Carl Cox awarded an OBE in King’s Birthday Honours

Carl Cox awarded an OBE in the King’s Birthday Honours List for his impact on dance music culture. In a statement obtained by Mixmag, Cox described receiving the honour as truly humbling and said the recognition belongs to everyone who has been part of his journey. He also said that music has been his life and thanked fans, fellow artists, promoters, crews, family and the wider electronic music community.

The article notes a past interview with Carl Cox on MusicTech that discussed his approach to live electronic sets and his preference for working with machines and synths in performance. Judge Jules and Tony Iommi were named MBEs in the same honours list, and OBE is ranked higher than MBE.

The article includes Cox’s remarks about diving into machines and not wanting to just continue to DJ after COVID, and it highlights his comments about creating live performances that mirror studio practice.

Carl Cox was awarded an OBE in the King’s Birthday Honours List for his impact on dance music culture. Judge Jules and Tony Iommi were named MBEs in the same honours list. The article reports that OBE ranks higher than MBE, placing Cox’s award above the MBEs given to the other named figures.

In a statement, Cox described receiving the honour as “truly humbling,” said the recognition belongs to everyone who has been part of the journey, and added that music has been his life for as long as he can remember.

The article also notes a past interview with Carl Cox that discussed his approach to live electronic sets and quoted him saying he did not want to “just continue to DJ” after COVID and that he likes to “dive into the machines” and work with synths and drum machines in performance.

Cox also thanked fans, fellow artists, promoters, crews, family and the wider electronic music community in that statement.

Carl Cox expressed his deep appreciation upon receiving the OBE award, stating, “To receive this honour for doing something that has brought me so much joy is truly humbling.” He gratefully acknowledged the collective effort behind his music career by saying, “This recognition is not mine alone – it belongs to everyone who has been part of the journey.” Cox emphasized the importance of music in his life, noting, “Music has been my life for as long as I can remember and I’ve been fortunate to do what I love and to connect with so many amazing people through the power of music.”

Addressing his fans and collaborators, Cox said, “To the fans who have supported me throughout the years, the artists who have inspired and collaborated with me, the promoters, crews and teams working tirelessly behind the scenes, my family, friends and the wider electronic music community: thank you!” Reflecting on the evolution of his craft, Cox discussed his approach to live electronic music performances, explaining, “I didn’t want to come out of COVID and just continue to DJ. I [like to] dive into the machines, swim around in all their components, and find out all these wonderful things that can come out of them that turn a corner on people’s expectations.”

He criticized what he perceives as laziness among some DJs, adding, “If you stick most DJs in front of [a live setup], they’ll just walk away. I feel there’s laziness to that, because when you go in the studio to record, you use these machines. You use a drum machine. You use synths. You use keyboards. So why don’t you do what we’re doing in the studio, and then create that live?”

Judge Jules was named an MBE in the King’s Birthday Honours List. He wrote on Instagram: “What an unbelievable honour to receive an MBE!” The Instagram message is included in the article as his direct reaction to the award. The article presents this Instagram quote without further expansion.

In a past MusicTech interview referenced in the article, Carl Cox described his post‑COVID approach to live electronic performance and his preference for hands‑on equipment use. He said, “I didn’t want to come out of COVID and just continue to DJ,” and added, “I [like to] dive into the machines, swim around in all their components, and find out all these wonderful things that can come out of them that turn a corner on people’s expectations.” These remarks indicate a deliberate move toward interactive, machine‑based performances rather than relying solely on prearranged DJ sets. The interview passage highlights Cox’s emphasis on exploration within hardware and software as part of shaping live shows.

Cox contrasted his method with what he criticises in more passive approaches to live setups, stating, “If you stick most DJs in front of [a live setup], they’ll just walk away. I feel there’s laziness to that, because when you go in the studio to record, you use these machines. You use a drum machine. You use synths. You use keyboards. So why don’t you do what we’re doing in the studio, and then create that live?” This sequence of remarks articulates his view that live electronic performance should mirror studio creativity by using the same instruments and techniques onstage. The interview extract underscores Cox’s interest in authenticity and craft in live electronic music presentation.

CONCLUSION

Carl Cox was awarded an OBE in the King’s Birthday Honours List for his impact on dance music culture. The honours list also named Judge Jules and Tony Iommi as MBEs, and the article states that OBE ranks higher than MBE.

In a statement obtained by Mixmag, Cox said, “To receive this honour for doing something that has brought me so much joy is truly humbling,” and he added that “This recognition is not mine alone – it belongs to everyone who has been part of the journey.” He thanked fans, fellow artists, promoters, crews, family and the wider electronic music community.

The article refers to a past MusicTech interview in which Cox described his approach to live electronic sets and his preference for hands-on equipment. He said, “I didn’t want to come out of COVID and just continue to DJ,” and added, “I [like to] dive into the machines, swim around in all their components, and find out all these wonderful things that can come out of them that turn a corner on people’s expectations.” He also said, “If you stick most DJs in front of [a live setup], they’ll just walk away,” and commented that when recording in the studio artists use drum machines, synths and keyboards and that they should “do what we’re doing in the studio, and then create that live.” The article presents these remarks alongside the announcement of his OBE.