'Next sound, next country'

For A-list DJ Carl Cox, dubbed the King of Dance, playing in Malta, which he is about to do after a three-year absence, is nothing short of a "celebration".

Speaking to The Times from Ibiza, where the award- and accolade-winning DJ plays in the top clubs, he says it's "almost like having a family wishing me to come home, and we're having a big celebration for it. It's fantastic to have the Maltese behind me in such a way... Every time I play in Malta, more than anywhere else in the world, the people are always excited".

Carl Cox, whose career turning tables spans 35 years and who has played to crowds of 80,000 ravers, has been to Malta on a number of occasions - his first event being the stage for a "mini riot", he recalls, refusing to take all the credit for causing it.

The police had put pressure on the promoters due to the amount of people at the venue, he explains, and the plug was pulled on the party. His first experience may not have got off to a good start, but his impression was far from negative.

Fine, anticipation levels were high and problems arose. But that was then... and he immediately sensed that the Maltese party animals were not really like that.

In fact, it is the locals and their sheer "excitement" that are drawing back to Malta the man who is whisked around the world and its leading music festivals, from Glastonbury to Creamfields, leaving dance floors still rocking in his wake.

He regrets that his busy schedule does not allow him to visit more often - even twice yearly, if it were up to him - but maybe that heightens the allure. "Less is more," he laughs. A successful party is all about timing, and jetting from China to Japan to Greece to Russia may not allow for Malta to feature more prominently on his music map.

The Maltese are starved of these types of events, he maintains. But it's not such a bad thing! In some ways, it means more quality parties in Malta.

Despite the fact that he's been around - "my club is the world" - Carl Cox still thinks the venues he's played at on the island have been "amazing".

Things have changed since the "mini riot", with an improved understanding of the DJ culture and that people get excited by DJs coming to play, he says.

Nevertheless, Malta is not known as a massive clubbing destination, but more for golfing, adventure holidays and water sports, he maintains. Other countries are promoted as such, so they pull in the crowds. But Malta doesn't seem to have clubbing on its agenda. "It's the last thing on people's minds when they visit Malta, but it's actually one of the best places to be when there's a clubbing event!"

Carl Cox's presence in Malta is helping to put the island on the music map. "After this, someone's going to ask me what it was like in Malta..."

In fact, people travel around the world to follow Carl Cox, and he, in turn, thrives on the high energy levels they emit - the ingredient for a good night.

But how does he feel that many of them may be off their faces and that the scene he is part and parcel of could be conducive to substance abuse?

"If I were telling people to listen to my music and take drugs, I wouldn't be here today; I'd be dead! People have a choice: they can drink, smoke, or drug themselves to death. I can't stop anyone from doing what they want to do. All I'm saying is that I have music I enjoy and want to share. How the individual deals with that is up to them.

"In my view, the music is the drug; you don't need anything else! That's why I got into this scene in the first place. I've always maintained that drugs are a social thing and have never been headlined by dance music events. There are drugs everywhere, even at rock concerts... It's no secret, but no one says too much about it. When it comes to dance music, no one understands it and maintains that it's happening because everyone's off their heads.

"If that were the case, we'd have wiped out a whole nation of youths, based on techno music!

"The last thing I need is for someone to attend a Carl Cox concert, take drugs and die! I'm in the entertainment industry for people to be happy."

Carl Cox has prepared a three-hour set, including house, tech house, minimal techno and electro, for the event that is being held at Numero Uno, in Ta' Qali, on Friday. But it's not tailor-made for Malta because he believes everyone from anywhere can understand music.

"I play one record that I believe in and everyone dances to it, no matter what their nationality is; they're still smiling because they can hear something in the music that makes them feel happy! That is what I have to give... I never change my feeling for my music for anyone; I always give Carl Cox 110 per cent!"

Presented by Coke & Music and organised by Tribal Events, the concert also includes a host of local DJs whom he advises to play what they believe in, whether it's jazz, or funk, or anything.

At the end of the day, what makes one DJ better than the other is the attitude. Carl Cox has always played what he believes in, he says, adding that he has also gone a step further, "moving the music forward into the next generation, understanding what the next sound is going to be..."

On the scene for almost four decades, he's not sure whether he could ever be too old to be a DJ. At 45 - he's been doing this since he was eight - he's not yet tired, or bored. Having said that, he is sure the time will come when he won't be able to travel as much, or stay up as late.

"Maybe I should slow down a bit, just to live a bit longer! Even with the sound systems getting louder, my ears aren't used to it anymore, and one day, I could go deaf... When you get older, you can handle a lot less," he admits. But right now, he reckons he'll still be around at least for the next five years.

And neither does he envisage the demise of DJs, or the dwindling of their superstar status. They are quite simply a part of the entertainment system now and there's no stopping them, or knocking them out of their booths, maintains the only DJ to have played three times at midnight on New Year's Eve 2000 - in Sydney, Honolulu and Los Angeles!

When Carl Cox eventually pulls the needle off his own record of life, he's thought about whether anyone would care. If they did - and he admits he's touched the souls of many - he'd want to go down in history simply as someone who made many people happy... through music.

Tickets for Carl Cox are available from the Eden Century Cinema Box Offices, St Julians.