Outer Limits' Paul Edge On Ecstasy, Arizona and Why Ignorance Isn't Bliss

"We all have reality tunnels and what ecstasy did in its heyday was break those reality tunnels, in the same way that LSD did in the 60s. That's why it drew the backlash it did."

With a 15 year background as a UK club promoter and international (mainly techno) DJ, Englishman in Arizona Paul Edge is amply qualified to discuss the finer points of rave history and, given his latterday status as an online pioneer and player, he's equally at ease discussing its future. Centring his world these days around his website djpauledge.com and design company tol23.com, he's embraced the net's marketing potential and more significantly, harnessed it to commerce, notably with new single Non-Violent Resistance, which comes out on June 30 in the States. Using loops from Wagner's Ride of The Valkyrie (the one from Apocalypse Now's helicopter raid) he's already happily given away 500,000 free downloads in the last 6 months, as well as over a million downloads of his mix CD series, Live In Pheonix.

"To me it's very simple, downloads are not killing dance music," says Paul.

"There's actually a huge community online that really powerful and record companies are trying to belittle that community by going 'free downloads are killing music', well it just doesn't add up," he suggests.

"They say we can't sell records anymore because of downloads, well take Eminem, he still sells records. So why aren't downloads killing Eminem's sales-"

And as the single's explicit anti-war title Non-Violent Resistance suggests, he's equally at home tapping into the freedom of expression the net provides for anyone doing it for themselves outside the old systems.

"George Bush is just a front man for the Republican Party and sometimes you feel quite sorry for the guy because he's so out of his depth," says Paul.

"But most Americans are pissed off by what's going on in Iraq. When it happened they all thought it was going to be like the Gulf War, losing thirty or forty people during a very short war and what they haven't liked is losing a thousand people," he continues.

"But the American people overall are a decent bunch of people, sure they've got their bad elements, but 90% of Americans are fairly honest, they work hard, they play hard, well they don't play hard enough but they certainly work hard," he laughs.

"The presidential election in November will show whether Americans are anti-war or pro-war, that will be the final test."

Making his name through his Outer Limits parties in Bournemouth (England) in the 90s, Edge developed an underground, though prominent position in the UK dance scene though as the decade ended found himself at a career defining crossroads.

"We felt there was not much more we could do with the Outer Limits in the UK, we weren't getting any attention in the media whereas in America you get respect for what you do," he says.

"In the UK, you're not remembered, and if you're from Bournemouth, then it's even worse so we came to America with the attitude of 'fuck it, we've got nothing to lose, let's do it'," he explains.

"So we came over here a couple of years ago, having shut down the Outer Limits after doing it for 11 years because we needed a break. And we've recently put out an album Regeneration that effectively marks the end of that break. We're re-launching the Outer Limits and basically trying to get everything going again."


Skrufff (Jonty Skrufff): How much do you still identify your music as techno-

Paul Edge: "I don't know what techno is anymore, I consider acid house to be techno and electro as techno; techno to me is a term that describes new music. With the Outer Limits we were always regarded as a techno night but what people forget is that we were the first club night outside London to feature people like Terry Francis, Alison Marks, we were the first club to feature DJs from Muzik Magazine's Bedroom Bedla Tags

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