Jazz is Gilles Peterson’s bread and butter. He literally lives, breathes and sweats jazz, and has done for years. The size of Gilles’s discography is absurd and serves as a timeline for the evolution of Gilles’s sound. Gilles’s DJ career has spanned various radio stations – both legal and pirate – and has taken him to venues across the globe, allowing him to bring his unique genre of acid jazz to the masses. Gilles’s DJ sets are effervescent. He peppers his jazz-heavy music with sprinklings of funk and Latin beats, creating a sound that is equal parts energizing and chilled out. It’s a genre that you’d be just as happy moving to on a night out, as you would sitting down to listen to during a chilled evening in. It’s a hard balance to strike, but Gilles does it every time. It’s his forte.
Watching Gilles DJ live feels a bit voyeuristic. It’s clear that crafting these musical fusions is something very personal. His music really is a part of him and he’s totally in love with it. It’s very cool to see Gilles become one with his music, and I’ve rarely seen other DJs as in the moment as Gilles is. For this reason alone it’s worth seeing him live. Catching one of his tour dates is a must, I guarantee you’ll have a phenomenal night.
Horne Section
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