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Features
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| Introducing NEM3SI$’s new label Infinite Resistance! | | Mindbenderz talk ‘Lord of the Rings’ and fishing, as well as the creation of their new album ‘Celestial Gateway’! | | Iono-Music artists One Function, Eliyahu, Invisible Reality and Dual Vision talk Robert Miles, kids, dogs and vinyl, while we chat about their current releases! | | Luke&Flex talk influences, the Irish rave scene, why Flex wears a mask and Play Hard, their new EP out now on Onhcet Repbulik Xtreme! | | Lyktum expands on his new album ‘Home’ – talking about his love of storytelling, creating new harmonies and the concept behind his musical works. | | Pan talks getting caught short crossing the Sahara, acid eyeballs and tells us Trance is the Answer, plus shares his thoughts on his latest release 'Beyond the Horizon' - all from a beach in Spain! | | Miss C chats about living with the KLF, DJing in a huge cat’s mouth, training her brain and the upcoming super-duper Superfreq Grande party at LDN East this Saturday, 16th September! | | NEM3SI$ - I Live for the Night – talks superficiality, psychopaths, and bittersweet success, ahead of a plethora of evocative, emotional, and passionate upcoming melodic techno releases! | | Psy-Sisters Spring Blast Off! We talk to DJ competition winner ROEN along with other super talents on the lineup! | | Blasting towards summer festivals with Bahar Canca ahead of Psy-Sisters Spring Blast! | | Shyisma talks parties, UFO's, and Shotokan Karate ahead of his upcoming album 'Particles' on Iono-Music! | | SOME1 talks family, acid, stage fright and wolves - ahead of his upcoming album release ‘Voyager’ on Iono-Music in February 2023! | | The Transmission Crew tell all and talk about their first London event on 24th February 2023! | | NIXIRO talks body, mind and music production ahead of his release 'Planet Impulse' on Static Movement's label - Sol Music! | | Turning the world into a fairy tale with Ivy Orth ahead of Tribal Village’s 10th Birthday Anniversary Presents: The World Lounge Project | | The Psy-Sisters chat about music, achievements, aspirations and the 10-Year Anniversary Party - 18/12/22! | | A decade of dance music with Daniel Lesden | | Earth Needs a Rebirth! Discussions with Psy-Trance Artist Numayma | | Taking a Journey Through Time with Domino | | New Techno Rising Star DKLUB talks about his debut release White Rock on Onhcet Republik! | | PAN expands on many things including his new album 'Hyperbolic Oxymoron' due for release on the 14th April 2022 on PsyWorld Records! | | Psibindi talks all things music including her new collaborative EP 'Sentient Rays' on Aphid Records, her band Sentience Machine and 10 years of Psy-Sisters! | | N-Kore talks Jean-Michel Jarre, unfinished tracks and fatherhood! | | Celebrating International Women’s Day and Ten Years of Psy-Sisters with Amaluna | | A Catch Up with John Phantasm ahead of his upcoming set at the Tribal Village 4 Day Outdoor Event in Kent 6-9 May 2022! |
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Interview with Peter Ward
Reported by littlemissgenki
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Submitted 25-03-04 00:57
Trade and Twist resident Peter Ward is a name that's been on the house and hard house scene since the very early days, playing a tough progressive style that's energised dancefloors every weekend in London and around the world to places as far afield as Brazil. Our reporter littlemissgenki has a few words to see what the ex-model turned DJ has to say for himself...
HF: Did you always want to be a dj? How long have you been djing?
PW: No, it never crossed my mind initially! I started making records first. It didn’t cross my mind at all, until my flatmate Jane (Mrs Wood) suggested I give it a go. I was already producing, so basically things seemed to fit together. I was lucky I really got into it and here I am! I’ve been djing professionally since 1999. It took about a year to get to the standard I was happy with.
HF: When was the first time you played out? Did you find it hard to break into the scene?
PW: I was Club Promotions Manager at a club called The Vortex about the time I started djing so I just put myself on! I had last set of the night and it was horrendous! Shocking! I’d never done it before, and with the other guests being known djs, I should really have put myself first—or not at all! When the Vortex ended, the guy who owned the club had a bar in Soho Square called the Edge and he turned the top floor into a dance floor and I was made resident! I suddenly had a ready made venue, a set crowd, and every Friday and Saturday night I’d have to get the set right. I had to get a set together and become professional. I was very lucky I had the opportunity—nothing like being thrown in the deep end.
HF: Who were your key musical influences? What djs and producers do you rate at the moment?
