Fluorescent minerals emit visible light when exposed to ultraviolet light

Fluorescence is the emission of light by a substance that has absorbed light or other electromagnetic radiation. It is a form of luminescence. In most cases, emitted light has a longer wavelength, and therefore lower energy, than the absorbed radiation. However, when the absorbed electromagnetic radiation is intense, it is possible for one electron to absorb two photons; this two-photon absorption can lead to emission of radiation having a shorter wavelength than the absorbed radiation. The emitted radiation may also be of the same wavelength as the absorbed radiation, termed "resonance fluorescence".^[1]

The most striking examples of fluorescence occur when the absorbed radiation is in the ultraviolet region of the spectrum, and thus invisible to the human eye, and the emitted light is in the visible region.

Fluorescence has many practical applications, including mineralogy, gemology, chemical sensors (fluorescence spectroscopy), fluorescent labelling, dyes, biological detectors, and, most commonly, fluorescent lamps.

History[link]

An early observation of fluorescence was described by Nicolás Monardes in 1565 in the infusion of a certain type of wood (Lignum nephriticum).^[2] The chemical compound responsible for this fluorescence is matlanine, which is the oxidation product of one of the flavonoids found in this wood.^[3] In 1819 Edward D. Clarke and in 1822 René Juste Haüy described fluorescence in fluorites, Sir David Brewster described the phenomenon for chlorophyll in 1833 and Sir John Herschel did the same for quinine in 1845.

In his 1852 paper on the "Refrangibility" (wavelength change) of light, George Gabriel Stokes described the ability of fluorspar and uranium glass to change invisible light beyond the violet end of the visible spectrum into blue light. He named this phenomenon fluorescence.^[4] He chose the name "to denote the general appearance of a solution of sulphate of quinine and similar media".^[5] The name was derived from the mineral fluorite (calcium difluoride), some examples of which contain traces of divalent europium, which serves as the fluorescent activator to emit blue light. In a key experiment he used a prism to isolate ultraviolet radiation from sunlight and observed blue light emitted by an ethanol solution of quinine exposed by it.

Physical Principles[link]

Photochemistry[link]

Fluorescence occurs when an orbital electron of a molecule, atom or nanostructure relaxes to its ground state by emitting a photon of light after being excited to a higher quantum state by some type of energy:

Excitation: Failed to parse (Missing texvc executable; please see math/README to configure.): S_0 + h \nu_{ex} \to S_1

Fluorescence (emission): Failed to parse (Missing texvc executable; please see math/README to configure.): S_1 \to S_0 + h \nu_{em} + heat

here Failed to parse (Missing texvc executable; please see math/README to configure.): h\nu

is a generic term for photon energy with h = Planck's constant and Failed to parse (Missing texvc executable; please see math/README to configure.): \nu
= frequency of light. (The specific frequencies of exciting and emitted light are dependent on the particular system.)

State S₀ is called the ground state of the fluorophore (fluorescent molecule) and S₁ is its first (electronically) excited state.

A molecule, S₁, can relax by various competing pathways. It can undergo 'non-radiative relaxation' in which the excitation energy is dissipated as heat (vibrations) to the solvent. Excited organic molecules can also relax via conversion to a triplet state, which may subsequently relax via phosphorescence or by a secondary non-radiative relaxation step.

Relaxation of an S₁ state can also occur through interaction with a second molecule through fluorescence quenching. Molecular oxygen (O₂) is an extremely efficient quencher of fluorescence just because of its unusual triplet ground state.

Molecules that are excited through light absorption or via a different process (e.g. as the product of a reaction) can transfer energy to a second 'sensitized' molecule, which is converted to its excited state and can then fluoresce. This process is used in lightsticks to produce different colors.

Quantum yield[link]

The fluorescence quantum yield gives the efficiency of the fluorescence process. It is defined as the ratio of the number of photons emitted to the number of photons absorbed.^[6][7]

Failed to parse (Missing texvc executable; please see math/README to configure.): \Phi = \frac {\textrm{Number\ of\ photons\ emitted}} {\textrm{Number\ of\ photons\ absorbed}}

The maximum fluorescence quantum yield is 1.0 (100%); every photon absorbed results in a photon emitted. Compounds with quantum yields of 0.10 are still considered quite fluorescent. Another way to define the quantum yield of fluorescence, is by the rate of excited state decay:

Failed to parse (Missing texvc executable; please see math/README to configure.): \Phi = \frac{ { k}_{ f} }{ \sum_{i}{ k}_{i } }

where Failed to parse (Missing texvc executable; please see math/README to configure.): { k}_{ f}

is the rate of spontaneous emission of radiation and 

Failed to parse (Missing texvc executable; please see math/README to configure.): \sum_{i}{ k}_{i }

is the sum of all rates of excited state decay. Other rates of excited state decay are caused by mechanisms other than photon emission and are, therefore, often called "non-radiative rates", which can include: dynamic collisional quenching, near-field dipole-dipole interaction (or resonance energy transfer), internal conversion, and intersystem crossing. Thus, if the rate of any pathway changes, both the excited state lifetime and the fluorescence quantum yield will be affected.

Fluorescence quantum yields are measured by comparison to a standard. The quinine salt quinine sulfate in a sulfuric acid solution is a common fluorescence standard.

Lifetime[link]

Jablonski diagram. After an electron absorbs a high energy photon the system is excited electronically and vibrationally. The system relaxes vibrationally, and eventually fluoresces at a longer wavelength.

