Pumped Audio’s Feature Writer, Larissa Wignall had a captivating and inspiring chat with DJ, Music Producer, Radio Show Host, Management Company and DJ Agency Owner; Pete Gooding. He is known for his raining residency at the incredible Café Mambo in Ibiza, with key highlights in his career playing at Bestival, in the Isle of Man, launching his Secret Life Project and introducing his Global Radio Network on over 100 radio stations worldwide. This is not to mention what Pete has in store for the future.
Hi Pete,
You’ve spent long hours behind the ones and twos at the well renowned Café Mambo for the best part of ten years and still play there on the odd occasion today. What relationship do you feel you have with the White Isle and why do you think it’s such a prestigious place to become recognised as a DJ?
Well, I was going to Ibiza on family holidays from the age of 13, then I started going to clubs from the age of 15. After that I did 10 years solid, as the main resident at Café Mambo from 1996 – 2005 and I now play every now and then. I was their resident throughout summer 2010, so it will always feel like home to be honest.
The reason Ibiza is a great place to be recognised as a DJ is that promoters and club owners from all over the world are there, so it’s amazing for networking if you’re playing in the right place. Up and coming DJ’s can also mix with more established DJ’s and build more contacts within the industry.
What was your first Ibiza club experience and how does it differ to the music culture we have on the stunning island today?
It was in 1989 at Amnesia. My sister took me and my brother and it was the first time I had ever been to a club in my life. I have very clear memories of Lil Louis ‘French Kiss’ and Kariya ‘Baby Let Me Love You’ and this night opened my eyes to a new world and cemented my love for electronic music, clubs and Ibiza.
The main differences, 23 years later are how much busier the island is. How many more events there are. Back in the day there was one good party per night and all of the clubs were open air, which was amazing, now there are many parties every night. The island also seemed more open minded musically back then, as you could hear someone like Alfredo play all genres of great music , whereas these days you only get one sub genre all night but there is still so much variety to be found on the island … if you look hard enough.
What events in Ibiza do you think has the wow factor this year and what have been your personal favourite, past or present?
My favourite party since 2010 has been Cadenza at Pacha, as in my opinion that’s where you will hear the best music. Ushuaia also has the wow factor when it’s packed.
A lot of people nowadays think that being a DJ and Music Producer is easy and anyone can become one at the flick of hat, what would be the best advice you could give to an aspiring DJ and Music Producer today?
I guess people look at someone like Avicii and think they can achieve the same in three years, earn millions and be famous but their odds are stacked highly against that to be honest. My advice would be to realise that it takes years to become a good producer and also years to become a good DJ. Of course you can learn to beat match in a short time or just use Traktor or Ableton but there is so much more to being a DJ, like reading the crowd, programming your music and having an extensive knowledge of music across many genres.
You’re on the line up for Bestival again this year, what is your connection with the festival and what’s the finest thing about being a part of a festival line up?
Well, I have been playing for Bestival now for four years and I am so happy to be part of it. I have played on many different stages from; The Ambient Forest, The Wishing Tree, The Bollywood Tent and the main stage to 40,000 people. The best thing about playing at festivals is that you get to hear loads of amazing new music, especially with Bestival, which has the countries best line up in my opinion. Lots of my best friends come with me every year and loads of DJ mates and other people I know through the industry are there, so it’s really sociable which is great!
You are always very versatile when it comes to your sets, did you always intend to be?
No not at all, that comes from my early memories of Ibiza, hearing Alfredo and Jose Padilla play tracks like Hoomba Hoomba ‘Voices of Africa’ in the main room at clubs in Ibiza and everyone going crazy. Today unless it’s banging it doesn’t get played in a main room but those records had the big impact on me when I was younger.
I remember my first actual trip to Ibiza when I was 13 and I only went to the hotel disco but one track which really stood out to me was an early Sven Vath track called ‘Electric Salsa.’ Again a down-tempo track that these days I could only play at sunset but I love these tracks as much as peak time Techno or House tracks, so it was always normal for me to like music because it was good not because of what genre it was.
I heard you have launched your Secret Life project, with Murray McKee and Phil Dockerty; can you tell me more about it?
Yeah … So this is a new collaboration for the three of us. Phil used to be half of production duo Futureshock and Murray is my agent. Me and Phil started running a club night in the UK 19 years ago, then we started a radio show together five years ago and we have done loads of production in the past. Murray and I met years ago when he ran all the tours for Renaissance, so it made total sense for us all to get together as we have 60 years experience between us.
We started the blog in March, which is www.secretlifemusic.com and this is going really well. So far we have had loads of great DJ mixes, interviews and written some good articles. Then we signed the first two releases for Secret Life Records recently, which we are really excited about. It’s all coming together nicely and we expect the first release to be in September / October.
You have your weekly radio show too; The Global Network which is now on over 100 stations worldwide. When did you launch this and why do you like having your own radio show?
I started this with Phil Dockerty in 2007 but for the last four years I have done it on my own, as Phil was too busy with production commitments so I kept on going. I love that there is no dance floor, so I can play what ever I like from Electronica, Chill Out, Balearic Disco, Drum n Bass, House, Techno, Jazz, Soul, etc. That makes it interesting for me as it’s entraining and also, educating the listeners with cutting edge music. This also gives my show it’s USP I guess. I also love it because I have made the effort to learn how to talk properly before I started. I was really lucky as a friend of mine called Eddie Gordon helped me a lot and he had worked in radio for years. Also, Phil had used a mic for years so their help gave me the confidence to be able to do it.
So, looking ahead to the future what can we see from you, what are you plans and do you have any hot new tracks we should be keeping our ears open for?
I have loads of new tracks on the way production wise which is really exciting. I have about eight brand new solo tracks and there are more being done every month. There are also collaborations with Jonathan Cowan from the Shelbourne Hotel in Miami and Chris Coco.
Then No Logo, which is a project with me and Chill Out producer Afterlif. We have been working together for eight years now and our debut solo album is out on Chris Coco’s Melodica Records in a few weeks.
Not to mention me, Phil and Murray are remixing all the releases for our Secret Life label, as well as original material which will go out under the ‘Secret Life’ production name. I started a management company six months ago, which is going really well and more recently a DJ agency. There’s lots going on and it’s a really exciting and busy 2012 ahead.
Thank you so much for your time Pete and the best of luck for all of your projects you have going on and new music releases.
Pete Gooding will be at Bestival, Robin Hill Country Park, Isle of White on 6th-9th September and if you can’t wait until then, check out his Global Network Radio Show on Mixcloud: http://www.mixcloud.com/petegooding/
Larissa Wignall
