Gilles Jérôme Moehrle

MBE Mbe may refer to: * Mbé, a town in the Republic of the Congo * Mbe Mountains Community Forest, in Nigeria * Mbe language, a language of Nigeria * Mbe' language, language of Cameroon * ''mbe'', ISO 639 code for the extinct Molala language Molal ...

(; born 28 September 1964), better known as Gilles Peterson (), is a French broadcaster, DJ, and record label owner. He founded the influential labels Acid Jazz and

Talkin' Loud Talkin' Loud was a record label, originally founded by Gilles Peterson in 1990 after he left Acid Jazz Records. The label name is based on Peterson's Dingwalls club night "Talkin' Loud And Sayin' Something", itself a reference to James Brown and ...

, and started his current label Brownswood Recordings in 2006. He was awarded an honorary

in 2004, the AIM Award for Indie Champion and the ''

Mixmag ''Mixmag'' is a British electronic dance and clubbing magazine published in London. Launched in 1983 as a print magazine, it has branched into dance events, including festivals and club nights. History The first issue of ''Mixmag'' was prin ...

'' Award for Outstanding Contribution To Dance Music in 2013, the

PRS for Music PRS for Music Limited (formerly The MCPS-PRS Alliance Limited) is a British music copyright collective, made up of two collection societies: the Mechanical-Copyright Protection Society (MCPS) and the Performing Right Society (PRS). It undertakes ...

Award for Outstanding Contribution to Music Radio in 2014, and The A&R Award from the Music Producers Guild in 2019. Throughout his career, Peterson has played a pivotal role in promoting genres such as jazz, hip-hop, and electronic music. He started his career on

pirate radio Pirate radio or a pirate radio station is a radio station that broadcasts without a valid license. In some cases, radio stations are considered legal where the signal is transmitted, but illegal where the signals are received—especially w ...

stations Radio Invicta and K-Jazz, later joining legal stations in London, first the newly founded Jazz FM, and then onto the dance music station

Kiss FM Kiss FM, Kiss Radio or variants may refer to: Asia-Oceania * Various Kiss FM-branded stations in the Philippines ** 95.1 Kiss FM, Lucena, Quezon ** 102.3 Kiss FM, Tagbilaran, Bohol * Kiss92 FM, Singapore * KISS 969, Sri Lanka * Kiss Radio Taiwan ...

. In 1998, he was hired by

BBC Radio 1 BBC Radio 1 is a British national radio station owned and operated by the BBC. It specialises in modern popular music and current chart hits throughout the day. The station provides alternative genres at night, including electronica, dance, ...

, and in 2012 he began hosting a three-hour Saturday afternoon programme on

BBC Radio 6 Music BBC Radio 6 Music is a British digital radio station owned and operated by the BBC, specialising primarily in alternative music. BBC 6 Music was the first national music radio station to be launched by the BBC in 32 years. It is available onl ...

. He hosts a syndicated radio programme that is broadcast in seven European countries. In 2016, he launched the online radio station

Worldwide FM Worldwide FM is a freeform internet radio service that highlights "underground music, culture and stories from around the globe." Founded in 2016 by DJ Gilles Peterson, longtime host of the BBC Radio program ''Worldwide'', the platform features ...

with Boiler Room co-founder and original host Thristian Richards. He also hosts mixes and new music on his

SoundCloud SoundCloud is an online audio distribution platform and music sharing website that enables its users to upload, promote, and share audio. Founded in 2007 by Alexander Ljung and Eric Wahlforss, SoundCloud is one of the largest music streaming se ...

page, where he has over three million followers. He is behind several events celebrating the music that he supports through his DJ sets and radio shows. Since 2005, he has hosted the annual

Worldwide Awards The Worldwide Awards, formerly known as the Worldwide Winner Awards, are an annual awards celebration curated by radio DJ Gilles Peterson and currently hosted by Worldwide FM and Radio 6 which celebrates up-and-coming musicians on an internationa ...

in London and Worldwide Festival in

Sète Sète (; oc, Seta, ), also historically spelt ''Cette'' (official until 1928) and ''Sette'', is a commune in the Hérault department, in the region of Occitania, southern France. Its inhabitants are called ''Sétois'' (male) and ''Sétoises' ...

. In 2019, launched the new We Out Here festival in the UK.

Career

Radio

Peterson was first heard as a DJ on the London pirate radio station Radio Invicta, Peterson spent his teenage years putting up radio transmitters for the pirates and playing on stations such as K-Jazz. Brought up in Suburban South London soul scene Peterson was exposed to a variety of music. He went on to host ''Mad on Jazz'' on

BBC Radio London BBC Radio London is the Local BBC Radio, BBC's local radio station serving Greater London and its surrounding areas. The station broadcasts across the area and beyond, on the 94.9 FM broadcasting, FM frequency, Digital Audio Broadcasting, DAB, ...

in 1986–87, and became known on the London circuit as a DJ specialising in the new breed of " acid jazz", drawing on the jazz,

funk Funk is a music genre that originated in African American communities in the mid-1960s when musicians created a rhythmic, danceable new form of music through a mixture of various music genres that were popular among African Americans in the m ...

Latin Latin (, or , ) is a classical language belonging to the Italic branch of the Indo-European languages. Latin was originally a dialect spoken in the lower Tiber area (then known as Latium) around present-day Rome, but through the power of the ...

fusions and

Brazilian music The music of Brazil encompasses various regional musical styles influenced by European, American, African and Amerindian forms. Brazilian music developed some unique and original styles such as forró, repente, coco de roda, axé, sertanejo, ...

of the 1970s. In March 1990, Peterson joined London's first-ever dedicated jazz station 102.2 Jazz FM at its launch. The three-hour show was stripped into sections including the "

Samba Samba (), also known as samba urbano carioca (''urban Carioca samba'') or simply samba carioca (''Carioca samba''), is a Brazilian music genre that originated in the Afro-Brazilian communities of Rio de Janeiro in the early 20th century. Havin ...