The fluorescence lifetime refers to the average time the molecule stays in its excited state before emitting a photon. Fluorescence typically follows first-order kinetics:

Failed to parse (Missing texvc executable; please see math/README to configure.): \left[S 1 \right] = \left[S 1 \right]_0 e^{-\Gamma t}

where Failed to parse (Missing texvc executable; please see math/README to configure.): \left[S 1 \right]

is the concentration of excited state molecules at time Failed to parse (Missing texvc executable; please see math/README to configure.): t

, Failed to parse (Missing texvc executable; please see math/README to configure.): \left[S 1 \right]_0

is the initial concentration and Failed to parse (Missing texvc executable; please see math/README to configure.): \Gamma
 is the decay rate or the inverse of the fluorescence lifetime. This is an instance of exponential decay. Various radiative and non-radiative processes can de-populate the excited state. In such case the total decay rate is the sum over all rates:

Failed to parse (Missing texvc executable; please see math/README to configure.): \Gamma_{tot}=\Gamma_{rad} + \Gamma_{nrad}

where Failed to parse (Missing texvc executable; please see math/README to configure.): \Gamma_{tot}

is the total decay rate, Failed to parse (Missing texvc executable; please see math/README to configure.): \Gamma_{rad}
the radiative decay rate and Failed to parse (Missing texvc executable; please see math/README to configure.): \Gamma_{nrad}
the non-radiative decay rate. It is similar to a first-order chemical reaction in which the first-order rate constant is the sum of all of the rates (a parallel kinetic model). If the rate of spontaneous emission, or any of the other rates are fast, the lifetime is short. For commonly used fluorescent compounds, typical excited state decay times for photon emissions with energies from the UV to near infrared are within the range of 0.5 to 20 nanoseconds. The fluorescence lifetime is an important parameter for practical applications of fluorescence such as fluorescence resonance energy transfer and Fluorescence-lifetime imaging microscopy.

Jablonski diagram[link]

The Jablonski diagram describes most of the relaxation mechanisms for excited state molecules.

Fluorescence anisotropy[link]

Fluorophores are more likely to be excited by photons if the transition moment of the fluorophore is parallel to the electric vector of the photon.^[8] The polarization of the emitted light will also depend on the transition moment. The transition moment is dependent on the physical orientation of the fluorophore molecule. For fluorophores in solution this means that the intensity and polarization of the emitted light is dependent on rotational diffusion. Therefore, anisotropy measurements can be used to investigate how freely a fluorescent molecule moves in a particular environment.

Fluorescence anisotropy can defined quantitatively as

Failed to parse (Missing texvc executable; please see math/README to configure.): r = {I_\parallel - I_\perp \over I_\parallel + 2I_\perp}

where Failed to parse (Missing texvc executable; please see math/README to configure.): I_\parallel

is the emitted intensity parallel to polarization of the excitation light and Failed to parse (Missing texvc executable; please see math/README to configure.): I_\perp
is the emitted intensity perpendicular to the polarization of the excitation light.[9]

Rules[link]

There are several general rules that deal with fluorescence. Each of the following rules has exceptions but they are useful guidelines for understanding fluorescence. (These rules do no neccessarily apply to Two-photon absorption.)

Kasha-Vavilov rule[link]

The Kasha–Vavilov rule dictates that the quantum yield of luminescence is independent of the wavelength of exciting radiation.^[10] This occurs because excited molecules usually decay to the lowest vibrational level of the excited state before fluorescence emission takes place. The Kasha-Vavilov rule does not always apply and is violated severely in many simple molecules. A somewhat more reliable statement, although still with exceptions, would be that the fluorescence spectrum shows very little dependence on the wavelength of exciting radiation. 

Mirror image rule[link]

For many fluorophores the absorption spectra is a mirror image of the emission spectra.^[11] This is known as the mirror image rule and is related to the Franck–Condon principle which states that electronic transitions are vertical, that is energy changes without distance changing as can be represented with a vertical line in Jablonski diagram. This means the nucleus does not move and the vibration levels of the excited state to resemble the vibration levels of the ground state.

Stokes shift[link]

In general, emitted fluorescent light has a longer wavelength and lower energy than the absorbed light.^[12] This phenomenon, known as Stokes shift, is due to energy loss between the time a photon is absorbed and when it is emitted. The causes and magnitude of Stokes shift can be complex and are dependent on the fluorophore and its environment. However, there are some common causes. It is frequently due to non-radiative decay to the lowest vibrational energy level of the excited state. Another factor is that the emission of fluorescence frequently leaves a fluorophore in the highest vibrational level of the ground state.

Fluorescence in nature[link]

There are many natural compounds that exhibit fluorescence, and they have a number of applications. Some deep-sea animals, such as the greeneye, use fluorescence.

Gemology, mineralogy, and geology[link]

Gemstones, minerals, may have a distinctive fluorescence or may fluoresce differently under short-wave ultraviolet, long-wave ultraviolet, or X-rays.

Many types of calcite and amber will fluoresce under shortwave UV. Rubies, emeralds, and the Hope Diamond exhibit red fluorescence under short-wave UV light; diamonds also emit light under X ray radiation.

