Junkie XL, also known as Tom Holkenborg, the Dutch electronic dance artist, was the first Coachella artist chosen to DJ the inaugural Coachella Express ride that sent campers on a musical tour from LA’s Union Station to a temporary platform in Indio. He was clearly honored.
It’s not the first time he had DJed a train — the other was a disco ride in Europe.
“That’s how we go to festivals in Holland,” he said, but they don’t serve alcohol — unlike Coachella — he said, with a bit of a smile.
The performer, who famously remixed Elvis’ “A Little Less Conversation,” said Pink Floyd’s “Dark Side of the Moon” is his favorite album of all time. Really. Nothing else tops it. But he seemed a little wary of Roger Waters’ performance scheduled to close the festival Sunday night since it would lack former Pink Floyd vocalist and guitarist David Gilmour.
He recently passed on seeing the remaining members of his favorite band, The Who, perform live.
“I didn’t want my memory to be blown away by something that is real,” he said. “You want to remember the way it was. I want it to be pure.”
Wondering what Junkie XL might remix next? Just after his Elvis remix hit it big, he was asked to remix The Beatles’ “Strawberry Fields Forever” and turned it down.
Not regretting that decision, Holkenborg is eyeing new music.