Photo: Press
Best known as one of the greatest DJs of our time and for touring his endless collection of dance hits to all night ravers across the globe, Norman Cook is experiencing a slight change of pace at the moment. “It’s a weird time of year for me. I take three months off the road while the wife’s (radio/tv host Zoe Ball) doing Strictly Come Dancing. So I’m primary parent at the moment. It’s great and I love it."
But we’re sure he’s still up to all kinds of musical experimentation and repeat raving, right? “Today I’ve sold my old car, bought a new one and then I went to the gym.” Hmm...
Don’t despair though, that’ll all change at the beginning of the new year when he brings his Smile High Club to London’s Tobacco Dock 2 January, a live event introduced at SW4 and Creamfields this year. The event’s close proximity to New Years Eve means it’s for true ravers who can battle through for a lineup that shouldn’t be missed, with the likes of 2manydjs, Secondcity and Erol Alkan hitting the stage for a truly unique night of awesome visuals, projections and interactive experiences.
“It started with getting booked at Creamfields for two years running and just thinking, 'we can’t go and do the same show year in and year out.'" Norman explains. "We wanted to make a tent within a festival feel just like a club. As soon as I said the Smile high club, it just sort of wrote its own script from there. We can really have some fun with this."
Smile High Club is identified by a striking smiley face, a visual that encapsulates what the 51 year old DJ is all about. "Smiling has become my symbol and my mantra in life anyway, so we’re trying to create an atmosphere where people can’t help but smile." It's no surprise that he's been working hard with his team on the innovative visuals that'll help to "lift everybody higher."
"Every year technology creates something different that we can do with the visuals. I became more interested when I could write the images and videos to a tune, and every time I play that tune, no matter what speed, it triggers off those visuals. I’m amazed that more DJs don’t do it."
It sounds as if the whole event is going to be a lot grander than his understated and wonderfully bizarre set at Banksy's Dismaland. "Me and Banksy have almost done things together on numerous occasions before and never quite got it together. It was a really surreal gig for me because I played on the bar. I was actually serving drinks while I was DJ’ing. It’s things like that which make smile at this stage in my career."
As his career progresses, Norman Cook is clearly trying to push the envelope and expose more people to dance music, especially during a period where half of the UK's nightclubs have shut down in the last ten years.
"It seems like the bigger ones are thriving and the smaller ones are struggling," he laments. It’s a shame when a venue you think is part of the musical scenery shuts down because It's there to preserve the culture in a way. Even with live venues, like Oasis playing The Hole In The Wall In Manchester. When they get turned into car parks and leisure centres, you think, ‘Christ, maybe we should have saved it."
It's no secret that the legendary DJ has become something of a mogul over the years and built himself a comfy fortune through his music and beyond, but there's clearly something that feeds his hunger to continue creatine and innovating. "It's the constant supply of young people and that adrenaline, serotonin, lust and sweat. Theres always fresh new blood getting high and excited, so it truly never gets stale."
Be sure to catch Fatboy Slim's Smile High Club on 2 January and head here for tickets and more information.
Watch the trailer for Fatboy Slim's Smile High Club at London's Tobacco Dock on 2 January below
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