Fluorescence in minerals is caused by a wide range of activators. In some cases, the concentration of the activator must be restricted to below a certain level, to prevent quenching of the fluorescent emission. Furthermore, certain impurities such as iron or copper need to be absent, to prevent quenching of possible fluorescence. Divalent manganese, in concentrations of up to several percent, is responsible for the red or orange fluorescence of calcite, the green fluorescence of willemite, the yellow fluorescence of esperite, and the orange fluorescence of wollastonite and clinohedrite. Hexavalent uranium, in the form of the uranyl cation, fluoresces at all concentrations in a yellow green, and is the cause of fluorescence of minerals such as autunite or andersonite, and, at low concentration, is the cause of the fluorescence of such materials as some samples of hyalite opal. Trivalent chromium at low concentration is the source of the red fluorescence of ruby. Divalent europium is the source of the blue fluorescence, when seen in the mineral fluorite. Trivalent lanthanides such as terbium and dysprosium are the principal activators of the creamy yellow fluorescence exhibited by the yttrofluorite variety of the mineral fluorite, and contribute to the orange fluorescence of zircon. Powellite (calcium molybdate) and scheelite (calcium tungstate) fluoresce intrinsically in yellow and blue, respectively. When present together in solid solution, energy is transferred from the higher-energy tungsten to the lower-energy molybdenum, such that fairly low levels of molybdenum are sufficient to cause a yellow emission for scheelite, instead of blue. Low-iron sphalerite (zinc sulfide), fluoresces and phosphoresces in a range of colors, influenced by the presence of various trace impurities.

Crude oil (petroleum) fluoresces in a range of colors, from dull-brown for heavy oils and tars through to bright-yellowish and bluish-white for very light oils and condensates. This phenomenon is used in oil exploration drilling to identify very small amounts of oil in drill cuttings and core samples.

Organic liquids[link]

Organic solutions such anthracene or stilbene, dissolved in benzene or toluene, fluoresce with ultraviolet or gamma ray irradiation. The decay times of this fluorescence are of the order of nanoseconds, since the duration of the light depends on the lifetime of the excited states of the fluorescent material, in this case anthracene or stilbene.^{[citation needed]}

Common materials that fluoresce[link]

• Vitamin B2 fluoresces yellow.
• Tonic water fluoresces blue due to the presence of quinine.

Applications of fluorescence[link]

Lighting[link]

Fluorescent paint and plastic lit by UV tubes. Paintings by Beo Beyond

The common fluorescent lamp relies on fluorescence. Inside the glass tube is a partial vacuum and a small amount of mercury. An electric discharge in the tube causes the mercury atoms to emit ultraviolet light. The tube is lined with a coating of a fluorescent material, called the phosphor, which absorbs the ultraviolet and re-emits visible light. Fluorescent lighting is more energy-efficient than incandescent lighting elements. However, the uneven spectrum of traditional fluorescent lamps may cause certain colors to appear different than when illuminated by incandescent light or daylight. The mercury vapor emission spectrum is dominated by a short-wave UV line at 254 nm (which provides most of the energy to the phosphors), accompanied by visible light emission at 436 nm (blue), 546 nm (green) and 579 nm (yellow-orange). These three lines can be observed superimposed on the white continuum using a hand spectroscope, for light emitted by the usual white fluorescent tubes. These same visible lines, accompanied by the emission lines of trivalent europium and trivalent terbium, and further accompanied by the emission continuum of divalent europium in the blue region, comprise the more discontinuous light emission of the modern trichromatic phosphor systems used in many compact fluorescent lamp and traditional lamps where better color rendition is a goal.^[13]

Fluorescent lights were first available to the public at the 1939 New York World's Fair. Improvements since then have largely been better phosphors, longer life, and more consistent internal discharge, and easier-to-use shapes (such as compact fluorescent lamps). Some high-intensity discharge (HID) lamps couple their even-greater electrical efficiency with phosphor enhancement for better color rendition.^{[citation needed]}

White light-emitting diodes (LEDs) became available in the mid-1990s as LED lamps, in which blue light emitted from the semiconductor strikes phosphors deposited on the tiny chip. The combination of the blue light that continues through the phosphor and the green to red fluorescence from the phosphors produces a net emission of white light.^{[citation needed]}

Glow sticks sometimes utilize fluorescent materials to absorb light from the chemiluminescent reaction and emit light of a different color.^[13]

Analytical chemistry[link]

Many analytical procedures involve the use of a fluorometer, usually with a single exciting wavelength and single detection wavelength. Because of the sensitivity that the method affords, fluorescent molecule concentrations as low as 1 part per trillion can be measured.^{[citation needed]}

Fluorescence in several wavelengths can be detected by an array detector, to detect compounds from HPLC flow. Also, TLC plates can be visualized if the compounds or a coloring reagent is fluorescent. Fluorescence is most effective when there is a larger ratio of atoms at lower energy levels in a Boltzmann distribution. There is, then, a higher probability of excitement and release of photons by lower-energy atoms, making analysis more efficient.

