Peshay

UK producer and DJ Peshay’s rise through the drum ‘n’ bass scene has been nothing short of meteoric. Respected worldwide for his releases on labels such as Metalheadz, Good Looking, Mo Wax and Universal Island, to name but a few, his ability to produce at the highest levels and his excellence behind the decks is renowned. When he DJs, four-minute mixes are the norm and the excitement that he generates reflects Peshay’s energy perfectly: always on the go, hyperactive, talkative and passionate. Whilst growing up, Peshay found himself listening to an assortment of music ranging from opera to electro. His obsession with the new house scene developing in the early ‘80s made him decide that as far as making a living was concerned, this was the path he wished to follow. Peshay left his job in the printing industry and decided to concentrate full time on his musical career. He bought a pair of Technics and started sending tapes to promoters, which led to his first break at Bass Box in April ‘91. He also played for Genesis at Rollers Express, Fascination at Tasco Warehouse and both Dreamscape and Fantazia; and within a short period of time he was securing regular bookings all over the world. Peshay’s first recordings came about after hooking up with the infamous Bay B Kane, with a track called ‘Quarter To Doom’ on the ‘Return Of Bay B Kane EP’; and then Bizzy B with the ‘2 Dope EP’. Both lit up the rave scene in 1992. He also hooked up with Dave Charlesworth at ADR and the ‘Catch It’ track was released. Meeting Goldieone evening led Peshay to the acquaintance of Dego and Gus at Reinforced, and the ‘Protégé EP’ followed, bringing Peshay into the spotlight, cementing his place in the Rave scene and increasing his demand as a DJ. At a Dreamscape event in 1992, LTJ Bukem introduced himself to Peshay; this meeting eventually led to a collaboration which produced ‘19.5’ and Peshay’s first solo outings, the awesome ‘Piano & Vocal Tunes’, now all acclaimed classics for the Good Looking imprint. Due to an illness Peshay was unable to DJ or produce for nearly two years, and his comeback session at the Metalheadz Bluenote Club is still talked about today. It wasn’t long before he had re-established himself both behind the decks and in the recording studio. After a couple of projects for Basement Records which include ‘Futurama’ and ‘Roll The Beats’, Peshay produced ‘Psychosis’, ‘Predator’, ‘On The Nile’ and ‘Nocturnal’ as well as a host of remixes for Metalheadz. He also contributed to the acclaimed ‘Logical Progression’ and ‘Platinum Breaks’ albums with FFRR as well as being chosen to remix both singles from Goldie’s acclaimed ‘Timeless’ album, to add to stinging reworks of LTJ Bukem’s ‘Music’ and Galliano’s ‘Freefall’. Peshay was signed by James Lavelle to Mo Wax in late 1995. He then locked himself away in the studio for almost a year, to work on his debut album. But suddenly everything came to a grinding halt, as merger mania in the record industry came rumbling into Peshay’s life. By the end of 1998, Peshay finally found himself at Island. The critically acclaimed album ‘Miles From Home’ was released in 1999 on Island Blue Records, the label managed by Ross Allen. Peshay also contributed to the classic V recordings album – Planet V with a track called ‘Amazon’; and in 2001 Peshay was the winner of the DJ Awards at Pacha Ibiza where he won the Drum ‘n’ Bass category in a night he will never forget. All the world’s DJs were there including Carl Cox, Roger Sanchez, David Morales, Timo Maas, Danny Tenaglia, Paul Oakenfold, Paul Van Dyk and Jeff Mills. Having started his own label called ‘Cubik Music’, Peshay released tracks such as ‘You Got Me Burning’, ‘Miles From Home’ (Remix), ‘Fuzion’, ’Satisfy My Love’, ‘House Sound’, and ‘Jammin’, some of which were included on the highly acclaimed ‘Fuzion’ album. Peshay’s remix credits include artists such as Galliano, Jay Dee, John Coltrane, Photek, Carl Craig, Goldie, Ingrid Schroeder, LTJ Bukem, DJ Die, DJ Shadow and Courtney Pine. Always choosing to remix tunes he personally likes has produced an impressive catalogue of quality dance tracks over the last 22 years. In March 2013, Peshay released the ‘Funkster EP’ on V Recordings, a six track set that made waves in the drum ‘n’ bass scene, as well as other music genres, and displayed Peshay’s versatility as a producer. In early 2013 Peshay set up his own label, Peshay Music, for projects to be announced in the near future. With a brand new album also finished – a cornucopia of eclectic tempos and styles including drum ‘n’ bass, funk, jazz, big band, electro and hip hop – Peshay has signed to Tru Thoughts for a release of the LP, entitled ‘Generation’, later in 2013.