60" and the "Vibrazone". Artists as diverse as the

Freestyle Fellowship Freestyle Fellowship is an American hip hop group from Los Angeles, California. It consists of Aceyalone, Myka 9, P.E.A.C.E., and Self Jupiter. The group was a prominent part of the Good Life Cafe collective, and are part of the Project Blowed col ...

Sérgio Mendes Sérgio Santos Mendes (; born February 11, 1941) is a Brazilian musician. His career took off with worldwide hits by his group Brasil '66. He has over 55 releases and plays bossa nova heavily crossed with jazz and funk. He was nominated for ...

and

Leon Thomas Amos Leon Thomas Jr. (October 4, 1937 – May 8, 1999), known professionally as Leon Thomas, was an American jazz and blues vocalist, born in East St. Louis, Illinois, and known for his bellowing glottal-stop style of free jazz singing in the l ...

would all appear on the same playlist. He was dismissed from the station after playing anti-war songs and making anti-war comments during the

first Gulf War The Gulf War was a 1990–1991 armed campaign waged by a 35-country military coalition in response to the Iraqi invasion of Kuwait. Spearheaded by the United States, the coalition's efforts against Iraq were carried out in two key phases: ...

. Peterson would then join

in 1991, the station having become legal the year before. In his "Vibrazone" shows on Kiss FM he played acts as diverse as

Josh Wink Joshua Winkelman (born April 20, 1970), better known by his stage name Josh Wink, is an American electronic dance music DJ, label owner, producer, and remixer. He is a native of Philadelphia, United States. A pioneering DJ in the American rav ...

Gang Starr Gang Starr was an American hip hop duo, consisting of Texas record producer DJ Premier and Massachusetts rapper Guru. For the entirety of their association, they were based out of Brooklyn, New York. Gang Starr was at its height from 1989 to 20 ...

and

Horace Silver Horace Ward Martin Tavares Silver (September 2, 1928 – June 18, 2014) was an American jazz pianist, composer, and arranger, particularly in the hard bop style that he helped pioneer in the 1950s. After playing tenor saxophone and piano at sch ...

in the space of a single programme. Features included the "Herbie Sessions". From 1998 to 2012, through his BBC show Worldwide – which was originally produced by longtime collaborator

Benji B Benjamin Benstead, known professionally as Benji B, is a British DJ, radio presenter, and record producer. A longtime BBC Radio producer and presenter, he has presented a weekly show on BBC Radio 1 since 2010 that highlights an eclectic mix of h ...

, Karen P ( Folded Wing), Ben Cave, Beccy Grierson, Alex Kenning, and Dave O'Donnell – Peterson continued to present a wide range of music that may be new to its young audiences. The show always presented a combination of new, older and often very rare records from the late 1950s to 1980s. Every three months or so, Peterson dedicated a whole show to older vinyl releases in a special version of his show he subtitled as '' Brownswood Basement''; two associated compilation albums with the same name containing older personal classics have been released on the

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...

label

Ubiquity Records Ubiquity Records is an independent United States, American Music label, Record Label that focuses on multiple genres, including but not limited to hip hop, electronic, funk, Latin, Soul music, soul, jazz, singer/songwriters and other musical genr ...

's offshoot Luv N' Haight. In August 2004, the show moved from Wednesday (midnight till 2 am) to an earlier Sunday slot (11 pm to 1 am), with a spectacular live outside broadcast from The Big Chill at

Eastnor Castle Eastnor Castle, Eastnor, Herefordshire, is a 19th-century mock castle. Eastnor was built for John Cocks, 1st Earl Somers, who employed Robert Smirke, later the main architect of the British Museum. The castle was built between 1811 and 1820. ...

Herefordshire, featuring

Bugz In The Attic Bugz in the Attic is a collective of DJs and producers based in West London, who are prominent in broken beat. The collective includes Orin Walters (Afronaught), Paul Dolby (Seiji), Kaidi Tatham, Daz-I-Kue, Alex Phountzi (Neon Phusion), Cliff Sc ...

performing a DJ set, and interviews with

house A house is a single-unit residential building. It may range in complexity from a rudimentary hut to a complex structure of wood, masonry, concrete or other material, outfitted with plumbing, electrical, and heating, ventilation, and air condi ...

Tom Middleton Tom Middleton (born 18 August 1971) is a British electronic recording artist, sound designer, composer, music producer, remixer and DJ. His solo albums include '' Lifetracks'' (2007), ''Glasstracks'' (2011) and ''Sleep Better'' (2018). Middleto ...

and

Mr. Scruff Andrew Carthy (born 10 February 1972), better known by his stage name Mr. Scruff, is an English record producer and DJ. He lives in Stretford, Greater Manchester and studied fine art at the Psalter Lane campus of Sheffield Hallam University. ...

. One of the highlights of the changed format BBC Radio 1 show was the special sessions from the BBC's

Maida Vale Studios Maida Vale Studios is a complex of seven BBC sound studios, of which five are in regular use, in Delaware Road, Maida Vale, west London. It has been used to record thousands of classical music, popular music and drama sessions for BBC Radio 1, ...

. These included artists such as

Roots Manuva Rodney Hylton Smith, better known by his stage name Roots Manuva (born 9 September 1972), is a British rapper and producer. Since his debut in 1994, he has produced numerous albums and singles on the label Big Dada, achieving commercial succes ...

Björk Björk Guðmundsdóttir ( , ; born 21 November 1965), known mononymously as Björk, is an Icelandic singer, songwriter, composer, record producer, and actress. Noted for her distinct three-octave vocal range and eccentric persona, she has de ...

and

Floating Points Sam Shepherd, known professionally as Floating Points, is a British electronic music producer, DJ, and musician. He is the founder of Pluto Records, co-founder of Eglo Records and leader of a 16-piece group called Floating Points Ensemble. Bi ...

. In September 2006, the show was moved from Sunday night to Tuesday night/Wednesday morning between 2 am and 4 am. The first show included a live appearance from

Lupe Fiasco Wasalu Muhammad Jaco (born February 16, 1982), better known by his stage name Lupe Fiasco ( ), is an American rapper, singer, record producer, and entrepreneur. He rose to fame in 2006 following the success of his debut album, ''Lupe Fiasco's ...

