Carl Cox

Early and personal life

Cox spent his early life in Carshalton, south London, and moved to Brighton in his late teens.

, he is living in Hove but also spends time in Melbourne, where he owns a house in Frankston. At the start of the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020, Cox opted to return to his home in Frankston rather than Hove.

Music career

1977–1990s

At age 15, Cox began working as a mobile DJ, finding a passion for disco music. He began his music career around the same time that Chicago house music found its forefront in the world of dance music.

In the 1980s, Cox became a mainstage DJ in the electronica industry. He eventually became known as one of the founders of that sound and was part of the emerging British rave scene, and became renowned for the uncommon practice of three-deck mixing. He played at the first night of Danny Rampling's Shoom night after his return from Ibiza in the summer of 1987, a Balearic / Acid House night in London.

In the early 1990s, he released his debut single for Paul Oakenfold's Perfecto label, "I Want You (Forever)". Cox continued to create music, eventually embracing techno music that would soon become popular.

Mixmag described him as "absolutely smashing three decks to bits" during a set in 1995. He ran Ultimate Base at the now defunct Velvet Underground club on Charing Cross Road, London, in the mid- to late 1990s. In 1997, Cox was chosen as DJ Magazine's number one DJ in its top 100 poll. He was global resident DJ for BBC Radio 1's Essential Mix in 1998–99. Cox also played the Millennium on New Year's Eve 1999, by performing in Sydney, Australia, and again in Hawaii after flying back over the International Date Line.

21st century

He broadcast over a decade's worth of Ibiza live mixes from Space, specifically from 2001 to 2016.

In 2001, Cox began a yearly residency at Space Ibiza, a nightclub in Ibiza, Spain. He began playing on the terrace for Space's "We Love... Space on the Terrace". Following that, he played on Thursdays inside the club. For fifteen years, Cox built his residency entitled "Music is Revolution". The final season of Cox's residency was entitled "The Final Chapter" and took place every Tuesday during the summer of 2016. Cox finished the residency on 20 September 2016 by playing a vinyl and CDJ, ten-hour set. Artists who joined Cox on his final night included tINI, Popof, Nic Fanciulli and DJ Sneak. Cox also played at the closing night of the club itself on 2 October 2016.

In 2004, Cox debuted the Carl Cox & Friends arena at Ultra Music Festival, which has since taken place for twelve years. In the film Can U Feel It?, a documentary about Ultra Music Festival, Cox explains that the concept of Carl Cox & Friends came about as a result of not only wanting to play longer sets at festivals, but also to give festival goers an experience within the festival, as Carl has far more creative control over his own stage. The stage is popular with festival goers, and has featured artists like Laurent Garnier, Nic Fanciulli, Loco Dice, Marco Carola, Maceo Plex and many more. Since he created the Carl Cox & Friends concept in 2004, this curated stage has taken place at other festivals and events including Awakenings, EDC Las Vegas, The BPM Festival, Ultra Europe, Tomorrowland, Amsterdam Dance Event and many others.Multiple references:

Cox has performed at clubs such as the Eclipse, Shelley's Laserdome, Sterns Nightclub, Heaven, Sir Henry's, Angels and The Haçienda, as well as raves for Fantazia, Dreamscape, NASA and Amnesia House.Multiple references:

After his residency at Space Ibiza, in 2017 Cox played three showcases at The BPM Festival, his stage at Ultra Music Festival, and at the Social Festival in Mexico and Colombia.Multiple references:

• Also in 2017, Cox was named the global ambassador of Ultra Music Festival's techno and house music concept, Resistance. He curated Pure Festival in Sydney and Melbourne, Australia, in April 2017.

After sixteen years of Cox's Global radio podcast, he announced via Facebook that he would no longer be working on the show and that it would end in February 2017.

In 2019, Cox travelled to Australia and worked with Gavin Campbell, producing a remix of Yothu Yindi's song "Treaty", performing live outdoors with Yothu Yindi & The Treaty Project at the Babylon Festival, Carapooee, Victoria, in February 2019. For 2020, he announced via the Goodwood website that he would be playing a summer festival DJ set at the first of the Three Friday nights at Goodwood Racecourse with a special dedication to the Lloyds before their departure.

Intec

Cox formed his own record label, Intec Records in 1998–99. Intec Records released music from 1999 to 2006. However, in 2006 he decided to put the label on a brief hiatus and relaunched it in 2010 as Intec Digital.