Spectroscopy[link]

Usually the setup of a Fluorescence assay involves a Light source, which may emit an array different wavelengths of light. In general, a single wavelength is required for proper analysis, so, in order to selectively filter the light, it is passed through an excitation monochromator, and then that chosen wavelength is passed through the sample cell. After absorption and re-emission of the energy, many wavelengths may emerge due to Stokes shift and various electron transitions. To separate and analyze them, the fluorescent radiation is passed through an Emission monochromator, and observed selectively by a detector.^[14]

Biochemistry and medicine[link]

Endothelial cells under the microscope with three separate channels marking specific cellular components

Fluorescence in the life sciences is used generally as a non-destructive way of tracking or analysis of biological molecules by means of the fluorescent emission at a specific frequency where there is no background from the excitation light, as relatively few cellular components are naturally fluorescent (called intrinsic or autofluorescence). In fact, a protein or other component can be "labelled" with an extrinsic fluorophore, a fluorescent dye that can be a small molecule, protein, or quantum dot, finding a large use in many biological applications.^[15]

The quantification of a dye is done with a spectrofluorometer and finds additional applications in:

Microscopy[link]

• When scanning the fluorescent intensity across a plane one has fluorescence microscopy of tissues, cells, or subcellular structures, which is accomplished by labeling an antibody with a fluorophore and allowing the antibody to find its target antigen within the sample. Labelling multiple antibodies with different fluorophores allows visualization of multiple targets within a single image (multiple channels). DNA microarrays are a variant of this.
• Immunology: An antibody is first prepared by having a fluorescent chemical group attached, and the sites (e.g., on a microscopic specimen) where the antibody has bound can be seen, and even quantified, by the fluorescence.
• FLIM (Fluorescence Lifetime Imaging Microscopy) can be used to detect certain bio-molecular interactions that manifest themselves by influencing fluorescence lifetimes.
• Cell and molecular biology: detection of colocalization using fluorescence-labelled antibodies for selective detection of the antigens of interest using specialized software, such as CoLocalizer Pro.

Other techniques[link]

• FRET Fluorescence resonance energy transfer is used to study protein interactions, detect specific nucleic acid sequences and used as biosensors, while fluorescence lifetime (FLIM) can give an additional layer of information.
• Biotechnology: biosensors using fluorescence are being studied as possible Fluorescent glucose biosensors.
• Automated sequencing of DNA by the chain termination method; each of four different chain terminating bases has its own specific fluorescent tag. As the labelled DNA molecules are separated, the fluorescent label is excited by a UV source, and the identity of the base terminating the molecule is identified by the wavelength of the emitted light.
• FACS (fluorescence-activated cell sorting). One of several important cell sorting techniques used in the separation of different cell lines (especially those isolated from animal tissues).
• DNA detection: the compound ethidium bromide, in aqueous solution, has very little fluorescence, as it is quenched by water. Ethidium bromide's fluorescence is greatly enhanced after it binds to DNA, so this compound is very useful in visualising the location of DNA fragments in agarose gel electrophoresis. Intercalated ethidium is in a hydrophobic environment when it is between the base pairs of the DNA, protected from quenching by water which is excluded from the local environment of the intercalated ethidium. Ethidium bromide may be carcinogenic – an arguably safer alternative is the dye SYBR Green.

Forensics[link]

Fingerprints can be visualized with fluorescent compounds such as ninhydrin. Blood and other substances are sometimes detected by fluorescent reagents, like fluorescein. Fibers, and other materials that may be encountered in forensics or with a relationship to various collectibles, are sometimes fluorescent.

See also[link]

References[link]

External links[link]

• Fluorophores.org, the database of fluorescent dyes
• FSU.edu, Basic Concepts in Fluorescence
• "A nano-history of fluorescence" lecture by David Jameson
• Excitation and emission spectra of various fluorescent dyes
• Database of fluorescent minerals with pictures, activators and spectra (fluomin.org)

This article's tone or style may not reflect the encyclopedic tone used on Wikipedia. Specific concerns may be found on the talk page. See Wikipedia's guide to writing better articles for suggestions. (April 2012)

Paul Oakenfold
Oakenfold at the Future Music Festival 2009
Background information
Birth name	Paul Mark Oakenfold
Also known as	Electra
Born	(1963-08-30) 30 August 1963 (age 48) London, England
Origin	London, England
Genres	Electronic, Trance, Goa Trance, Electronic Dance, Film Score
Occupations	Disc jockey, remixer, actor, record producer, chef[1]
Instruments	Synthesizer, turntables
Years active	1980–present
Labels	Maverick/Perfecto
Associated acts	Aliases: Bunker, Electra, Elementfour, Perfecto/Perfecto Records, Perfecto Allstarz, Planet Perfecto, Rise, Virus, Wild Colour Acts: Brittany Murphy, Madonna, Grace, Mylène Farmer, Movement 98, Shifty Shellshock
Website	www.pauloakenfold.com

Paul Mark Oakenfold (born 30 August 1963)^[2] is an English record producer and a trance DJ.

History[link]

Early career: 1979–84[link]

Paul Oakenfold was set to be a chef, after having hopes of becoming part of a band. He describes his early life as a "bedroom deejay" in a podcasted interview with Vancouver's 24 Hours, stating he grew up listening to The Beatles. Later 21-year-old Oakenfold and Ian Paul moved to 254 West 54th Street. Studio 54's Steve Rubell ran the place and only allowed popular people inside. Oakenfold and Paul used fake passes to sneak into places in New York where they met Maze, Bobby Womack and Bob Marley, whom they also interviewed, claiming to be NME and Melody Maker journalists.^[3]

Oakenfold's musical career began in the late 1970s, when he started playing soul in a Covent Garden wine bar. Here, he met Trevor Fung as well as Rumours in London where he played Earth, Wind and Fire and popular British bands.^[4] In 1984, he spent several months in New York City's West Harlem. During this time hip-hop was the most popular sound in the area (see 1984 in music). He began breaking into the mainstream as he was working as an A&R man for Champion Records. At that time, he signed DJ Jazzy Jeff and the Fresh Prince, as well as Salt-n-Pepa. Oakenfold appeared on the Blue Peter BBC programme for children with a breakdancing crew. He became a promoter and British agent for the Beastie Boys and Run-D.M.C.. Since then, he appeared at The Project in Streatham playing soul and jazz music.^[5][6]

