About Pete Lockett Percussionist

BEST LIVE PERCUSSIONIST' 2006 - RHYTHM MAGAZINE
"One of the hardest working musicians we know.. Pete’s relentless
studio and live schedule continues to keep him in our hearts and minds"

	Pete Lockett is one of the most versatile multi-percussionists currently in the world, having immersed himself in percussion and drums from every part of the globe. The wide range of artists he’s worked with reflects the diversity of his playing. He has recorded and or toured with: Björk, Peter Gabriel, Robert Plant, Dido, Bill Bruford, Jeff Beck, David Torn, Vikku Vinayakram, Selva Ganesh, Ustad Zakir Hussain, The Verve, Steve Smith, Chris Potter, John Spencer Blues Explosion, David Holmes, Ganesh Kumaresh, Michael Nyman, Natacha Atlas, Texas, Trans-Global Underground, London Philharmonic Orchestra, Russ Miller / Nelly Furtado, Phil Manzanera, David Arnold, Evelyn Glennie, Bedlam, Jon Hassell, Simon Phillips,
Lee Scratch Perry, Primal Scream, Andrea Corr, Jojo Mayer, Kai Eckhardt, Schlomo, Ed Mann, Michael Shrieve, Edwyn Collins, Damien Rice, Jarvis Cocker, George Brooks, Trevor Jackson, Craig Armstrong, John Bergamo, Kadri Gopalnath , Nicko McBrain (Iron Maiden), Pandit Shankar Ghosh, TVG, Bernard Butler, David Mcalmont, Metro Voices, Mick Karn, London Sinfonietta, Natasha / Daniel Bedingfield, Euphoria, Catherine Bott, Pandit Sharda Sahai, Kodo, Playgroup, Taufiq Quereshi, U Shrinivas, Rajesh Mandolin, Suga Babes, Hughes De Courson, Ronan Keating, Nitin Sawhney, Evan Dando, Adrian Sherwood, On-U-Sound, Kula Shaker, Afro Celt Sound System, Vanessa-Mae, Horacio El Negro Hernandez, Errol Brown, Rory Gallagher, Gary Husband, Baba Sissoko, Carlo Rizzo, Dave Dobbyn, Vinny Appice, Denny Seiwell, Pet Shop Boys, Beth Orton, Mark Schulman, Martina Topley Bird, Shankar Mahedevan, Little Axe, Bikram Ghosh, Ghatam Suresh, Dino Merlin, Doug Wimbish, Ronu Majumdar, Hari Haran, Amaan & Ayaan Ali Khan, Amy Winehouse, Mel C, The Players, Junior Delgado, Will Calhoun, Zoro, Benny Greb, Johnny Rabb, Steve Sidelynk, The Aloof, David Toop, Lowell Fulson, Joji Hirota, Skip Macdonald, A R Rahman, Archive, Luke Vibert, Eumir Deodato, Michael Barker, Derek Roddy, Andy Gangadeen, Julian Lloyd Webber, Steve White, the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra, Bandish, Jim Kilpatrick, BBC concert orchestra, Seb Rochford, Jonas Hellborg, Youth of Killing Joke, Catriona MacDonald, Reshma, Niladri Kumar, Aziz Ibrahim (Stone Roses/Simply Red) DJ Judge Jules, French band INTIK, Sinead O'Conner, Elefantes, Andy Wright, Farida Khanum, Qadir Shaggan, Attullah Essakhelvi, Paul Heard/Mike Pickering (M People), Hands Ensemble, Antonio Forcione and more! [Pete's Discography]
Pete onstage with Viku Vinayakram and Selva Ganesh in Chennai, 2003

A basic list of instruments covered by Pete includes the following:
North/South Indian percussion: tabla, mridangam, kanjira, ghatam, vocal
percussion, dholak, naal, bhangra dhol. Middle Eastern percussion: darabuka, req, bendir, frame-drums. Latin percussion: congas, bongos, timbales, berimbau. Also Irish Bodhran, Nigerian Udu, West African djembe, Japanese taiko, Western drumset and many weird and wonderful percussion effects such as waterphones & spring drums, along with many strange percussive objects built and customised by Pete. He also works extensively with electronics & samplers, both live and in the studio, using samplers, effects units and live electronic looping to create densely alternative percussion fabrics.