. In late 2011, Peterson announced that after 13 years at the station he would be leaving BBC Radio 1, following his last show in the early hours of Wednesday 28 March and moving to a new show on

. Peterson started a new three-hour Saturday afternoon show o
BBC Radio 6 Music
beginning on Saturday 7 April 2012, running weekly from 3 to 6 pm, and giving him an extra hour of broadcast time. Like his previous Radio 1 programme, it is made by independent production company Somethin' Else for the BBC. He also presents a weekly show on RTÉ 2XM, 2-4pm on Mondays. A new global music-radio platform named

was launched by Gilles Peterson in 2016 with Boiler Room co-founder Thristian Richards in September 2016. Following the success of the ''

Grand Theft Auto V ''Grand Theft Auto V'' is a 2013 action-adventure game developed by Rockstar North and published by Rockstar Games. It is the seventh main entry in the Grand Theft Auto, ''Grand Theft Auto'' series, following 2008's ''Grand Theft Auto IV'', and ...

'' in-game radio station of the same name, ''WorldWide FM'' has expanded into the real world with Peterson and Richards hosting shows alongside a hand-picked roster of the finest DJs and selectors from five continents. Since the launch, the station has gone out on the road broadcasting across Europe, the US and Asia, with pop-ups in Amsterdam (ADE), Los Angeles (How We Do LA), Marseille (Le Gallette), Milan (Jazzmi Festival), Paris (Le Mellotron), Tokyo (HMV Shibuya), and closer to home, at the 1:54 Contemporary African Art Fair (Somerset House). The station is Powered by WeTransfer and broadcasting from The Pyramid radio studios in north London.

Record labels and clubs

Upon leaving BBC London in 1987, Peterson took up a new Sunday afternoon residency at Dingwalls in Camden. It was around the same time that he'd started BGP Records, a sub-label of Ace Records focused on soul, funk and jazz dance, together with DJ Baz Fe Jazz. Playing alongside fellow London DJ

Patrick Forge Patrick Forge (born Ipswich, Suffolk) is a British jazz, jazz-dance and soul music DJ who spent much of the late 1980s and early 1990s DJing alongside Gilles Peterson at the famous Dingwalls club in Camden, North London. In the 1980s, Patrick wo ...

, the night, dubbed Talkin' Loud And Sayin' Something, ran for five years. It coincided with the rise of acid house in UK clubland and would grow to establish itself as a legendary session. The sessions were characterised by

jazz dance Jazz dance is a performance dance and style that arose in the United States in the mid 20th century. Jazz dance may allude to vernacular jazz about to Broadway or dramatic jazz. The two types expand on African American vernacular styles of dance ...

rs in suits, hats and spats, well-known jazz dance classics including tracks from

Yusef Lateef Yusef Abdul Lateef (born William Emanuel Huddleston; October 9, 1920 – December 23, 2013) was an American jazz multi-instrumentalist, composer, and prominent figure among the Ahmadiyya Community in America. Although Lateef's main instruments ...

Pharoah Sanders Pharoah Sanders (born Ferrell Lee Sanders; October 13, 1940 – September 24, 2022) was an American jazz saxophonist. Known for his overblowing, harmonic, and multiphonic techniques on the saxophone, as well as his use of "sheets of sound", San ...

Freddie Hubbard Frederick Dewayne Hubbard (April 7, 1938 – December 29, 2008) was an American jazz trumpeter. He played bebop, hard bop, and post-bop styles from the early 1960s onwards. His unmistakable and influential tone contributed to new perspectives fo ...

Airto Airto Guimorvan Moreira (born August 5, 1941) is a Brazilian jazz drummer and percussionist. He is married to jazz singer Flora Purim, and their daughter Diana Moreira is also a singer. Coming to prominence in the late 1960s as a member of the B ...

Herbie Hancock Herbert Jeffrey Hancock (born April 12, 1940) is an American jazz pianist, keyboardist, bandleader, and composer. Hancock started his career with trumpeter Donald Byrd's group. He shortly thereafter joined the Miles Davis Quintet, where he help ...

, and the anthemic ''In The Fast Lane'' by

Jean-Luc Ponty Jean-Luc Ponty (born 29 September 1942) is a French jazz violinist and composer. Early life Ponty was born into a family of classical musicians in Avranches, France. His father taught violin, his mother taught piano. At sixteen, he was admitt ...

; but the jazz was fused with hip-hop and the more experimental tracks. It was at a Special Branch show, with fellow DJ Chris Bangs, that the term "acid jazz" was coined, starting as an in-joke. At the time, acid house was in the ascendant, and at one of the shows Bangs played a rare groove record, grabbed the mic and shouted: "Fuck that, if that was acid house, this is acid jazz!”. In 1988, Peterson and

Eddie Piller Eddie Piller is a British DJ, radio show host, and founder/managing director of Acid Jazz Records. Early life and career Piller was born in 1962 and grew up in Essex. His father ran a firm of bookmakers and his mother ran the Small Faces' fa ...

founded

Acid Jazz Records Acid Jazz Records is a record label based in East London formed by Gilles Peterson and Eddie Piller in 1987. The label is the namesake of the acid-jazz subgenre of jazz music for which it is most famously known for producing. Background The la ...

, a label whose roster included the

Brand New Heavies The Brand New Heavies is an acid jazz and funk group formed in 1985 in Ealing in west London. Centered around songwriters/multi-instrumentalists Simon Bartholomew and Andrew Levy, the core members of the group since its founding, Brand New H ...

Jamiroquai Jamiroquai () are an English funk and acid jazz band from London. Formed in 1992, they are fronted by vocalist Jay Kay, and were prominent in the London-based funk and acid jazz movement of the 1990s. They built on their acid jazz sound in the ...

Corduroy Corduroy is a textile with a distinctively raised "cord" or wale texture. Modern corduroy is most commonly composed of tufted cords, sometimes exhibiting a channel (bare to the base fabric) between them. Both velvet and corduroy derive from fu ...