Perfecto Records and fame: 1985–91[link]

In 1987, Oakenfold travelled to the island of Ibiza for a week to celebrate his birthday. Trevor Fung, Nicky Holloway, Ian Saint Paul, Danny Rampling and Johnny Walker accompanied him. Oakenfold convinced the owner of a venue in England to host an "Ibiza Reunion" party after-hours. He had previously made an attempt, but it failed as the crowd was not prepared for the acid house style until 1987 when the party was successful. Since then, the night became a classic and became one of the UK's major acid house nights, known as "Spectrum at Heaven in Charing Cross". Spectrum became popular in The Sanctuary. As a bigger space was required, it turned into the Heaven club, which was run by Oakenfold and Paul. The party was best known for the "Theatre of Madness", as more than 1,500 people were present on Monday nights, until it went down; with the financial issues it changed its name to the "Land of Oz". Artists like Alex Paterson DJ'd in the VIP chillout area known as the "White Room", which gave Oakenfold more free time, and then he began producing music under the alias "Electra" in 1988. Members included Nick Divaris, John "Johnny" Rocca and Micky. Also in 1988 he decided to create a place where new artists could develop their careers. At that moment, Perfecto Records was born.^[7]

He collaborated with his friend Steve Osborne^[5] on various projects. In 1990, he worked with Terry Farley, Andrew Weatherall and Osborne on two remixes for Happy Mondays. The remixes of "Rave On" and "Hallelujah" were released on the Madchester Rave On EP, as well as "Step On", a covered version adapted from John Kongos' 1971 hit "He's Gonna Step On You". The song reached the Top 5 position in the UK.^[8] He was invited as a guest DJ to Spike Island, a gig with The Stone Roses. Pleased with the last single, the Happy Mondays gave Oakenfold and Osborne the opportunity to produce their third studio album, Pills 'n' Thrills and Bellyaches.^[9] The album entered the UK charts at #1 with pre-sales of 150,000. The album was named NME's "1990 Album of The Year", and both Oakenfold and Osborne won the 1991 Brit Award for "Best Producer".^[10]

As they continued releasing only four singles as Electra, in Full Frequency Range Recordings (FFRR) founded and run by Radio 1's Pete Tong, the duo created a new alias under the name Perfecto. They remixed Massive Attack's "Safe From Harm" as well as many others.^[11] Grace was formed in the late 1990s, consisting of Oakenfold and Osborne and various singers, including jazz singer Dominique Atkins and Patti Low.

Tours and nightclubs: 1992–2000[link]

In 1992, when U2 released their song "Even Better Than the Real Thing", the Perfecto remix reached a higher charted position than the original song. In 1993 with the success of his last remix as Perfecto, he was hired by U2 to provide the warm-up sonics to their Zoo TV world tour, and replaced BP Fallon on the 1993 legs in Europe and Australia, New Zealand, and Japan, with more than fifty shows in Zooropa '93 and Zoomerang from 7 May to 10 December of the same year.

"There's no chance whatsoever. Seb Fontaine is our resident and is contracted until the end of the year. Paul will be doing some dates and playing Creamfields but that's it. I think his reason to leave (Home) had more to do with increased demands on his time in the US."

— said a spokesperson from Cream to nme.com.^[12]
"The reason he left was simply because he had so much on this summer and he felt it wouldn't have been fair to play one week and not the other."

— added an Oakenfold spokesperson.^[12]
"I disagreed with the way the club was going and it's time to move on."

— responded Paul Oakenfold.^[13]

He began producing his own tracks as well, continuing to remix songs from popular artists. He began using Goa music, something he discovered on the beaches of Goa in India, fusing it with similar sounding European tracks to create his own distinct sound. He took this to the mainstream in 1994 and created a pair of two-hour sets for BBC Radio 1's Essential Mix the first of these was broadcast in the early hours of Sunday 20 March 1994, with the second being the legendary "Goa Mix" broadcast on Sunday 18 December 1994. In 1995, he became the first DJ to play on the main stage at the Glastonbury Festival for 90,000 people, which he considers his favorite gig.^[14] His album Perfecto Fluoro became the #1 essential dance collection of Boston Beat during 1996 with Jamiroquai's Travelling Without Moving.^[5] The group Grace dissolved in 1997 as Oakenfold was touring as a performance DJ more frequently and could not commit to recording.

On 9 June 1997 Oakenfold created Global Underground 004: Paul Oakenfold, Live in Oslo (GU004) which is a double mix CD in the Global Underground series, compiled and mixed by Oakenfold; it is the first work he created for GU. The mix was recorded live at Cosmopolite Club in Oslo, Norway, as part of the official launch of the Quart Festival. It showcases Oakenfold's eclectic taste in music at the time, as the mix combines drum and bass, progressive house & progressive trance, and goa trance.^[15] In 1997, Oakenfold mixed one disc of the double album Fantazia Presents the House Collection 6, a UK house music compilation series. Oakenfold became Cream's resident DJ from 1997 – 1999. During this time, he began to concentrate on the release of Tranceport in 1998.

