Articles - Interviews

Crystal Ball- the Next 10 Years: Pete Heller

Kicking off his career DJing at London’s seminal rave club of the 80s Shoom ‘acid house relic’ (Twitter) Pete Heller went on to establish equally influential label Boys Own before having chart success in the early 90s producing the likes of The Farm and Primal Scream. Simultaneously recognised as one of the clubland’s big name house DJs, he later crossed over to the mainstream courtesy of his filtered disco Ibiza anthem Big Love, which topped pop charts worldwide in 1999.

11 years on, he remains a prolific house music producer and has also become one of the highest educated people in dance culture, studying for a Masters Degree in Digital Media. He also continues to criss-cross the globe for DJ gigs most of which are dreadful, at least according to his unusually honest and often hilarious Twitter posts (http://twitter.com/Peteheller)


Skrufff: What trends- in music and clubs, do you expect to be big in 2010 and beyond?

Pete Heller: “I think they’ll be a return to a more analogue sound and a move away from digital trickery - less is definitely more for 2010. Also a return of the big room sound  - boom boom boom.”

Skrufff : What do you anticipate will be the future for record companies and producers? This year and in 5 years’ time?

Pete Heller: “Well the move over to digital seems to have gathered pace, record companies are just beginning to get their heads round direct digital sales and I expect to see a lot more of this from now on. Beatport is still the big beast in terms of downloads, but conversely I think that digital sales unsupported by vinyl are destined to vanish without trace into the every lengthening 'long tail' almost as soon as they appear. So I expect to see a growth in vinyl as an enthusiast's medium to help support digital releases.

I also think it's high time that labels began to see the sheer futility in releasing umpteen remixes with each new release on the off chance that one actually sticks. Not only is it insufferably dull for DJs to have to wade through a ton of shitty mixes, it completely devalues the release. As far as producers go, I see more flexible approaches to releases with elements of tracks being increasingly provided as DJ tools for re-assembly using more advanced DJ software tools.”

Skrufff: What do you think the future holds for DJs (will any/ many still be playing vinyl and/ or CDs in 5 years time?)

Pete Heller: “As above - the digital revolution gathers pace and there will continue to be an ever expanding market for innovative DJ software tools. Vinyl is already purely an enthusiast's medium but it will continue to survive as I described. I really can't see the case for CDRs lasting too much longer as people finally get round to embracing the lap-top approach. You can see that companies like Pioneer have realized this with their new CDJ (2000) units - but CD players will continue to survive as controller devices.”

Skrufff: What musical styles and club trends do you expect to struggle this year? (And to die out altogether as the decade progresses?)

Pete Heller: “Who knows? That's the great mystery of dance music, this evolution of styles. I think people are definitely returning to the old-school approach and sound of the music of the early 90s. I would love to say there will be a return of songs and song-writing but for a whole load of reasons, that seems to have fallen by the wayside.”

Skrufff: Which countries do you expect dance music to prosper in (why?)

Pete Heller: “Well, the global reach of dance continues to spread - maybe China & India will become big players. It's hard to tell.”

Skrufff And in which will it struggle? (What do you anticipate for Ibiza: for the UK, in 5 years time?)

Pete Heller: “Ibiza has such a support structure and associated marketing clout (in terms of press and PR) that I just can't see it losing its influence at all - too many people need it to continue, and the clubs have shown themselves to be pretty ruthless in perpetuating that dominance. As far as the UK goes - it's harder to say. It would be nice if the recession unleashed a new wave of creativity and new club ventures, but at the moment, I just don't see it.”

Skrufff: How concerned are you about global warming? (Do you feel any twinges of guilt about your carbon imprint from flying so much: how prepared are you to cut back on international travel?)

Pete Heller: “Well I probably travelled less this year than any time in the last 20 years, so my carbon footprint is definitely being reduced. But of course, it's a serious issue and Copenhagen has shown that we're not being helped by the politicians in that regard at all. As far as DJs and their contribution to the problem is concerned, it's very difficult to look at it in isolation and probably not that helpful. One DJ flying from A to B is definitely less carbon intensive than a band touring with all that support structure etc travelling the same route, but many DJs certainly do rack up an awful lot of air miles.

But unfortunately, if you are a working DJ/ producer, then playing out is really the only viable means of earning a living these days, and if there isn't a domestic club scene to help support your career then it's a big request to expect that person to start turning down gigs on the basis of their possible contribution to climate change and really, it's not going to mean that much in the wider scheme of things. The point is that we are all going to have to make drastic sacrifices in the way we live and that really is not being addressed in any way by society as a whole right now.”

Skrufff: How comfortable are you about the longer term future for the worldwide economy? (do you take any precautions against chaos: eg storing bottle water and food? Having anywhere to escape to?)

Pete Heller: “Yeah, I have a big collection of guns and ammo in the garden shed. No, I'm not a survivalist so I don't really worry to much about the sky falling in, and I'm not really much of a doom merchant either. I'm not predicting the end of the world just yet.”

Skrufff: Anything else to add?

Pete Heller: “Just try and remain positive. It's the best bet.”

Article by Jonty Skrufff (http://skrufff.com): Follow Jonty on Twitter: http://www.twitter.com/jontyskrufff