Pete with Ustad Zakir Hussain after appearing together in the ‘Homage to Abbaji’ concert in Bombay, 2004

Pete on stage with Steve Smith 2004

Pete has worked in virtually every field of music conceivable, both live and in the studio. From pop and rock, to free jazz and the classical avant garde. From traditional Carnatic and Hindustani music of North and South India to traditional Japanese taiko drumming. Straight blues, funk and rock drumming to collaborations with classical, folk, ethnic and experimental musicians. One of Pete’s main calling cards is his ability to play traditional instruments out of their normal cultural setting and make them sit within the music comfortably. He has performed live at festivals and concert halls all over the world.

He has also worked extensively in the film industry. Pete arranged and recorded all the ethnic percussion for the recend Hollywood hits, The Incredible Hulk 2, Quantum of Solace, Casino Royale and can also count the three previous bond movies, Die Another Day, Tomorrow Never Dies and The World is Not Enough amongst his credits as soloist, along with Hollywood blockbusters, City of Angels (Meg Ryan), The Insider (Al Pacino), Plunkett & Maclean (Robert Carlisle), The Bone Collector, (Denzel Washington), Amazing Grace, (Albert Finney), The quiet American (Michael Caine), Moulin Rouge, (Nicole Kidman), and the Guy Ritchie film Snatch, as well as TV and advertising credits which are too numerous to mention. He has also recorded in the Indian film industry, most recently in Chennai with AR Rahman on the 2007 blockbuster, SIVAJI, (Rajini Kanth). Check out some of the Hollywood films here

Worldwide touring has included India, Nepal, Thailand, Azerbaijan, Pakistan, Sudan, Malaysia, Hungary, Palestine, Australia, New Zealand, Hong Kong, Israel, America, Canada and extensively all over Europe.

Besides his busy schedule in the studio and on the road with other artists, Pete has a number of collaborative projects which have so far seen the release of ten albums.

Projects include Taalisman with guitarist, Amit Chatterjee, Kingdom of Rhythm, with Indian master drummer Bickram Ghosh, Parallax Beat Brothers with sound designer Scanner. Their first album featured American trumpet genius Jon Hassell. Other projects include Taiko to Tabla with Japanese drummer Joji Hirota and the ensemble, Network of Sparks featuring Bill Bruford and the Dhol Foundation. There is also the Force of Two featuring Steve Sidelynk (Madonna/Paul Weller/The Verve) and with co written tracks involving Craig Armstrong and Aidrian Sherwood. All Petes albums are available online through most digital sales sites such as itunes.

These projects have performed to packed houses all over the world including the Edinburgh Festival, Bruges Festival, Rhythm Sticks Festival at the Royal Festival Hall in London (sold out twice), Drumusique Festival in Kuala Lumpur, Glasgow One World Festival, Pontardawe Festival, Belfast Festival, Guildford Festival and Newbury Festival to name a few.

Pete has also been active with solo shows, including events in Turkey and India. A show recorded in Istanbul was released mid 2007. The solo shows are multi media affairs with Pete doing visuals himself for the shows.

Petes collaborative live and recording projects in India include artists as varied as, U Shrinivas, Pandit Shankar Ghosh, Bickram Ghosh, Vikku Vinayakram, Loy Mendosa, Selva Ganesh and many more.

Roadside banner in Chennai 2007

Pete has taught and lectured Worldwide, including The Royal College, The Royal Academy of Music and Guildhall School of Music in London and performances and workshops at the PASIC 99 percussion conference. Technique articles in drum magazines number over a hundred and include 'MODERN DRUMMER’ in the US, 'RHYTHM' in the UK, 'SA DRUMS' in South Africa and 'DRUMMER' in the UK. He has also published a series on drum and percussion programming using computers and sound modules for THE MIX magazine in Europe.

Pete has also released two books on drum techniques. Most recently Hudson music released 'Indian rhythms for the drum set'. It is the first book ever written covering this topic for drum set. The book was considered 'Book of the year - 2008' and given 10/10 by Slagwerkraant magazine in Holland.

There are also hundreds of free lessons on the lessons page on Petes web site. Pete feels very strongly about making this available free of charge and will be regularly up dating with video, audio and text format lessons, along with articles on everything from the intricacies of Indian Tabla to a Rock kit pattern or how to lap a drum head.

Beat This….Pete was heavily involved in the BBC Music Live record breaking percussion event, Beat This, which involved thousands of drummers across the UK drumming simultaneously to the same rhythm. Pete devised and co-composed the drumming motif that was played on the day, along with Evelyn Glennie, Steve White and a star studded group of percussionists.

2002 Rhythm Magazine readers poll; Best Live Percussionist category;
"‘Intense’, ‘Energetic’ and ‘Hypnotic’ hardly begin to describe the Pete
Lockett approach to live performance. Caught up in the creativity of the moment, his natural gift is inspiring, making his live appearance an absolute must-see."