In 1998 and 1999, Oakenfold took the first place in "DJmag's Top 100 DJs". With the two-year contract as a resident in Liverpool's Cream, it was in 1999 that he released Resident. Two Years of Oakenfold at Cream. on Virgin.^[16] Thrive Records, the US distributor for early Global Underground releases had a different numbering scheme for the Global Underground albums, due to this Global Underground 007: Paul Oakenfold, New York (GU007) was released as (GU002) in the United States only. The compilation was released on 25 May 1998, with the US release on 19 January 1999. This was the second production from Oakenfold with GU and it contained trance, drum and bass, progressive house, progressive trance, breakbeat and Downtempo. This became his last work with GU.^[17]

In 1999, he moved to the United States where he went on tour.^[18]

In 2000, he created fourteen tracks of jazz, soul, house and goa based styles with Mitchell Oakenfold. Twenty-four FX and scratches loops and sounds were included too, each consisting of six seconds; the album cover says "Only for DJs and Producers" and was released on Music of Life. It is not considered his first studio album, as it only included useful tools for deejays.^[19]

In August and September 2000, he teamed up with Andy Gray to write and produce the theme for the UK Big Brother TV series under the name Elementfour.^[20] The single "Big Brother UK TV Theme" by Elementfour made it to #4 on the UK Singles Chart.

In September 2000 he opened the new Digital Radio station Ministry of Sound Radio with a live mix from the famous London club.^[21]

Pioneer in America: 2000–01[link]

After his success in Europe, one of Oakenfold's first major events in America was Fresno, California's Cyberfest on 22 July 2000. The 500 acre indoor and outdoor central California location had the biggest dance capacity ever in America. An estimated 80,000 dancers and music lovers from Seattle, Reno, Phoenix, Los Angeles, San Diego were welcomed that day. Cyberfest 2000, also known as the "Festival Of The Future" featured other DJs such as Chemical Brothers, BT, and Carl Cox. Cyberfest 2000 paved the way for other major events in the area such as the Electric Daisy Carnival in Los Angeles in 2010.

In 2001, Oakenfold took part in the first Area Festival tour. This tour featured Incubus, Carl Cox, The Orb, OutKast, and The Roots. He later released a new compilation album, Perfecto Presents: Ibiza.

Global Underground sold over 150,000 copies of Oakenfold's previous Global Underground: New York. A spokesperson for the label claimed that in the US, demand for UK dance music had been increasing in the past couple of years, and now made up over two-thirds of the label's sales. The Global Underground New York office opened in on Ninth Avenue in Manhattan.^[22] The Mekka Electronic Music Festival, otherwise known as the "electronic Lollapallooza" took place in ten cities in the US and Canada during August and September, including New York, Los Angeles, Toronto and San Francisco. The event featured Paul, Armand van Helden, De La Soul, LTJ Bukem, Josh Wink, Derrick Carter, Roni Size, Deep Dish, BT, Crystal Method, Carl Craig and Überzone. Oakenfold next moved to Los Angeles to work on film soundtracks and to focus his DJing stateside.^[23] In 2001 he created the soundtrack for the film Swordfish, Swordfish: The Album contained a transformation of "Planet Rock" into a seven minute breakbeat trance anthem. Most of the tracks are collaborations with Andy Gray, the remix of N.E.R.D.'s "Lapdance" which gained total notability from other tracks.^[24] The soundtrack was produced under Village Roadshow and Warner Bros. and distributed through London-Sire Records.

Oakenfold recorded a track with Crazy Town vocalist Shifty Shellshock at the end of the year for his new album. In an interview with Rolling Stone, Shellshock said that the track known as "Starry Eyed Surprise" was created after the pair met at a Crazy Town show.^[25]

Bunkka: 2002–04[link]

In 2002, Bunkka became his first official studio album when he signed to Maverick. The name Bunkka came from Peter Gabriel's studio in the UK, where the album was recorded. An extended play was released featuring live versions of four songs under Peoplesound Records.^[26] It is also Oakenfold's best selling album to date, with sales largely exceeding 1,000,000 (1 million) copies worldwide.

"I'm a big fan of Nelly Furtado and she's on the record. She's got this wonderful way about her, she's extremely talented and a great vocalist. Most of all she's good fun, she doesn't take it as seriously as some people do." "I'd always wanted to do something that represented by own musical background... I grew up on pop music, I love guitar bands and I was very influenced and involved in hip-hop during the early days, so I wanted to build from those roots upwards rather than doing a contemporary dance record."

— said Paul Oakenfold on several interviews.^[5][27]

The album features vocals from Jane's Addiction vocalist Perry Farrell on "Time of Your Life" and Shifty Shellshock of Los Angeles rock and rap band Crazy Town on "Starry Eyed Surprise"; Ice Cube on "Get Em Up"; and Tricky and Nelly Furtado on "The Harder They Come". The album contains appearances by Asher D of So Solid Crew on "Ready Steady Go", and Grant Lee Philips, founder of the 90's Los Angeles rock band Grant Lee Buffalo is also included with Carmen Rizzo's version of his song "Motion". Bunkka also provided the start to three new artists, Carla Werner on the smash single "Southern Sun", Tiff Lacey on "Hypnotized" and Emiliana Torrini on "Hold Your Hand". Hunter S. Thompson's spoken words are provided on "Nixon's Spirit".^[28] The world-renowned Pakistani musician Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan's composition was adapted in an electronic version on the tracks "Zoo York". In 2002, Q magazine named Oakenfold in their list of the "50 Bands To See Before You Die".^[29] In 2002, Oakenfold revealed he had struggled with dyslexia as a child and announced his intention to help dyslexic children.^[30][31]