Awesome Soundwave

In 2018, Cox teamed up with live artist Christopher Coe to form a new record label solely focused on live electronic artists. Awesome Soundwave is Cox's second label, after techno label Intec. The label debut featured Christopher Coe's 'MNTNs of SLNC' album. In 2019, the label made its debut at Amsterdam Dance Event with Awakenings Festival, and returned in 2022 for a daytime event at Ziggo Dome, Amsterdam. The label held a residency at DC-10 Ibiza in July–August 2022. In 2023, the label has an extensive roster of live and improvised artists, such as Marc Romboy, Hannes Bieger, Robert Babicz, An On Bast, Saytek and Australia's Honeysmack.

In film

In 1999, Cox had a cameo in the British film Human Traffic as Pablo Hassan, the manager of the Asylum club.

Cox starred in a 2017 EDM-themed documentary titled What We Started with Martin Garrix showing thirty years of EDM history by focusing mainly on his and Martin Garrix's diverging careers. The documentary is co-written, produced and directed by Bert Marcus alongside executive producer and music supervisor Pete Tong.

Carl Cox Motorsport

Cox set up Carl Cox Motorsport in New Zealand in 2013.

Motorcycle racing

Carl Cox Motorsport has become established within the world of motorcycle and sidecar racing, particularly concerning the Isle of Man TT Races where the team has enjoyed numerous success. Prominent racers associated with the team include all-time TT Race record holder Michael Dunlop. In addition the team also supports sidecar crews Tracey Bryan and Jo Mickleson and Barry Smith and Stu Dawe, who competed in the NZ Suzuki Series F2 and F1 Championship, campaigning a F2 LCR 600 and an F1 LCR 1000 respectively.

Extreme E (2023) / Extreme H (2025–)

SWE Klara Andersson USA Lia Block

In January 2023, Carl Cox Motorsport has been confirmed as a new entrant in the electric off-road racing series Extreme E for the 2023 season with Christine GZ and Timo Scheider signed as drivers for the team. The team won its first podium by finishing third in Round 3. In Round 4, the team withdrew from the race after the car was damaged during qualifying. In July, Lia Block, the daughter of the late Ken Block, replaced Christine GZ at Round 5 for the rest of the season. The team finished in ninth place in the Teams' Championship in their debut season.

Prior to the 2024 season, Carl Cox Motorsport announced they will take a sabbatical to concentrate on entering Extreme H, a series similar to Extreme E but uses hydrogen-powered cars instead, in 2025. In September 2025, Carl Cox Motorsport officially entered the FIA Extreme H World Cup with Timo Scheider, who doubles as the team principal, and Klara Andersson.

Racing overview

Racing summary

Complete Extreme E results

(Races in bold indicate best qualifiers; races in italics indicate fastest super sector)

Discography

Main article: Carl Cox discography

;Studio albums

• At the End of the Cliche (1996)
• Phuture 2000 (1999)
• Second Sign (2005)
• All Roads Lead to the Dancefloor (2011)
• Electronic Generations (2022)

Awards and nominations

Main article: List of awards and nominations received by Carl Cox

Publications

• Oh Yes, Oh Yes!. London: White Rabbit, 2021. .

