Breath of fresh airwaves
At 41, Gilles Peterson is an established father of the British music scene. Respected for his ability to scout out the best in funk, roots, jazz and soul, the Londoner has been a DJ, producer and music festival curator, but began his career as a 16-year-old spinning for a pirate radio station.
Radio might seem old hat today, but it's still a passion for Peterson, who reaches audiences in 15 countries with his weekly BBC1 show, Worldwide. He'll be targeting a slightly smaller audience when he appears at Kee Club tomorrow night.
'An incredible number of people turn up to my gigs who've listened to me online,' he says from Tokyo, where he's been touring. 'And many people haven't quite made the switch to digital radio - so the majority of people listen to the radio the old-fashioned way.'
Fatherhood - he and his Japanese wife have two children - and a fondness for his home country means Peterson tours less now. He says that one reason he's remained relevant for so long is because of his interest in scenes around the world, whether it's Brazilian bossa nova or American nu soul.
'It's really important to go to lots of places around the world and meet the new generation,' he says. 'It's very easy to become out of touch or irrelevant. It's all about getting 17-year-olds to hear what I do, but equally not alienate the people who've followed me from their 20s.'
Although his CV boasts a host of residencies, he says the one closest to his heart began back in the mid-80s when he played the Talkin' Loud' & Saying Something Sunday sessions at Camden's Dingwalls and later the Fridge in Brixton. At the time, acid house was huge. Ravers would come to Talkin' Loud after a Saturday night of dancing. Peterson provided them with a happy, post-club comedown and a new genre - the tracks he played became known as acid jazz.
He then set up the Acid Jazz label and Talkin' Loud records under the Phonogram label, which gave a home to house, hip-hop, soul, tech-jazz and drum'n'bass artists, including Mercury Music Award-winning Roni Size, Courtney Pine, the Brand New Heavies and Jamiroquai.
Peterson also put together the Blue compilations for jazz label Blue Note and increased his radio reach via stints at Jazz FM and Kiss FM.
Despite his past success, he says he's in the best part of his career now. 'The music I'm playing is more understood. I'm reaching bigger audiences through the radio. The buzz is to drop some music that people might think is quite odd, to throw a spanner in the works and see what happens. Now most people get it.'
So much so that he describes his year ahead as already full. Peterson is curating a number of festivals, including London's Lovebox. He plans to set up another small independent label, Brownswood, to promote artists he feels are being overlooked, and follow up his successful compilations Gilles Peterson in Brazil (2004) and Gilles Peterson in Africa (2005) with one that will showcase Puerto Rican music.
Gilles Peterson, tomorrow, 10pm, Kee Club, 32 Wellington St, Central, free, members only -