In 2002, Oakenfold remixed David Arnold's "James Bond Theme", the song was released under Warner Bros. Records and was followed by the album's next two singles after "Starry Eyed Surprise", "Ready Steady Go" and "Southern Sun". "Southern Sun" with Carla Werner was first issued as a B-Side of "Ready Steady Go" until it was included on Tiësto's In Search of Sunrise 3: Panama compilation with his own remix of the song.^[32] "Southern Sun" became a smashing hit as it was then released as the A-Side of "Ready Steady Go" in mid-2002, "Ready Steady Go" was featured in Saab commercials, the EA Sports game Tiger Woods PGA Tour 2003, THQ game Juiced, the pilot for the television program Las Vegas, and as the NASCAR theme song for 2006. It appears in the video game series Dance Dance Revolution in DDR Ultramix for the Xbox, Fastlane episode "Dogtown" and the Alias episode "Snowman". Ready Steady Go was also listed as the number 1 song that makes you drive faster by UpVenue.^[33] Also in 2003 he remixed another hit soundtrack for 'Elvis Presley' which charted fairly well after his 2003 remix of "Rubberneckin'" made the top three in Australia and top five in the UK. This remix contributed to the Elvis of the 21st century. In an earlier episode, "The Imposter", of Radio Free Roscoe, a 2005 series on The N, a character Travis Strong DJed to the song, acting as if it were his own. It has more recently been used in the film adaptation (Alex Rider: Operation Stormbreaker) of Anthony Horowitz's novel Stormbreaker, The Bourne Identity and it was reproduced with Korean lyrics for the movie Collateral, the song has also been used during the performances of extreme freestyle water ski jumpers, the song later became the theme song for the TV Show TRL Italy since 2003 until 2005.^[34] An EP of "The Harder They Come" was released on Perfecto and featured other works from Oakenfold and other artists. On the Creamfields event, in 2002 at Speke Airfield DJs such as Oakenfold, Seb Fontaine, Paul van Dyk performed along Dave Clarke, Jon Carter, Richie Hawtin and Felix Da Housecat, the event also featured live appearances from Basement Jaxx, All Saints, Death In Vegas and Moloko.^[35] In 2003 he released the fourth single of his album, Hypnotized which became successful enough to be included on Paul's next compilation from the "Perfecto Presents..." series, "Perfecto Presents: Great Wall" included the Deepsky remix of the song as well as tracks like Motorcycle's "As the Rush Comes", Björk's "Pagan Poetry", UNKLE's remix of Ian Brown's "F.E.A.R." and Paul's recent remix of Madonna's "Hollywood" song.^[36] In 2003 he produced a remix of Pourvu qu'elles soient douces, a 1988 hit by French pop icon Mylène Farmer.

With the event of Creamfields that took place in 2004, Oakenfold released a compilation of songs he played during the event as well as tracks influenced by the environment and the vibe of deejays such as Paul Van Dyk, Armin Van Buuren, Ferry Corsten, Judge Jules, Fergie, Tall Paul, Eddie Halliwell, Chris Lawrence, Adam Sheridan, Shan, and Alex Kidd at the Cream/Goodgreef and Mixmag Arena.^[37]

[edit] A Lively Mind, Greatest Hits and side work: 2005–07

In 2005, Oakenfold was contacted by the car manufacturer Toyota to create a free promotional CD available from aygo.com to promote a new Toyota car. The CD contained only seven songs which he worked on with Ian Green; the album was entitled Feed Your Mind.^[38]

During Paul's career he has remixed a variety of songs from Madonna, like "What It Feels Like for a Girl", "Hollywood", "American Life", "Sorry" and later in 2008 "Give It 2 Me" from her album Hard Candy, Oakenfold went on tour with Madonna for two months opening her presentation in the Confessions Tour, previously he had supported her in 2004 at Slane Castle in Ireland.^[39] His sets lasted for an hour and a half, followed by Madonna's two-hour show.^[40]

Oakenfold remixed the Transformers theme as the theme song for the TV series, Transformers Cybertron.^[41] He also contributed with his single "Beautiful Goal" for the FIFA Football 2005 video game. His single "Ready Steady Go" was composed for the 2005 video game Juiced. His second studio album, A Lively Mind was released on 6 June 2006. Receiving unsuccessful reviews, the first single "Faster Kill Pussycat", a collaboration with the actress Brittany Murphy, was released on 2 May 2006; the second single was "Sex 'n' Money". Both songs stand out from the rest, as most of the album has a more trance-like feel.^[42] Gregory Jeffries from Allmusic stated the album might have been in the nominated albums of dance music in 1997 but not in 2006, as the album has guitars with disco sounds that might be only appealing to trance addicts.^[43]

"I've done so many remixes from the likes of the Rolling Stones to Snoop Dogg etc, but you can only get a certain amount on the CD. It was difficult for me but I had to choose what I wanted and what I felt were the best mixes that showcased my art in the best way."

— said Oakenfold.^[14]

In 2007, he played live at the Boston Pops which created a piece of orchestral music with electronic music. The event took place in Miami for 10,000 people with a 75-piece orchestra, he wrote a piece of music which he described as "difficult".^[14] In 2007 he was nominated to 2 International Dance Music Awards (IDMA) at the Winter Music Conference (WMC), Best Underground Dance Track for "Faster Kill Pussycat" and Best Full Length DJ Mix CD for "A Lively Mind".^[44] 2007 saw the publication of the first official biography of Paul Oakenfold, written by Richard Norris of The Grid and Beyond the Wizard's Sleeve fame. Paul Oakenfold: The Authorised Biography was published by Bantam Press on 24 September 2007. Oakenfold is said to be a big fan of Chelsea F.C. It was thought that he played a zombie in the movie 28 Weeks Later however this is incorrect, he was offered the opportunity but turned it down. He also scored the soundtrack for the 2007 Japanese CGI anime film Vexille.

