About Pete Lockett Percussionist

‘BEST LIVE PERCUSSIONIST' 2006 - RHYTHM MAGAZINE
"One of the hardest working musicians in the country. 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, 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,
Lee Scratch Perry, Primal Scream, Ed Mann, Michael Shrieve, Edwyn Collins, Damien Rice, George Brooks, Trevor Jackson, Craig Armstrong, John Bergamo, Kadri Gopalnath , Pandit Shankar Ghosh, TVG, Bernard Butler, David Mcalmont, Metro Voices, London Sinfonietta, Natasha / Daniel Bedingfield, Euphoria, Catherine Bott, Pandit Sharda Sahai, 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, , Errol Brown, Rory Gallagher, Gary Husband, Pet Shop Boys, Beth Orton, 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, Andy Gangadeen, Steve White, the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra, Bandish, BBC concert orchestra, Youth of Killing Joke, Catriona MacDonald, Reshma, 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! [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 007 hit, 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, 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). Worldwide touring has included India, Nepal, Thailand, Azerbaijan, Pakistan, Sudan, Malaysia, Hungary, Palestine, Israel, America, Canada and extensively all over Europe.

Pete has taught and lectured Worldwide, including The Royal Academy of Music and Guildhall School of Music in London and performances and workshops at the PASIC 99 percussion conference in Columbus, Ohio. Technique articles in drum magazines number over a hundred and include MODERN DRUMMER’ in the US and RHYTHM 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 recently published a book, 'Symetrical stickings for the Snare drum' on H&H Publishing.

Check out hundreds of free lessons on the lessons page. 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 intricasies of Indian Tabla to a Rock kit pattern or how to lap a drum head.

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 seven albums. Pete has two percussion groups which are regularly touring, Taiko to Tabla with Japanese master Joji irota and the ensemble, Network of Sparks. There are two albums featuring this project: Taiko to Tabla with Joji, live at the Bruges festival now available on itunes and their studio album available on ARC Records.

Network of Sparks have released two albums. Network of Sparks One - featuring Bill Bruford and the Dhol Foundation, released on the MELT 2000 label. This release coincided with a sold out Contemporary Music Network tour in 1999 which was supported by the Arts Council of England. In 2002 they released their second album, also on the ARC label featuring musicians from Ghana, Pakistan, Japan and Europe. The album was recorded partly in Pete's London View Studios and partly on location in Pakistan. Both are available on itunes.

Both projects have been 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. The Taiko to Tabla show was also broadcast live on the internet from the Edinburgh Festival.

There are also a number of other collaborations. Parallax beat brothers, featuring Pete and electro mastermind, Scanner have recorded two albums. Their first album featured American trumpet genius Jon Hassell. The duo premiered their new show at the international Rhythm Sticks festival in London July 05 and have been regularly touring since. Again, both albums are available on itunes. To quote time out, PBB are mesmerizing and powerful grooves blended with textured samples, electronic soundscapes and the diverse world of acoustic world percussion, from Indian Tabla to the resonant frame drums of Arabia and much more. Listen here!! Rhy Stix 2005

Roadside banner in Chennai 2007

The second new project is also well beyond the development stage. Pete has been in LA recording for a new duo album release with Steve Sidelynk (Madonna/Paul Weller/The Verve). The project has since got to the mixing stage with mixes being done by Chris Potter at Metropolis and also a special 'Dub-Master-Mix' by Aid Sherwood/On-U-Sound. There are a few special surprises on this release so keep popping by for the latest news. They have just shot their first video in the LA hills and expect a release date soon.

Pete has also been active with solo shows, including events in Turkey and India. The show in Istanbul has been released on CD and will be available on itunes from 04/07. The shows are multi media affairs with pete doing visuals himself for the shows.

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."

Record Pete online from the comfort of your own studio; http://www.esession.com/petelockett

Other stuff

Pete is based in London, England

Pete's Discography

Pete's tec spec

What the great players had to say

Pete MP3 interview 2005