, the

James Taylor Quartet The James Taylor Quartet (or JTQ) are a British four-piece jazz funk band formed in 1985 by Hammond organ player James Taylor following the break-up of his former band The Prisoners (band), The Prisoners, and in the wake of Stiff Records' ba ...

and

Snowboy Snowboy (a.k.a. Mark Cotgrove) is an English percussionist, bandleader, DJ and journalist.Talkin' Loud Talkin' Loud was a record label, originally founded by Gilles Peterson in 1990 after he left Acid Jazz Records. The label name is based on Peterson's Dingwalls club night "Talkin' Loud And Sayin' Something", itself a reference to James Brown and ...

, enlisting the help of fellow DJ

Norman Jay Norman Jay MBE (born Norman Bernard Joseph on 6 November 1957) is a British club, radio and sound system DJ. He first came to prominence playing unlicensed "warehouse" parties in the early 1980s, and through his involvement with the then-pira ...

, who formed his own Global Village label. The Talkin' Loud roster included

Nuyorican Soul Nuyorican Soul is an American music group from New York City, New York. It was formed by Little Louie Vega and Kenny "Dope" Gonzalez. In 1996, the group released "Runaway". The single reached number one on the ''Billboard'' Dance Club Songs char ...

(a side project of the producers

Masters At Work Masters at Work is the American garage house production and remix team of "Little" Louie Vega and Kenny "Dope" Gonzalez. The duo has produced music together under the names MAW, KenLou, Sole Fusion, Hardrive, and Nuyorican Soul. They have been r ...

Courtney Pine Courtney Pine, (born 18 March 1964), is a British jazz musician, who was the principal founder in the 1980s of the black British band the Jazz Warriors. Although known primarily for his saxophone playing, Pine is a multi-instrumentalist, also ...

MJ Cole Matthew James Firth Coleman, better known by his stage name MJ Cole, is an English garage DJ, record producer and remixer. Career Born in London, England, in his youth, Cole was classically trained on the oboe and piano, and won scholarships ...

Young Disciples Young Disciples was a British / American acid jazz band, formed in London in 1990 by Carleen Anderson ( vocals and keyboards), Marco Nelson (bass, guitar and organ) and Femi Williams (percussion and programming). Their most famous hit was th ...

Incognito Incognito is an English adjective meaning "in disguise", "having taken steps to conceal one's identity". Incognito may also refer to: Film and television * ''Incognito'' (1937 film), a Danish film * ''Incognito'' (1997 film), an American crime ...

Terry Callier Terrence Orlando "Terry" Callier (May 24, 1945 – October 27, 2012) was an American soul music, soul, Folk music, folk and jazz guitarist and singer-songwriter. Life and career Callier was born in the North Side of Chicago, Illinois, and was r ...

The Roots The Roots are an American hip hop band formed in 1987 by Tariq "Black Thought" Trotter and Ahmir "Questlove" Thompson in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United States. The Roots serve as the house band on NBC's ''The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy F ...

, Galliano and

Roni Size Ryan Owen Granville Williams (born 29 October 1969), better known by his stage name Roni Size, is an English DJ and record producer. He came to prominence in 1997 as the founder and frontman of Roni Size & Reprazent, a drum and bass collective. ...

's project

Reprazent Roni Size & Reprazent (stylised as Roni Size / Reprazent) are a British drum and bass group fronted by Roni Size. Their debut album '' New Forms'' won the Mercury Music Prize in 1997. Their follow-up album ''In the Møde'' featured artists incl ...

. The first release from Talkin' Loud was a self-titled compilation in 1990 featuring artists Galliano, Jalal of the Last Poets, Incognito, Young Disciples, Wild & Peaceful, and Ace of Clubs. The label saw five of its artists nominated for the

Mercury Music Prize The Mercury Prize, formerly called the Mercury Music Prize, is an annual music prize awarded for the best album released in the United Kingdom by a British or Irish act. It was created by Jon Webster and Robert Chandler in association with the B ...

, with

winning the award in 1997 for the album ''

New Forms ''New Forms'' is the debut studio album by British drum and bass group Roni Size & Reprazent. It was originally released on 23 June 1997 through Talkin' Loud, and later re-released by Mercury Records and Universal Music Group. The album was re ...

''. The iconic Talkin' Loud logo was created by Ian Swift (Swifty) who also designed the magazine '' Straight No Chaser''. Peterson's current record label, Brownswood Recordings, was launched in 2006. The label's early releases includes the likes of British singer/songwriter

Ben Westbeech Ben Westbeech is a British DJ and record producer originating from Hertfordshire who spent his formative musical years in Bristol. Trained as cellist and vocalist, his influences include house, soul, jazz and hip hop. Music career Early c ...

, 45-piece orchestral ensemble The

Heritage Orchestra The Heritage Orchestra is a British orchestra founded by Chris Wheeler and Jules Buckley. They perform mainstream, cult, experimental and popular music. The orchestra, which ranges between 25 and 65 members, has performed internationally in ve ...

, Japanese punk

jazz Jazz is a music genre that originated in the African-American communities of New Orleans, Louisiana in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, with its roots in blues and ragtime. Since the 1920s Jazz Age, it has been recognized as a major ...

band

Soil & "Pimp" Sessions Soil & "Pimp" Sessions (stylised as SOIL&"PIMP"SESSIONS) is a Japanese club jazz sextet who formed in Tokyo, Japan, in 2001. They are known for their energetic live performances, having coined the term "death jazz" to describe their music. Histo ...

, Brooklyn-based pianist Elan Mehler and

vocalist

José James José James (born January 20, 1978) is an American vocalist who combines jazz and Hip hop music, hip hop. Biography José James attended The New School for Jazz and Contemporary Music. In 2008, he debuted with his first album, ''The Dreamer (Jo ...

. More recently, they've released music by

Zara McFarlane Zara McFarlane is a British jazz/soul singer and songwriter, based in East London. In October 2014, McFarlane was awarded the title of "Best Jazz Act" at the MOBO Awards. She has had four albums released by Brownswood Recordings. Early life Zara ...