In October 2007 he released his Greatest Hits & Remixes, Vol. 1 which features his best performance tracks. Oakenfold was a judge for the 6th and 7th annual Independent Music Awards. In October 2007 Oakenfold remixed Britney Spears' number one hit Gimme More, which became the lead remix off the release.^[45] Oakenfold has created more than one hundred remixes, and has sold over 5,000,000 (5 million) long plays.^[14] More recently, he has been touring in British universities to promote his new album and autobiography. The tribute album was released in November in the United Kingdom with a 2 CD set and a 3 CD version with the same number of songs. It was also released in the United States with only 20 tracks in one CD; it featured some remixes from the original version but it also included two new remixes which are; Justin Timberlake's "My Love" song and his remix of Hans Zimmer's "Jack Theme Suite" which was used for the film Pirates of the Caribbean: At World's End. Exclusive 2008 remixes from Oakenfold were also included from Mark Ronson's "Stop Me" song, Radiohead's "Everything In Its Right Place", Eisbaer from Grovezone, "Missing" by Everything But The Girl and a remix of Paul's own "Southern Sun". Releases with Catalog#: UL 1602-2 included a DVD of live show and documentary. The compilation consists of tracks which influenced his career and musical persona, with artists such as The Cure, Happy Mondays, The Stone Roses, Massive Attack, U2, Olive, The Smashing Pumpkins, Madonna, and Underworld.^[46]

[edit] Pop Killer and film scores: 2008–present

Oakenfold in 2009

In 2008, he released the last single from his last studio album, Not Over. This was a new version "Not Over Yet" which he produced while working with Osborne as Grace and in collaboration with Ryan Tedder from One Republic. The song was covered by Klaxons as "It's Not Over Yet". In 2008, Oakenfold worked on film scores for various films and television programs such as Californication, The Heavy, Fever, The Bourne Identity, and Speed Racer. In mid-July Oakenfold ended his world tour promoting his greatest hits album. He also joined Madonna again in her Sticky & Sweet Tour in London, Santiago, Buenos Aires, Rio de Janeiro and Sao Paulo.^[47] After touring, he began his residency in Las Vegas on 30 August, where he plans to release a new album titled "Decade of Dance" and write the score for the film Humboldt Park.^[48] In the fall of 2008, he started his first Resident DJ position in the United States. "Paul Oakenfold Presents: Perfecto Las Vegas" was conceptualized specifically for Rain Nightclub, the legendary 25,000-square-foot (2,300 m²) nightclub and concert venue at the Palms Casino Resort^[49] known for its special effects and international headliner acts. From July to August 2009, he again opened Madonna's concerts for the Sticky & Sweet Tour in Europe. In 2009 Paul's third studio album was announced to be actually named, "Pop Killer", and not "Decade of Dance" as the article from The Sun stated.

He also worked with Madonna on her third greatest hits collection Celebration and her final release with Warner Bros. Records. The first single was released on 3 August 2009, it is also titled "Celebration" and was produced by Oakenfold. He also remixed a past demo "It's So Cool" from American Life, and it is included as a bonus track on iTunes.

Oakenfold remixed a song called "Firefly" from the Matt Goss album, Gossy. In 2010, Oakenfold returned to the US as a DJ at Rain Nightclub.^[50]

Oakenfold performed on Halloween at the 2010 Voodoo Experience in New Orleans, Louisiana.

Oakenfold confirmed that Pop Killer is scheduled for an early 2012 release and will feature Cee-Lo, Ryan Tedder of OneRepublic, the Red Hot Chili Peppers, and Matt Goss.^{[citation needed]}

Discography[link]

Albums[link]

Studio Albums

• 2002 Bunkka
• 2006 A Lively Mind
• 2012 Pop Killer

DJ Tools

• 2000 Bust A Groove
• 2000 Sampladelica: The Roots of Paul Oakenfold
• 2006 The Ultimate DJ Sample Box (with Norman Cook)

• 2011 We Are Planet Perfecto Volume 1

DVDs[link]

• 2004: A Voyage Into Trance
• 2008: 24:7 (documentary and live concert)

Filmography[link]

• 2002 The Rules of Attraction (Himself)
• 2003 Dancestar USA 2003 (Himself)
• 2003 No Cover (Guest)
• 2003 MTV Europe Music Awards 2003 (Himself)
• 2004 The Club (Himself)
• 2007 Post Military Trip (Guest)

See also[link]

• Big Brother (TV series)
• Electra (Paul Oakenfiled, Nick Divaris, John "Johnny" Rocca and Micky)
• Elementfour (Paul Oakenfold and Andy Gray)
• Interview with Paul Oakenfold, January 2012

References[link]

External links[link]

Wikiquote has a collection of quotations related to: Paul Oakenfold

• Official Website
• Paul Oakenfold discography at MusicBrainz
• Paul Oakenfold interview from Real Detroit Weekly
• Paul Oakenfold Music Videos
• Paul Oakenfold's Official My Space Page
• Exclusive Paul Oakenfold content at t5m
• Paul Oakenfold at the Internet Movie Database