Carl Cox “I Want You (Forever)”

The birth of our underground brand Factory 93 not only brought on an adrenaline rush reminiscent of the renegade warehouse era of raving—on which Insomniac was founded—but it also had us thinking back to all the people, places and parties that made this whole operation possible. And with that came a burning desire to crack open our collection and dust off the classic records we couldn’t live without. Through our From the Crate series, we break out seminal and obscure cuts alike, imparting some knowledge in the process.

“I Want You (Forever)” is the sound of a moment in time.

The record hit the nascent UK rave scene like a bomb in 1991. The underground dance world was quickly finding its footing after the Big Bang moment of the notorious Second Summer of Love that happened across 1988–89 and changed British youth culture forever.

It was the era when the pioneers of the Second Summer of Love emerged to become the leading lights of this budding dance scene and industry of the early ‘90s.

In 1991, the Prodigy broke out with “Charly,” and Human Resource came alive with the electric energy of “Dominator.” Suddenly, rave anthems’ influence began to creep up the charts.

Carl Cox had been a DJ for years before acid house and the rave explosion, so when it hit the UK, he was already at the forefront of the scene as a respected spinner with exceptional skills, famous for spinning with three turntables.

“I supplied the sound system for the first two Shoom club nights. Danny Rampling asked me to come down because he knew I was already into the music,” Cox told The Guardian in 2008 about the party many point to as the birthplace of UK rave culture. “It was in a fitness centre on Southwark Street in South London, but what happened in there was like nothing that had gone before. This whole rare-groove movement had lasted for years in London, but it couldn’t really go any further—whereas house music pointed the way forward.”

Cox’s record fit right in with the sound of the times, and given his high profile and popularity in the young scene, the track quickly became an underground anthem that still transports old-school listeners right back to illegal parties in remote fields and clubs like Shoom.

Having the foresight to jump into the world of production at the dawn of the ‘90s, Cox released his first single, “I Want You (Forever).” It was recorded for Paul Oakenfold’s burgeoning Perfecto label, which had grown out of the mid-‘80s Ibiza party scene.

Cox’s record fit right in with the sound of the times, and given his high profile and popularity in the young scene, the track quickly became an underground anthem that still transports old-school listeners right back to illegal parties in remote fields and clubs like Shoom.

The record was big enough to earn Cox an appearance on perennial UK music chart TV show Top of the Pops, peaking at #23 on the UK charts in September 1991.

The way legendary New York DJ Frankie Bones tells it, all it took was a little American ingenuity to inspire Cox to produce the track.

“December 13, 1989. What is interesting about the night in question wasn’t the actual event, but the fact that it was Lenny Dee’s first time to the UK, and Carl Cox had us over his house to show us his new recording studio,” Bones told Magnetic last year. “This had been my fourth tour to the UK in three months and 20 days. Lenny and I had got Carl a copy of Success-N-Effect on 12″—which [was], by that point, the most sought-after 12″ from me caning it every show.”

“Carl was ready to start producing but joked about how he needed to get his head around all the gear he purchased,” Bones continued. “This is when I told him, ‘All you gotta do is take this record, Success-n-Effect, ride a couple of new sounds over it and press white labels! Stamp your name on it. A moment in time that changed everything. It was only weeks after that, that Carl produced ‘I Want You (Forever)’ for Perfecto.”

A percolating acid bassline stamped with a classic breakbeat and soulful sampled vocals, the track is a study in early-‘90s UK rave, but with its own unique flourishes: multiple breakdowns to turn up crowd energy, the icy synths of Detroit techno, and a healthy dose of deep Chicago house pianos, all taking turns dominating the mix.

Just last year, Josh Butler released an updated remix of “I Want You (Forever),” treating the track with sleek, modern house aesthetics and respectful nods to the original version.

Factory 93 Presents Carl Cox takes place Saturday, March 31, at the Factory 93 warehouse in Downtown Los Angeles. Tickets are sold out! For more information, visit the official event page.

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