, Ghostpoet's Mercury Prize-nominated debut and their long-running compilation series, compiled by Peterson, called Brownswood Bubblers. On 8 October 2006, both Peterson and Forge played the first of many annual reunion shows at the old site of Dingwalls (now a Jongleurs

comedy club A comedy club is a venue—typically a nightclub, bar, hotel, casino, or restaurant—where people watch or listen to performances, including stand-up comedians, improvisational comedians, impersonators, impressionists, magicians, ventriloquist ...

), with a compilation album of popular tracks from the club also being released at the same time in 2006 entitled ''Sunday Afternoon at Dingwalls''. This was just one among many other significant clubs with which Peterson was associated: Special Branch,

Electric Ballroom The Electric Ballroom is a 1,500-capacity performance venue (primarily for rock bands) and indoor market located at 184 Camden High Street in Camden Town, London, England. History The Electric Ballroom started as an Irish ballroom in the 1930 ...

Wag Club Wag generally refers to tail wagging by dogs. Wag, Wags, WAG or WAGS may also refer to: Arts and entertainment * Wag (band), a Japanese rock music group, active 1998–2006 * Wag, a character in ''Kabumpo in Oz'' (1922) * Wags the Dog, a ...

Babylon ''Bābili(m)'' * sux, 𒆍𒀭𒊏𒆠 * arc, 𐡁𐡁𐡋 ''Bāḇel'' * syc, ܒܒܠ ''Bāḇel'' * grc-gre, Βαβυλών ''Babylṓn'' * he, בָּבֶל ''Bāvel'' * peo, 𐎲𐎠𐎲𐎡𐎽𐎢 ''Bābiru'' * elx, 𒀸𒁀𒉿𒇷 ''Babi ...

Heaven Heaven or the heavens, is a common religious cosmological or transcendent supernatural place where beings such as deities, angels, souls, saints, or venerated ancestors are said to originate, be enthroned, or reside. According to the belie ...

, Fez, Talkin Loud at the Fridge, That's How It Is at Bar Rumba and his long association with Plastic People. 2009 saw the birth of a new collaborative project and long-term partnership between Peterson an
Havana Club's
"Havana Cultura", a global initiative developed by Havana Club International that gives a platform to Cuban artists from all disciplines. Peterson and Brownswood's involvement began two years later, resulting in four album releases and three international tours. ''Havana Cultura: New Cuba Sound'' was the first album to come out of the project, released in 2010. Travelling to Cuba in 2009, Peterson teamed up with the award-winning Cuban jazz pianist

Roberto Fonseca Roberto Fonseca (born 29 March 1975) is a Cuban jazz pianist. From an early age, Fonseca was surrounded by music: his father was drum player Roberto Fonseca, Sr, his mother, Mercedes Cortes Alfaro, a professional singer (she sings on her son ...

to find the best up-and-coming musical talent in Havana. The double CD album was a celebration of Cuba's musical forces spanning Latin, Afro jazz and fusion to hip-hop, funk, reggaeton and soul. In support of this project, Peterson began a European tour in June/July 2010, accompanied by Fonseca, his band and vocalists Danay Suarez, Ogguere and Obsesión. This was the first of three tours organised in close collaboration with Havana Club. The Gilles Peterson Havana Cultura Band has now travelled through Europe and beyond with shows in London (Barbican), Paris, Amsterdam, Istanbul, Berlin and Madrid, as well as many festivals. Travelling with the rest of the 2011 crew, Mala (Digital Mystikz) was also invited to Cuba with Peterson to record and collaborate with local musicians as part of the ongoing Havana Cultura project. The results are found on the album ''Mala in Cuba'', which was released on Brownswood Recordings in partnership with Havana Cultura on 10 September 2012. Released in May 2014, the Sonzeira ''Brasil Bam Bam Bam'' album saw the Talkin' Loud imprint revived in partnership with Virgin EMI. The record is a journey through the different flavours of authentic Brazilian music culture. Sonzeira is the collective name for the group of Brazilian artists who feature on the album. Peterson turned from DJ to producer for this ambitious venture, settling in Rio de Janeiro with young UK production associates Sam Shepherd (Floating Points); Dilip Harris and Rob Gallagher from 2 Banks of 4; and Kassin from Rio collective Orquestra Imperial. The album features Brazilian artists such as Seu Jorge and Elza Soares. Along with the album, there was a documentary film celebrating the creation and release of "Sonzeira: Brasil Bam Bam Bam". Titled "Bam Bam Bam: The Story of Sonzeira", this two-hour documentary was directed by Charlie Inman and Ben Holman and shot in 2014 by Mother London and Rio de Janeiro's Beija Films. The film was also distributed in Tokyo, Japan by Sha-la-la Company and raised money for Fight For Peace (Luta Pela Paz), organisation founded in Complexo da Maré, Rio de Janeiro, as a direct response to youth-involvement in drug-related crime and violence.

Festivals

In 2006, Peterson worked with Freshly Cut, a French event production company from

Montpellier Montpellier (, , ; oc, Montpelhièr ) is a city in southern France near the Mediterranean Sea. One of the largest urban centres in the region of Occitania (administrative region), Occitania, Montpellier is the prefecture of the Departments of ...

, to create th
Worldwide Festival
a small intimate festival during the summertime in the coastal town of

in France. It celebrated its tenth edition in 2015. It was later expanded to include a winter version which is now hosted in

Leysin Leysin is a municipality of the canton of Vaud in the Aigle district of Switzerland. It is first mentioned around 1231–32 as ''Leissins'', in 1352 as ''Leisins''. Located in the Vaud Alps, Leysin is a sunny alpine resort village at the easter ...

in the

Swiss Alps The Alpine region of Switzerland, conventionally referred to as the Swiss Alps (german: Schweizer Alpen, french: Alpes suisses, it, Alpi svizzere, rm, Alps svizras), represents a major natural feature of the country and is, along with the Swiss ...

