MADE BY PETE: “I KNEW THAT I WANTED TO BE A DJ AND WORK IN MUSIC FULL TIME”.
Born and raised in London UK, Made By Pete is an artist who can count mavens of the electronic music scene like Damian Lazarus, Keinemusik, Sasha, Black Coffee
and Pete Tong as big fans of his sound. After cementing himself as one of the finest producers and DJs around, his work has been snapped up by taste-making labels such as Crosstown Rebels, Flying Circus and The Soundgarden to name but a few.
Thank you very much for this interview. We are delighted to be able to speak with you and learn more about you and your professional career. You were born and raised in one of the capitals of clubbing culture. What was the scene like in those years and which were the first clubs where you started to fall in love with electronic music?
Despite growing up London, my first experience of electronic music was actually in Ibiza. I started going to the island on family holidays from the age of 14 and that was what exposed me to club culture. Coming back to London, I was lucky enough to be able to DJ at legendary venues like The Cross and Turnmills before they closed their doors. Egg, Ministry Of Sound and Fabric were also regular haunts. I was spoiled for choice!
All artists have a date and a place that marked the beginning of their professional career. In your case, when and where was your first performance as a professional?
It would have been my first proper residency which was at a club called The White House in Clapham (RIP). I got job working for the promoter on Thursday nights. I would walk around Clapham, Brixton and Balham all day giving out passes to all the workers in shops, bars, estate agents etc, then stand outside the shop on the high-street in the evening doing the same. Eventually I’d get back to the club to play the last slot for a few hours after the headliner. I did that for a few years as a teenager, playing alongside likes of MJ Cole, Norman Jay and The Nextmen.
How were those early years? Did you find it difficult to make a name for yourself in the scene? What were the challenges you encountered?
I don’t think I was trying to make a name for myself really. I knew that I wanted to be a DJ and work in music full time. Those early days were so new and exciting, I just got stuck in and enjoyed every minute without too much thought about what it all meant. Eventually I started getting booked to play weekends at The White House. It was a well-respected club so there were always promoters from other venues around. Opportunities would arise from chance encounters, I started to grow my network and that lead to me running my own events in South London. The only challenge I can think of was earning enough money to keep it going. Working as a local resident and doing warm up sets across London was great experience but it didn’t pay the bills. I’d often get paid for the number of tickets I sold. That was what pushed me into music production as I knewthat was my best chance of working my way up the bill.
In 2018, you released the EP ‘So Long’ on Crosstown Rebels, a work that was a significant breakthrough in your career. How did this EP come about, and why do you think it was so well received?
‘So Long’ was my second collab with Jem Cooke. A well-respected label had sat on it for months before passing which was a gut buster. I had always been a fan of Crosstown Rebels so that night I went on their website, found the demos@ email address and sent it off, never expecting to hear back. About 30 mins later I received an email from Damian himself saying how much he loved it and wanted to sign it. He locked in remixes from Solomon and Audiojack… the latter went on to be a Beatport #1. It’s a very deep. and hypnotic record. Jem’s vocal is so haunting and intimate. The combination just seemed to resonate with people and it gave me a great foundation to build from.
You have a great relationship with Damian Lazarus, a very special artist. What would you highlight about him?
His taste. It might sound obvious but not everyone has great taste. As well as being a brilliant artist he’s always been one of the best A&R guys around with a great ear for music. From FFRR to City Rockers and now, celebrating 20 years of Crosstown Rebels, he’s been responsible for breaking some of the biggest acts around. At some stage in your career, you need someone with a respected voice to back you. I’m grateful to him for doing that for me. Back in May this year he invited me to play at Fabric for the London leg of the CR20 tour which was a great honour
In 2023, you released a bombshell on Crosstown Rebels, “Horizon Red,” with over 8 million views online and remixed by legends Damian Lazarus and Black Coffee. How was the creative process for this track?
I’ve always wanted to learn how to play the piano, so I decided to take lessons during lockdown. During the 4th or 5th lesson I was learning about chord inversions. After the lesson, whilst practicing, I stumbled on three or four chords that sounded magical together. I immediately knew that I was on to something, so I spent the next 4-5 hours building the chord structure for ‘Horizon Red’. The groove came after, something that was alien to me because up until then I’d always started with the groove. I’d met Zoe a few months before at a gig in London and I knew her voice would be perfect for it. I invited her to my studio, and we wrote and recorded the lyrics over an afternoon. Zoe’s performance was incredible, and we instantly knew we had something special.
You recently toured India and Asia for the first time. How was it to DJ in these continents? Is the energy of these clubbers different from Europeans?
It’s always a privilege to travel the world and experience different cultures. Music transcends geographical barriers so there’s always a familiar sense of unification within the electronic music community, wherever I go. Of course, each place has its own unique vibe that makes it special. That’s what makes this job so rewarding.
You are starting a long-term residency at Blue Marlin from May to September. What can you tell us about this project?
Ibiza has played such a pivotal role in my career so having a long-standing residency at such a brilliant venue is a dream come true. Blue Marlin is a special place. Ibiza was synonymous with outdoor, daytime clubbing for many years, but restrictions and venue closures have made that harder.
It’s great that the island still has spot where you can bask in the sun all day, embrace the magic of sunset and dance on into the night, all whilst listening to great music on a proper soundsystem, played by world class DJs. I’ll be playing 11 dates over the summer and I’m looking forward to every moment.
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You will be sharing the DJ booth with Pete Tong at Blue Marlin. What is it like to work with such an important legend like Pete Tong?
I’m excited to play alongside him. Pete is another guy with great taste who’s been a pivotal figure in our industry for decades. I grew up listening to his Radio 1 shows and have been fortunate enough feature on some of them. Every time Pete Tong plays one of my records on BBC Radio 1 and reads out my name it’s a ‘pinch myself’ moment.
Your production videos in your home studio on YouTube have been a great success. How did you come up with the idea, and did you expect it to be so well-received?
I’ve paid my dues with studio spaces. From my mum’s kitchen to side bedrooms and dark dingey garages. When I moved into the suburbs, one of the main reasons was to have enough space to build a studio in the back garden. I designed the interior to feel like a cozy home. Somewhere I would feel comfortable and relaxed enough to explore my sound. As my studio grew, I started to do live performances of all my releases. Filming them and sharing them with the online community just felt like a great way of telling my story and sharing my sound. We’re living in an amazing time for music technology. There are so many unique and varied instruments available to explore. It’s a great time to be an electronic music producer.
Do you think electronic music makes a mistake by staying away from platforms like YouTube and Twitch?
I don’t think people should feel that they need to have a presence on every platform. It’s not possible, there are too many! Each one has its own benefits and I think if you can find your voice on one of them and do it well, it’s more valuable than spreading yourself across all of them without really understanding any of them
In addition to your residency in Ibiza, what are your future plans? Any upcoming releases we can expect?
I’m working on new music all the time but I don’t like to rush or put pressure on myself to continuously churn out music. It’s a work in progress for now so let’s see. Hopefully I’ll release some more original music before the year is out. In the meantime, I was given the opportunity to remix a track from Bedouin’s amazing album ‘Temple Of Dreams’. I’m really excited to share that! I’m also touring a lot this summer with gigs in, London, Istanbul, Dubai & Zurich alongside my Ibiza shows at Blue Marlin and Chinois.