References

References

1. "Carl Andrew COX personal appointments - Find and update company information - GOV.UK".
2. (14 November 2007). "DJ speaks of his horror at club carnage".
3. (16 July 2025). "Carl Cox Motorsport Merchandise".
4. "Carl Cox – Artists".
5. (2017-02-24). "Carl Cox Global Radio 722 (The Final Episode)".
6. (2018-01-18). "Carl Cox launches brand new label".
7. (19 August 2021). "DJ Carl Cox: 'When I tell people my story, they don't believe it'".
8. Kanoniuk, Lachlan. (2012-06-14). "Carl Cox".
9. "The Art of DJing: Carl Cox · Feature ⟋ RA".
10. "Carl Cox Plots Electronic/Dance Music's Evolution".
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12. (November 2007). "Poll 2007: Carl Cox".
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14. "Watch Carl Cox spin a three-deck mix from 1995".
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16. "Mixmag Live with Carl Cox".
17. (2012-06-13). "Big earners: The 30 Richest DJs in the World".
18. (1 October 2015). "Take a trip with 11 rave clips".
19. (2016-02-02). "Carl Cox is going to play a house set at the House of Commons".
20. (2013-10-31). "You won't believe who's on the 1993 DJ Mag Top 100".
21. "The 12 Most Essential "Essential Mixes" of the 90s and Early 00s".
22. (27 April 2012). "Carl Cox Q&A". The Guardian.
23. (2015-10-27). "Carl Cox gives his reasons for leaving Space Ibiza". inthemix.
24. "Carl Cox is ending his 15-year Space Ibiza residency". Mixmag.
25. "Carl Cox will spin vinyl for the first time in 10 years for last residency party". Mixmag.
26. (2015-11-12). "Carl Cox' Music Is Revolution: The Final Chapter Early Bird Tickets On-Sale 27 November".
27. "Carl Cox to play vinyl for first time since 2006 at Music Is Revolution closing in Ibiza".
28. "Carl Cox, Tale of Us confirmed for final Space Ibiza closing party".
29. (3 April 2015). "Carl Cox on Working With Nile Rodgers & Ultra's Evolution: 'I'm Into What Happens Next'".
30. "Carl Cox & Friends returns to Ultra Music Festival in Miami for 11th year".
31. Duran, Jose D.. (2013-03-15). "Carl Cox on the Rise of Ultra Music Festival: "There's No Other Event of Its Kind"".
32. Lamb, Camille. (2011-03-26). "Carl Cox and Friends at Ultra Music Festival 2011 Day One, March 25".
33. (2014-03-03). "Carl Cox Celebrates 10 Years of his legendary Carl Cox & Friends Arena at Ultra Music Festival in Miami March 28/29".
34. (2016-12-02). "Ultra Music Festival Confirms Thirty-One Acts in Biggest Resistance Phase 1 Lineup To Date · Resistance". Resistance.
35. "Carl Cox announces lineup for Pure festivals in Australia".
36. "Carl Cox - Thanks to Gavin, John, Zak and all ...".
37. "One million tune into Carl Cox Global radio show".
38. "Radio - Carl Cox".
39. Middleton, Ryan. (13 March 2019). "Premiere: Filthy Lucre Revive 1991 Classic 'Treaty' With New Remix".
40. {{YouTube. BAMIzUKJFS0. Treaty (Carl Cox Remix) (14 March 2019)
41. "Treaty (Filthy Lucre 1991 Remix [Remastered]) by Gavin Campbell, Yothu Yindi on Beatport".
42. {{YouTube. jExeMKeHrLU. 'Treaty' (Carl Cox remix). Carl Cox live at Babylon Festival, Carapooee, Australia. Feb 2019. (1 March 2019)
43. "Carl Cox DJ Set, Goodwood Racecourse Horse Racing and Dance Music".
44. (25 February 2016). "Carl Cox Celebrates 100th Label Release With New 'Intec 100' EP: Exclusive".
45. (2016-02-10). "Feature Review : Intec reign supreme with this phenomenal album - Decoded Magazine".
46. (10 December 2015). "Imprints: Intec Digital".
47. Bein, Kat. (2018-01-18). "Carl Cox Launches Awesome Soundwave Label With Live Electronic Focus".
48. "Carl Cox launches new label for live electronic artists".
49. (2022-07-18). "Carl Cox and Christopher Coe: creating Awesome Soundwave [Magazine Exclusive] - We Rave You".
50. "Artists".
51. Baltin, Steve. (27 October 2016). "New Doc 'What We Started' Sees Dance Music Through the Eyes of Carl Cox & Martin Garrix". Billboard.
52. (28 October 2016). "MARTIN GARRIX & CARL COX TO STAR IN EDM-FOCUSED DOCUMENTARY, WHAT WE STARTED".
53. Jow, Sydney. (27 October 2016). "Carl Cox tells his legacy in new documentary 'What We Started'". Mixmag.
54. "The Carl Cox Motorsport story".
55. "Carl Cox Motorsport Racers — Carl Cox Motorsport".
56. (2023-01-11). "Superstar DJ Carl Cox confirms Extreme E team".
57. (2023-03-02). "Carl Cox Motorsport Extreme E: Introducing Timo & Christine - our Dream Team!".
58. Wilde, Dominik. (2023-05-14). "Veloce Racing's Hansen and Taylor take second Hydro X Prix win".
59. Beaver, Dan. (2023-07-04). "Lia Block joins Carl Cox Motorsport for Extreme E in the Island X Prix".
60. Wilde, Dominik. (9 February 2024). "Carl Cox to take Extreme E sabbatical ahead of hydrogen switch".
61. (24 September 2025). "Carl Cox Motorsport returns for FIA Extreme H World Cup with Scheider and Andersson".
62. Wilde, Dominik. (24 September 2025). "Carl Cox Motorsport to return for Extreme E/Extreme H events in Saudi Arabia".
63. "Carl Cox: 'I saw people shot on the dancefloor' — the DJ on his highs and lows".