#essential selection

Pete Tong – Essential Selection (with Melé) – 23-06-2021

A while back on Facebook this thread was going round.

Having been into dance music since 1985, and DJing and producing music since 1994, it was hard to pick just three people so I’ve added some honourable mentions..

Pete Tong

It was the Essential Selection show on BBC Radio 1 that was pivotal in my move from acid house into hardcore rave. I’d been buying acid house from around '87-'90 and had started moving out of that into commercial pop (hey, I was 12 years old). By signing early rave artists to his label FFRR and then playing it on his show, Pete exposed me to the harder music doing the rounds and got me into it.

Honourable mention: John Peel would also be hugely influential in the music I bought but it was Pete Tong that really kicked it off.

Slipmatt

Time and again it's been Slipmatts tracks that have influenced not only the music I've got into but the music I've attempted to emulate in my own tracks. Whether it was the SMD releases that got me into happy hardcore when the scene split in '93, or his amazing Universal label in the mid 90s that was responsible for many of my favourite tunes includes my favourite track of all time (Vibena’s Positive Energy), or his sets at the Fantazia raves in the early 90s, his influence has been undeniable. And I've played alongside him twice now which has been great.

Honourable mention: Seduction. His Impact label and tracks always spoke to me and sums up the vibe I try to get when I write tracks.

St. Acid

A leftfield one this, as it hasn't been his music or DJing that's shaped my life (no offense!), but his support and the fact he runs Bang Face which has introduced me to loads of people I now consider good friends, given me exposure which has seen me play across continents and in front of crowds of thousands. None of that would probably have happened without his support.