PW: When I was growing up I listened to electronic dance music—stuff like Cabaret Voltaire, New Order, Chris and Cosey—and actually made a couple of tracks with Richard from Cabaret Voltaire in the 90s! Also industrial dance stuff like Front 242 and Frontline Assembly.
Producers and djs I rate now are Mrs Wood, Lady Bianca, Ian M, Ali Wilson, Farley, BK—plus all the Twist or Trade djs.
HF: What are the highlights of your career so far?
PW: The biggest first one was definitely getting the residency @ Trade, because I never imagined I would be a Trade resident. I never set myself any particular dj goals, I just wanted to be as good as I possibly could.
Also, djing around the world and being respected for what I do; of course now Twist and being one of the Twist djs—it’s a great opportunity and great fun!
I love playing hard house but I also love playing tough house, which I mostly play @ Trade at the moment.
HF: What do you hope to achieve in 2004? Did you make any new year’s resolutions?
PW: To become more successful dj-wise. I hope that others will enjoy what I’m playing. To keep doing what I’m doing and do it well. To carry on onwards and upwards (I know it’s a cliché but hey!).
HF: What are your favourite tracks to get the crowd going at the moment? What tracks never leave your record bag?
PW: Mark Kavanagh—‘Charlatan’ (Vicious Circle)
Ian M’s remix of Mrs Wood’s ‘Joanna’ (React)
Lady Bianca’s ‘Welcome to Oblivion’ (Vicious Circle)
Ali Wilson’s ‘Deep Space’ (Arctic)
Hydraulix 15.
As for what never leaves my record bag? Lots of great ones! There’s a few key labels—Vicious Circle, Arctic, Energy UK, etc.—which I’ll always have at the back of my box.
I keep buying records and leaving them in my bag and forgetting I have them until I hear them out!
HF: Do you think the scene has changed much in the last couple of years? What direction would you like to see it going in over the next year or so?
PW: Trade declared hard house over in 2000 and at the time it seemed a bit like that. It had reached a point and some people didn’t know where to go from there. I wasn’t really playing hard house then, but a lot of people said it was the end in 2000 so it surprised a lot of people when it carried on. Inevitably the scene is going to change. It’s up to people to keep it fresh and moving forward, instead of banging on about it dying! I’d like to see more promoters allowing more up and coming talent to come through, not just the same tried and tested people used to bring in numbers, or else it becomes stale, obvious and predictable—there’s room for new and established talent to play together.
What direction would I like to see the scene going in? A good one! It’s interesting to see so much techno coming through, being mixed up with hard house, like the Liberator stuff from the old squat parties. Now you can hear it in hard house sets! It’s good to hear it mixed up. I find it really interesting as I was selling it @ Choci’s back in 2000, but I never thought I’d hear the hard house crowd playing it.
HF: If you weren’t a dj or a producer, what would you be doing?
PW: Everything artistic! I grew up around artistic things and art! I love to create—plus shopping, haha!!!
HF: What’s the best gig you’ve played and why?
PW: Probably the most entertaining rather than the best would be playing in Brazil for Trade @ the Mardi Gras, djing on the open air Trade bus to over 500,000 people. It was absolutely mental! The whole trip was mental—it was incredible!
Malaysia was also great—Kuala Lumpor and Penang. I was playing in ritzy-type clubs but people loved it! Canada was great as it was the first time I’d played in the middle of nowhere, at a party called ‘Connect’, though my first foreign gig was playing techno with Mrs Wood, and an honour to be in the same line-up! And of course playing at Twist every week!
HF: You’ve presently got residencies at Trade, Twist and Blast. Do you prefer playing at afterparties or on the night? Are your sets very different at each?
PW: I like doing afterparties as well as normal night sets as I’m up most weekends anyway. I’m not one of those people who sleep’s before a set! You get used to funny hours, especially when playing abroad. My sets at Blast are slightly slower—around the upper 140s—as I play a funkier kind of hard house, whereas at Twist it’s up to the 150s. It depends a lot on the mood of the crowd and where I think I can take them. My average speed would be about 152/153, occasionally a little faster at Twist, with Blast usually around 147 bpm.
HF: Playing Saturday nights and Sunday mornings must make it difficult to get out and see your friends in the weekends. What do you like to do to chill out and unwind?
PW: Go shopping! Chill out, hand out with friends, watch films. There’s often people around at the flat at weekends, so I’ll chill out with friends and have a few glasses of wine, haha!!!
HF: What do you think makes a good dj? What advice would you give readers trying to make it in the industry?
PW: Being really into what you do, having a love and a passion for what you do, and love what you’re playing, you’re not there just to play at the idea of ‘being a dj’! If you’re enjoying what you’re doing then other people will enjoy it too. It’s also, in my opinion, about interaction and making a connection with who you are playing to.
