Paul Oakenfold and Carl Cox played a DJ set at Stonehenge on behalf of the English Heritage foundation, which some people find disrespectful.
Yesterday Paul Oakenfold and Carl Cox played the first ever DJ set at Stonehenge at a 50-person event held by English Heritage. English Heritage is a historical preservation society in the UK.
Stonehenge is over 4,000 years old and a UNESCO World Heritage Site located in Wiltshire, England. Some people find it disrespectful to play the EDM at the prehistoric monument, and they are making their displeasure known in the comments on the YouTube video above.
Youtube users blast Paul Oakenfold and Carl Cox
Some people thought it was a nice idea, but no one cares about positive comments. The most common complaint seems to be that it’s “disrespectful” to listen to house music there.
English Heritage kept the event small. Only 50 people attended the exclusive event. The organization notes that amplifiers were not used. Instead they used silent disco technology to minimize the impact on the site. The set was timed to sync up with the sunset.
Paul Oakenfold and Carl Cox DJ at Stonehenge
Oakenfold recorded the DJ set and will release Live at Stonehenge in the near future. Proceeds from the album go to English Heritage.
In an interview with the Grammy Recording Academy he mentions this is not his first time DJing at a historical place, “I’ve been fortunate enough to play some amazing shows. I did a Party At the End of the World, which was in a 1,000 year old rainforest in a town called Ushuaia. It’s the nearest point to Antarctica. Of course many years ago, I also played on the Great Wall of China. I think there are no boundaries with music and shedding light on these great sites around the world can only help/support local culture.” Earlier this year he played for sherpas at Mt. Everest.
Last July, Cox played a set at Château de Chamboard in Loir-et-Cher, France, which is circa 1519. No one seemed to find it very disrespectful despite the French Renaissance architecture. And if you think about it pretty much every place in Europe must be haunted at this point.
The release date for Live at Stonehenge has not been confirmed. In the meantime check out Mount Everest: The Base Camp Mix by Paul Oakenfold from your music provider of choice.