Heading downunder this festive season to play a number of gigs across our wide land D.M.M. caught up with the maestro to chat about his impending visit and what Australian artists are, in his opinion, leading the way in the global scene:
Pete Tong is an interesting man – but he’s not an easy one to interview. Like waiting for the buildup in a dance track, you groove, you grin, you slowly await the wave-releasing sensation of the breakdown; to let loose with the beat and melody as you smile at that hottie across the floor – only they don’t smile back. This is Pete Tong. Perhaps he was having an off night. Perhaps I was having an off day, and as we chat I metaphorically chink at the ice that lies between me and the legendary DJ and Radio 1 host as he’s being driven to a gig in downtown Paris.
This is Pete Tong. Eventually, he speaks of his love of Australia, and the frost begins to melt. “I’ve been visiting since the late 80s and this’ll be my fifth or sixth time. It’s always a pleasure to get down there,” he says.
Headlining Sydney’s first ever Space Ibiza event on New Years Day in Sydney, as well as several other events around the country, I asked how he approaches such gigs, particularly as the event heralds yet another Ibiza staple to our shores. Will it be a festivalised, anthem-laden affair, or a more ad-hoc feed-off-the-crowd style?
Amongst the heady backdrop of big names arriving for the new year in Australia (with Carl Cox, Tom Novy, Sandy Rivera being just a mere few of them), Space Ibiza looks to be a standout, particularly given it’s at a fresh (although untested) location in Moore Park. Given that it’s been quite a while since his last visit, it led me to query what was special this year that got him down here – was god really a DJ, celestially aligning his galactic turntables for us or was it Santa riding in on a subwoofer sleigh?“Australia is so attractive this time of year with its climate, and it synchronises perfectly for so many of us DJs with the Ibiza and northern hemisphere festival season over. Plus the people – always up for it, always primed to party hard. It’s also fair to say the Australian electronic scene is making a bigger impression and contribution worldwide. Music is even breaking there, especially on a crossover level, before anywhere else,” he adds.
As a gateway to the electronic dance world for so many, Pete is the industry’s pulse, and as an ex A&R music exec who’s used to unearthing the next big thing, I ask who from Australia is musically exciting him? “*TV Rock* and Dirty South are two that spring to mind. TV Rock’s reputation is ever growing and Dirty South is producing some great stuff and travelling the world. Sneaky Sound System is another. All have really done some big things in the last 18 months,” he elaborates.
Check back real soon, or simply subscribe to the RSS feed, for part two of D.M.M.'s interview with Pete Tong, where we discuss his latest foray's into film and his personal mixing preferences.
Until then groove to this gem from the film "It's all gone Pete Tong" produced and starring the man himself:
Keep groovin',
DC
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