The many faces of Gilles Peterson

Gilles Peterson. Photo / Supplied

Not surprisingly, for a bloke whose been searching for the perfect beat for more than 25 years, Gilles Peterson takes an old-fashioned approach to DJing.

"I bring as much music to the party and see where the crowd takes me," says the chatty and enthusiastic DJ, record collector and label boss on the phone from London.

"I'm not one to prepare everything. I'm pretty much on the edge really," he laughs.

Unlike many modern day DJs, Peterson refuses to use new-fangled computer driven DJing tools like the New Zealand-made Serato gear which allows endless numbers of digital audio files to be scratched and mixed on turntables as if they are playing real vinyl.

"But inevitably, and quite ironically," continues Peterson, "because they have so many options they end up playing the same old shit a lot of the time because it's easy.

"But if you don't carry the easiest things then you end up having to be a lot more creative with it."

Peterson started out on pirate radio and doing club nights in London in the mid 80s, primarily playing jazz, funk, hip-hop and Latin music and developing a style that would become known as acid jazz.

In 1988 he started the Acid Jazz label with friend Eddie Piller, which gave rise to acts like Brand New Heavies and Jamiroquai. Then in 1990 he created Talkin' Loud, an influential label which spawned acts as diverse as acid jazzers the Young Disciples, and most famously drum'n'bass hard-nut Roni Size.

These days Peterson is best known for his weekly BBC radio show Worldwide, playing a mix of classic songs and brand new tracks from around the world to an audience tuning in from Nigeria to New Zealand. In recent months he's played tracks by New Zealand acts Electric Wire Hustle and Julien Dyne - and he was one of the early European adopters of Fat Freddy's Drop.

Since the late 90s he has released dozens of compilation albums which reflect the broad scope of his radio show, with his latest album, Havana Culture, a collection of new sounds from Cuba.

This long history, which he admits has seen him be "fashionable and not so fashionable" at certain times, means people come to his club gigs with varying expectations.

"Having been doing it for 25 years, and made a name for being a jazz DJ, and the man who invented acid jazz, and the whole trip-hop thing, people turn up expecting different things from me.

"Some want jazz funk and rare groove, and some want brand new electronic stuff and dub step. So the best thing I find for me when I DJ is find a place where I can play as long as possible."

So a four or five-hour set is the norm, allowing him to play as many styles and tunes as possible, which means his headlining slot at Auckland's Turnaround at Bacco Room on February 26 will be value for money and a rare chance to see one of the world's most enduring DJs at work.

While he's primarily aligned with jazz, funk and dance music, he's also known for his diverse taste ("I don't like genre shows") and bringing disparate songs and styles together. "I love dance music, but I love hip-hop, dub step, and I love a lot of music, and to me it's about making sense of it," he says.

This love of diversity goes back to when he was young and used to go to Paris and listen to Radio Nova, a station that played "Miles Davis, next to Serge Gainsbourg, and Stereolab. In a way that had a very big influence to be able to try and put this music together and make it all sound brilliant."

Though Peterson is often lumped with the "acid jazz guy" tag, this passion for diversity was why he gave up the Acid Jazz label, virtually handing his stake over to Piller in 1990.

He started Talkin' Loud with a mission to take acid jazz to a wider audience, while also branching out and signing different acts.

"For me being on the cutting edge and DJing at that time I really wanted to represent, on one hand, what acid jazz was truly about, and on the other hand represent the new electronic dance music scene."

So throughout the 90s, acid jazz acts like Young Disciples emerged alongside the likes of electronica diva Nicolette, Roni Size, and German chill-out collective Jazzanova.

"That confused people because everybody wanted our label to be just like the Young Disciples forever, but that's never been the way I've done my stuff, I've always been about moving forwards while respecting the history and heritage. But I just try and take all my different experiences and create something musically unique."

But if he had to be pushed on what sort of music he will always go back to, it's jazz.

"You can't beat a classic jazz record," he says. "The thing about jazz is it always sounds fresh to me. You listen to an album like Yusef Lateef's Before Dawn [from 1957] on Verve - that will still sound brilliant in 20 years because the music is so organic and so raw because electronics, fashion and technology had not had any effect on it. You can't beat that."

Lowdown

Who: Gilles Peterson What: DJ, record label boss, and music tastemaker
Where & when: The Turnaround, Bacco Room, Auckland, February 26
Albums: Gilles Peterson presents: Worldwide Vol. 2 (2003); Roni Size and Reprazent - New Forms (1997); Young Disciples - Road To Freedom (1993)