. In 2019, Peterson, as part of Brownswood Recordings, helped found a new festiva
We Out Here
Taking place in

Cambridgeshire Cambridgeshire (abbreviated Cambs.) is a Counties of England, county in the East of England, bordering Lincolnshire to the north, Norfolk to the north-east, Suffolk to the east, Essex and Hertfordshire to the south, and Bedfordshire and North ...

, the festival celebrates the 'elements and community of UK club culture.' The

is an annual event wherein Gilles Peterson chooses his favourite records of the year. His listeners then vote for the top 10 via the

Radio 1 Radio 1 or Radio One most commonly refers to: *BBC Radio 1, a music radio station from the BBC ** BBC Radio 1Xtra, a digital radio station broadcasting black music *CBC Radio One, a talk radio station operated by the Canadian Broadcasting Corporatio ...

website. The event has been held at London venues includin
Cargo
an
KoKo
with full broadcast coverage by Radio 1, and has expanded to include sections such as "Best Clubnight", "Best Record Shop", "Best Compilation Album", and a special award called "The John Peel'Play More Jazz' Award" given to an artist, often a newcomer, who has displayed special noteworthy work over the year. Peterson has made many regular appearances at music festivals across the world including Lovebox in east London, The Big Chill in Hereford and the

Southport Weekender Southport is a seaside town in the Metropolitan Borough of Sefton in Merseyside, England. At the 2001 census, it had a population of 90,336, making it the eleventh most populous settlement in North West England. Southport lies on the Iris ...

in the north west of England. Away from the UK he has appeared at the Exit Festival in

Serbia Serbia (, ; Serbian language, Serbian: , , ), officially the Republic of Serbia (Serbian language, Serbian: , , ), is a landlocked country in Southeast Europe, Southeastern and Central Europe, situated at the crossroads of the Pannonian Bas ...

, INmusic festival in

Croatia , image_flag = Flag of Croatia.svg , image_coat = Coat of arms of Croatia.svg , anthem = "Lijepa naša domovino"("Our Beautiful Homeland") , image_map = , map_caption = , capit ...

, and in 2006 the

Coachella Valley Music and Arts Festival The Coachella Valley Music and Arts Festival (commonly called the Coachella Festival or simply Coachella) is an annual music and arts festival held at the Empire Polo Club in Indio, California, in the Coachella Valley in the Colorado Desert. ...

. Peterson also curated his own stage at

Montreux Jazz Festival The Montreux Jazz Festival (formerly Festival de Jazz Montreux and Festival International de Jazz Montreux) is a music festival in Switzerland, held annually in early July in Montreux on the Lake Geneva shoreline. It is the second-largest annual ...

for 10 years during the 1990s. Recently he has appeared in festivals such as

Tramlines The Tramlines Festival is an annual music festival held in Sheffield, UK. The festival was originally free to attend, but now requires tickets. The line-up consists of national and local artists. The festival was curated and organised by a pan ...

, Standon Calling, Dimensions Festival in Croatia,

Summerstage The City Parks Foundation is the only independent, nonprofit organization to offer programs in parks throughout the five boroughs of New York City. The organization works in over 750 parks citywide, presenting a broad range of free arts, sports ...

Slide Festival Slide or Slides may refer to: Places * Slide, California, former name of Fortuna, California Arts, entertainment, and media Music Albums * ''Slide'' (Lisa Germano album), 1998 * ''Slide'' (George Clanton album), 2018 *''Slide'', by Patrick Glee ...

an
Odyssia Festival
where he gave a spontaneou
interview
sharing some interesting thoughts about music and festivals.

Steve Reid Foundation

In 2011, Peterson founded th
Steve Reid Foundation
in memory of the legendary jazz drummer. Having witnessed Reid's suffering with illness and hardship, Gilles set up the charity to raise money for musicians in need. Since then, they've collaborated with Help Musicians UK to help musicians who are in need of support. More recently, a collaboration with the PRS Foundation has seen grants and mentoring provided to new artists. Gilles ran the 2011 London Marathon, raising just under £7,000 for Help Musicians UK, followed by the 2016 New York Marathon, where he raised over $21,000 for the Steve Reid Foundation.

Personal life

Peterson was born in

Caen Caen (, ; nrf, Kaem) is a commune in northwestern France. It is the prefecture of the department of Calvados. The city proper has 105,512 inhabitants (), while its functional urban area has 470,000,South London South London is the southern part of London, England, south of the River Thames. The region consists of the Districts of England, boroughs, in whole or in part, of London Borough of Bexley, Bexley, London Borough of Bromley, Bromley, London Borou ...

during childhood. He is a French citizen and does not hold

dual citizenship Multiple/dual citizenship (or multiple/dual nationality) is a legal status in which a person is concurrently regarded as a national or citizen of more than one country under the laws of those countries. Conceptually, citizenship is focused on ...

with Britain. As of 2018, Peterson lives in

Stoke Newington Stoke Newington is an area occupying the north-west part of the London Borough of Hackney in north-east London, England. It is northeast of Charing Cross. The Manor of Stoke Newington gave its name to Stoke Newington the ancient parish. The ...

North London North London is the northern part of London, England, north of the River Thames. It extends from Clerkenwell and Finsbury, on the edge of the City of London financial district, to Greater London's boundary with Hertfordshire. The term ''nort ...

with his wife Atsuko and two sons, Olivier and Luc.

Awards

* Sony Gold Award – Best Specialist Music Radio Show (2000) * Outstanding Contribution To Dance Music (2011) *

University of Nottingham The University of Nottingham is a public university, public research university in Nottingham, United Kingdom. It was founded as University College Nottingham in 1881, and was granted a royal charter in 1948. The University of Nottingham belongs t ...

– Honorary master's degree *

AIM Independent Music Awards The AIM Independent Music Awards, hosted by the Association of Independent Music (commonly abbreviated to AIM), began in 2011. It is established through a collection of independent record labels and providing service and support to independent and s ...

– Indie Champion (2013) * ''

'' – Outstanding Contribution To Dance Music (2013) *

Mixcloud Mixcloud is a popular British online music streaming service that allows for the listening and distribution of radio shows, DJ mixes and podcasts, which are crowdsourced by its registered users. In April 2018, Mixcloud announced that it raised $ ...