As for getting into djing, stick at it! Identify what sort of music and parties you’d like to play and give out cds to those promoters. Get your sound and perhaps a couple of sounds within that genre. Don’t give up, it takes time. If you really want to do it, you can do it. Above all, enjoy yourself!
HF: If you could plan your dream party, where would it be? Who would be on the line-up?
PW: Me at mine, with me playing! No, only joking . . . I’d play in a different country every night, going around the world with 3 or 4 of my favourite dj friends. They’ll know who they are!
And now some questions from the HF massive . . .
HF: ‘Peter the Model’ to ‘Peter Ward’ . . . Why the name change?
PW: Pete the Model was a nickname given to me by Steven from the Sharp Boys, I was a model for a few years—modelled in New York, Paris, Germany, etc.—did catwalk, studio work, videos and even had a mannequin made of me that is still available to buy! Me and Jane (Mrs Wood) tried to come up with a dj name. We sat up one night and tried to come up with a name, but just ended up getting trashed! In the end I went with my own name, but I was worried it might be a bit confusing with Peter Wardman!
Yes, I used to be a fashion model! I studied photography at college and majored in fashion photography, shooting models for Storm model agency originally. I was often asked—are you the photographer or the model? So I just thought I would give it a go and I was approached by several agencies, decided I wqould and got my first ever shoot. I loved catwalk the most, but I always said I would stop when I stopped enjoying it. Modelling can be a very lonely profession mentally, even though you have loads of free fabulous clothes.
HF: Why don’t you ever play the ‘good’ mix of Broken Boundaries?
PW: Cannot recall that track! Which is the good mix mate? Are you really sure it’s the good mix? I only play good mixes so that must be the bad one!
HF: Do you have any plans to produce with Andreas under the name of Mishka and The Injector again?
PW: We’ve got a couple of things coming up, including the Possession EP remixes. We’re definitely going to produce together in the future.
HF: Do you prefer funky or hard house? Do you see yourself concentrating on just funky or hard house on the future, or do you see yourself playing both?
PW: I’d call what I play tougher progressive house. I hate the term ‘funky house’—it sounds like something you’d get out of a slot machine in Japan! My progressive sound is sexier, while my hard house is energetic, fun and focussed. For me it’s important to play both. I still love playing tough house @ Trade!
HF: What’s the difference?
PW: Tough house is a lot slower—around 130-133. It’s house—sexy and cool. At the moment hard house is taking centre stage though and I’m very happy with that.
HF: Are you writing any tunes at the moment? What tracks do you have in the pipeline?
PW: I did a track with Ali Wilson called ‘Control the Future’ at the beginning of January and we’re due to go in and do some more soon. I’ve also got a remix project with Ian M in the pipeline. Lady Bianca and I are going to do some stuff under the name ‘Glitterati’. Plus I’ve got stuff in the pipeline as DJ Injector (Mad Gay Mafia) plus my own personal projects under my own name Peter Ward.
HF: Why did the acid trance scene—which you were part of, producing as DJ Injector and working in Choci’s Chewns—disappear?
PW: I don’t think it actually disappeared or came to an end really. Labels like Routemaster and Stay up for Forever are still going, they just developed and sound different now. The VCF label—major acid stuff—just came to an end. There’s nothing like a good acid bassline but acid techno just ran its course I think, it’s developed and moved on. I played a VCF gig once as Choci wasn’t available, at Escape from Samsara. It was great fun but playing that sound is not something I’d want to play all the time. Best left to be played by The Liberators who do a great job all the time!
HF: Are you single?
PW: Yes, I am! Who’s asking?
Thanks to Amy and Anders for the use of their photos and to all the HarderFaster memebers who contributed questions
Peter Ward plays at Sundissential South at The Fridge on Friday 26th March:
Sundissential South
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On:
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Friday 26th March 2004
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At:
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The Fridge [map]
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From:
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10pm - 6am
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Cost:
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£12 Advance Tickets
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Website:
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www.sundissential.com
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Ticket Info:
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Tickets available from:
Ticketweb - 08700 600 100 - www.ticketweb.co.uk
Cyberdog - Camden - 020 7482 2842
Cyberdog - Covent Garden - 020 7240 7673
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Buy Online:
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Click here to buy tickets
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More:
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Sundissential - The Worlds Most Outragous Club!
Sundissential is coming SOUTH!
Get ready for a night of full on Hard Dance from the best DJs in
the country!
London has never had it so good!
Sundissential - The World's Most Outrageous Club!
The launch of Sundissential South on 26.03.04 will be like nothing
you have seen or heard before!
