, hip-hop legend Grandmaster Flash, and producer
extraordinaire Pharrell Williams.
"This record is a lot more melodic than the last record, still
incorporating cutting-edge rhythms, but not so down-tempo," says
Oakenfold of his latest effort, a project four years in the making.
"It's taken me a long time to do. It always does. I always start
off really quick and then I tend to leave the record - I don't go
into the studio traditionally like other artists and spend three or
four months on a record. I'll spend a month on it, then stop and go
score a movie, and then come back to it. And I travel, so it's
naturally going to take me longer."
Once we land in San
Salvador, we're whisked off by the promoters of
the gig, set for that evening at the Amphitheatre Feria
Internacional. It's Oakenfold's first time in
El Salvador, and he
wastes no time quizzing our hosts on how to best make his visit
worthwhile. "What is the local drink?" he asks. "What is the local
food?" Pilsener beer and
pupusas (handmade tortillas stuffed
with everything from cheese to pork rinds to chicken), we're told.
We check into the Real InterContinental Hotel around nine a.m. and
go straight to bed. For the most part, it will be the only sleep we
get over the next three days. We wake up at four p.m. and hit the
hotel bar for piña coladas and a game of pool. The drinks are
excellent, and we ponder a second round, but Oakenfold holds off
due to the high fat content in the coconut cream. Though he lives a
hard lifestyle, he does his best to stay fit.