– Best World Music Radio Show (2014) * Jazz FM – Digital Initiative of the Year Award (2017) (awarded to

) * Music Producers Guild – The A&R Award (2019)

Discography

Compilations

* Jazz Juice Street Sounds 1985 * Jazz Juice 2 Street Sounds 1985 * Jazz Juice 3 Street Sounds 1986 * Jazz Juice 4 Street Sounds 1986 * Baptist Beat Blue Note 1987 * Cal's Pals BGP Records 1987 * Jazz Juice 5 Street Sounds 1987 * Jazz Juice 6 Street Sounds 1987 * Focus on Fusion BGP Records 1987 * Focus on Fusion Volume 2 BGP Records 1987 * Acid Inc., The Best of Funk Inc. BGP Records 1988 * Acid Jazz And Other Illicit Grooves Polydor (Germany) 1988 * B&G Party BGP Records 1988 * Beat On (The Best of the Blackbyrds) BGP Records 1988 * Dance Juice Vol. 2 BGP Records 1988 * Dance Juice Vol. 3 BGP Records 1988 * Jazz Juice 7 Street Sounds 1988 * Jazz Juice 8 Street Sounds 1988 * Milestone Memories BGP Records 1988 * The Best of Azymuth BGP Records 1988 * Acid Jazz Vol. 4 BGP Records 1989 * Jazz Today Volume 1 BGP Records 1989 * Latin Jazz – Volume 1 BGP Records 1989 * Latin Jazz – Volume 2 BGP Records 1989 * Soul Jazz Volume 1 BGP Records 1989 * The Best of Acid Jazz BGP Records 1989 * Totally Wired Acid Jazz 1989 * Totally Wired II Acid Jazz 1989 * Acid Jazz Vol. 1 BGP Records 1991 * Acid Jazz Vol. 2 BGP Records 1991 * Acid Jazz Vol. 3 BGP Records 1991 * Acid Inc., The Best of Funk Inc. BGP Records 1991 * Make It Deep And Phunky Blue Note 1992 * The Best of Latin Jazz BGP Records 1992 * Mo' Deep Mo' Phunky Blue Note 1993 * Brasil – Escola Do Jazz Toshiba EMI Ltd 1994 * Brazilica! Talkin' Loud 1994 * Jazz Juice #1 Beechwood Music, Street Sounds 1994 * Jazz Juice #2 Beechwood Music, Street Sounds 1994 * Talkin' Jazz: Themes From The Black Forest Talkin' Loud 1994 * Talkin' Jazz Volume 2 (More Themes From The Black Forest) Talkin' Loud, Polydor (Germany) 1994 * Jazz Juice #3 Beechwood Music, Street Sounds 1995 * Talkin' Verve Verve Records 1995 * Brazilica, Volume II Talkin' Loud 1997 * Desert Island Mix Journeys By DJ 1997 * Talkin' Jazz Vol IITalkin' Loud 1997 * Talkin' Louder Year on Year Talkin' Loud, DJ Magazine 1997 * Free Style Mercury 1998 * INCredible Sound of Gilles Peterson INCredible 1999 * Sound of the City Vol. 2 – London Motor Music, Universal Jazz (Germany) 1999 * Worldwide Programme 1 Talkin' Loud 2000 * GP01 Trust The DJ 2001 * GP02 – Eclectic Trust The DJ 2002 * GP03 Trust The DJ 2002 * Impressed With Gilles Peterson Universal Jazz (UK) 2002 * Worldwide 2 Programme 2 Talkin' Loud 2002 * A Journey to the Dawn Temposphere 2003 * Broken Folk Funk Latin Soul Muzik Magazine 2003 * GP04 – Eclectic Trust The DJ 2003 * GP05 – Eclectic Session Vol. 2 Trust The DJ 2003 * Shibuya Jazz Classics – Gilles Peterson Collection – TRIO Issue Solid Records 2003 * Southport Weekender suSU 2003 * Worldwide 3 Programme 3 Talkin' Loud 2003 * Gilles Peterson in Brazil Ether 2004 * Impressed 2 With Gilles Peterson Universal Jazz (UK) 2004 * Worldwide Exclusives Talkin' Loud 2004 * Brasil – The Rhythm And Art of Movement Nike 2005 * Gilles Peterson Digs America – Brownswood U.S.A. Luv N' Haight 2005 * Gilles Peterson in Africa Ether 2005 * Gilles Peterson Presents – The BBC Sessions Vol. 1 Ether 2005 * Petit Dejeuner Au Lit! Most Records, Habitat 2005 * Smell The Grass ''Mixmag'' 2005 * Brownswood Bubblers Brownswood Recordings 2006 * Gilles Peterson & Patrick Forge Present – Sunday Afternoon at Dingwalls Ether 2006 * Gilles Peterson Back in Brazil Ether 2006 * Pure Fire! A Gilles Peterson Impulse! Collection Impulse! 2006 * The Kings of Jazz – Compiled by Gilles Peterson and Jazzanova Rapster Records 2006 * Brownswood Bubblers Two Brownswood Recordings 2007 * Fania DJ Series Gilles Peterson Fania Records 2007 * Gilles Peterson Digs America 2 – Searching at the End of an Era Luv N' Haight 2007 * Brownswood Bubblers Three Brownswood Recordings 2008 * Gilles Peterson in the House ITH Records 2008 * Brazilika Far Out Recordings 2009 * Brownswood Bubblers Four Brownswood Recordings 2009 * Freedom Rhythm & Sound – Revolutionary Jazz & The Civil Rights Movement 1963–82 Soul Jazz Records 2009 * Gilles Peterson Presents Havana Cultura: New Cuba Sound Brownswood Recordings 2009 * Brownswood Bubblers Five Brownswood Recordings 2010 * Brownswood Bubblers Six Brownswood Recordings 2010 * Everyday Blue Note – Compiled by Gilles Peterson Blue Note (Japan Only) 2010 * Gilles Peterson Presents Havana Cultura: Remixed Brownswood Recordings 2010 * Gilles Peterson Presents: Worldwide BBE 2010 * Heartbeat Presents One Time! Mixed by Gilles Peterson × Air Lastrum 2010 * Horo: A Jazz Portrait Dejavu 2010 * Bossa Nova and the Rise of Brazilian Music in the 1960s Soul Jazz Records 2011 * Brownswood Bubblers Seven Brownswood Recordings 2011 * Gilles Peterson Presents Havana Cultura: The Search Continues Brownswood Recordings 2011 * Masterpiece: Created By Gilles Peterson Ministry of Sound 2011 * Brownswood Bubblers Eight Brownswood Recordings 2012 * Black Jazz Radio Snow Dog (Japan Only) 2012 * Brownswood Bubblers Nine Brownswood Recordings 2012 * Brownswood One Hundred Remixed Brownswood Recordings 2013 * Brownswood Bubblers Ten Brownswood Recordings 2013 * Brownswood Bubblers Eleven Brownswood Recordings 2014 * Brunswick Bubblers Ultra-Vybe, Inc. 2014 * Gilles Peterson Presents Sonzeira Talkin' Loud / Virgin EMI 2014