DO NOT MISS THIS EVENT!!!
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Flyer:
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Other Features By littlemissgenki:
HeatUK (The DVD) – From The Backyard To South West Four - World Premier Preview: Interview with SnowBall Productions
Paradise City 001 Preview: From free parties in pubs to private jets—interview with Antiworld promoter Enrico Sorbello
Blatantly Brisk: interview with Paul Nineham
Paradise City 001 preview: interview with Mauro Picotto
Never Enough Maria: Interview with the Queen of Hard Dance
The views and opinions expressed in this review are strictly those of the author only for which HarderFaster will not be held responsible or liable.
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Comments:
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From: slacky on 25th Mar 2004 11:39.46
Top DJ and Top bloke to!!!! Good interview by the way! Dying to here the new Mishka and Injector stuff. Long Live Ephedrine Records!
From: Stevi D on 25th Mar 2004 11:54.45
You one lucky motherf*%ker!" Looking fwd to hearing your new releases. Smashing work all round and gr8 interview.
From: Danny Gilligan on 25th Mar 2004 11:55.51
Good stuff Peter nice interview
From: Lee Osborne on 25th Mar 2004 12:45.46
Nice one mate! keep up the good work
From: Maria on 25th Mar 2004 14:42.17
I love your stuff from DJ Injector.
QUALITY!
From: richbowenuk on 25th Mar 2004 16:10.43
Kewl interview Peter! See ya 2moro night 
From: Lady Bianca on 25th Mar 2004 18:56.50
Add your comments here !
FAB!! Great interview babe, your right.. onwards & upwards!!!
Love you forever you glittering tarti... Wah wah!
From: Flip on 25th Mar 2004 19:14.26
Great interview. Can't wait to hear what you got lined up with Andreas and your solo Injector stuff mate
From: fire club on 25th Mar 2004 19:31.21
Peter played THEEEE most amazing set at Twist 2 weeks ago and his new cd is just soooo refreshing it should be made compulsory listen to all other DJs.
If you are still to check Peter out - what are you waiting for?
From: Anastasia_k on 25th Mar 2004 22:14.27
Your an excellent D.J Peter..... x
From: *Ting* on 25th Mar 2004 22:52.52
Of course I know who I am! Love you honey. xx
Sorry Peter, but I also need to put out an Oi oi, to my Ringsting sisters.
From: Flip on 25th Mar 2004 23:01.37
LONG LIVE ACID TRANCE!!!
From: puffer on 26th Mar 2004 03:15.16
Always top quality sets.....and that cd is amazing
Good interviewing from Tara!
From: Daf on 26th Mar 2004 12:09.52
Nice
BRING BACK ACID TECHNO  . Have some VCF somewhere but the stuff that got me into clubbing and will always be special to me is the old stuff e.g. from the Liberators on Stay Up Forever - nice to hear they're still going - will have to look them up. Taa.
From: James Nardi on 26th Mar 2004 15:44.20
Good interview mate, see ya soon.
From: Bassboxer on 26th Mar 2004 16:19.15
Add your comments here !
We love you mister ward! See you on Sunday morning
From: Ian Edwards on 26th Mar 2004 19:07.17
well done man
From: Annabel on 26th Mar 2004 21:16.17
Your demo, Grrrr! is excellent Peter See ya later at Sundissential
From: Colin Gaff on 27th Mar 2004 08:21.26
Pete, I used to love popping into Chocis and listening to you and the other guy gossiping behind the counter! It used to crack me up! Nice interview!
From: Elisha on 27th Mar 2004 22:01.06
Hey Peter, nice to see your interview, you deserve it all, you are one awesome dj and a great mate. Mwah!
From: Matt Smallwood on 29th Mar 2004 16:51.00
Nice one Wardinioooooo!!!
From: karl davis on 30th Mar 2004 19:10.11
great stuff talk soon dude
From: Stakker on 31st Mar 2004 02:33.21
Christ, blast from the past, i remember this lad working on the membership desk at Melt @ turnmills back in 98. Dude!
Blu Peter had just started playing his techier style and it was a night to remember!
From: fire club on 1st Apr 2004 12:48.25
PETER is also a BLAST resident so I am sure you will all get to hear him very soon.
From: Funky Stu on 1st Apr 2004 17:50.44
God, he's fit!
From: AshAttack on 7th Apr 2004 14:16.39
From fashion model to DJ, you just know theres quality there. Peters a great guy and an excellent DJ. With love and respect from the TEK! DJ massive, keep it up and here to the next year. Nice one and a pleasure to know you. xxx
From: Ali Wilson on 20th Apr 2004 22:24.07
Top interview mate! Speak soon!
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