Remixes

Selected credits *

Gregory Porter Gregory Porter (born November 4, 1971) is an American singer, songwriter and actor. He has twice won the Grammy Award for Best Jazz Vocal Album: first in 2014 for ''Liquid Spirit'' and then again in 2017 for ''Take Me to the Alley''. Early li ...

– "Liquid Spirit - Patchwork Peterson Remix" from ''The Remix EP'' (with Alex Patchwork) *

Melanie De Biasio Melanie is a feminine given name derived from the Greek μελανία (melania), "blackness" and that from μέλας (melas), meaning "dark".Raphael Gualazzi Raffaele Gualazzi (born 11 November 1981), better known as Raphael Gualazzi, is an Italian singer and pianist. He was born in Urbino. Biography ''Love Outside the Window'' On 16 September 2005, Gualazzi released his first studio album, titled '' ...

– "Reality & Fantasy (Gilles Peterson Remix)" * Nono Morales – "Saona" (Gilles P & Simbad Remix) * Bukky Leo & Black Egypt – "Skeleton (Gilles P Winter Dub)" *

Chambao Chambao were a flamenco-electronic band originally from Málaga, Spain, known for a Flamenco Chill sound that fuses flamenco sounds and palos with electronic music. The name of the band is taken from an improvised form of beach tent that is co ...

– "Duende Del Sur (Gilles Peterson Dub)" * Ghostpoet – ''Survive It'' (Gilles Peterson Mix) *

Keziah Jones Keziah Jones (born Olufemi Sanyaolu on 10 January 1968) is a Nigerian singer-songwriter and guitarist. He describes his musical style as "Blufunk", which is a fusion between raw blues elements and hard, edgy funk rhythms. Also his Nigerian roo ...

– "Lagos – NY (Gilles Peterson Remix)" *

Seu Jorge Jorge Mário da Silva, more commonly known by his stage name Seu Jorge (Seu, an abbreviation of "Senhor"; born June 8, 1970; ), is a Brazilian musical artist, songwriter, and actor. He is considered by many a renewer of Brazilian pop samba. Seu ...

– "Burguesinha (Gilles P Re-Edit)" *

Tito Puente Ernest Anthony Puente Jr. (April 20, 1923 – June 1, 2000), commonly known as Tito Puente, was an American musician, songwriter, bandleader, and record producer of Puerto Rican descent. He is best known for dance-oriented mambo and Latin jazz c ...

– "Watu Wasuri (Gilles P Re-Edit)" *

Louie Vega Luis Ferdinand Vega Jr. (born June 12, 1965), as known as "Little Louie" Vega, is an American DJ, record producer and Grammy Award winner remixer of Puerto Rican ancestry. He is one half of the Masters at Work musical production team. Biograph ...

– "One Dream (Gilles Peterson Edit)" *

Laura Welsh Laura Welsh (born 1986) is an English indie pop singer from Staffordshire. Welsh was lead vocalist with the group Laura & the Tears in the late 2000s, and released one EP with the group in 2009, entitled ''Love Live On''. Following the dissolu ...

– "Undiscovered (Gilles Peterson Remix)" * Meshell N'Degeocello – "Friends (Gilles P & Simbad Remix)" *

Makaya McCraven Makaya McCraven (born October 19, 1983) is an American jazz drummer and bandleader. Life and career McCraven was born in Paris, France, to jazz drummer and Hungarian singer Ágnes Zsigmondi (of the band Kolind, and from the age of three was ra ...

– "Run 'Dem (Gilles Peterson Edit)"

Other credits

– ''Yo'' (co-produced tracks) *

Omar Souleyman Omar Souleyman ( ar, عمر سليمان) is a Syrian Arab (Timestamp-Minute 1:00) Singer from the village of Ra's al-'Ayn near the Syria–Turkey border but grew up in the city of Tell Tamer. He started his career as a part-time wedding singer i ...

– "Tawwalt El Gheba" (producer) *Danay Suarez – ''Havana Cultura Sessions'' (Executive producer)

Bibliography

Compilations edited with Stuart Baker
''Bossa Nova and the Rise Of Brazilian Music in the 1960s''
London: Soul Jazz Books, 2011. *
Freedom Rhythm & Sound: Revolutionary Jazz Original Cover Art 1965–83
' . London: Soul Jazz Books, 2017. *
Cuba: Music and Revolution: Original Album Cover Art of Cuban Music: The Record Sleeve Designs of Revolutionary Cuba 1960–85
'. London: Soul Jazz Books, 2021.

References

External links

* – official site
Gilles Peterson
(BBC Radio 6 Music)
Gilles Peterson
(BBC Radio 1) ''(archive)'' * {{DEFAULTSORT:Peterson, Gilles 1964 births Living people Musicians from Caen English DJs English radio DJs British music industry executives English people of French descent English people of Swiss descent BBC Radio 6 Music presenters Record collectors Brownswood Recordings Talkin' Loud artists French DJs French music industry executives French emigrants to England