Having dawned on a new age of jungle music, the disparity between a decade ago to how nourished the scene has become today is a testament to the hard work pioneers of the community have committed. In this instance, one Peter Buchanan, widely known as Pete Cannon in the world of jungle music, has forged a shining light in the very DNA of this ever-inspiring genre that has shown no signs of letting up. The Blackpool-born artist depicts a form of artistry that is unique within the electronic underground world. A high energy personality that radiates through every performance he delivers and production he creates.
His iconic use of retro hardware, of which he possesses an abundance in his home studio, fascinates the curious and inquisitive electronic dance heads – both young and old. From the Amiga to the Akai s950, Pete boasts an impressive collection of nostalgic equipment that give his production a certain charm and aura around them. A rawness that resonates to every single raver in the dance, making him one of the most complete beatmakers in the land. Getting his big break as a hip-hop producer, making beats on Rizzle Kicks’ popular anthems as well as a range of TV and film adverts including the world-renowned iPhone X advert, Cannon was able to go full time on his music endeavours and finally return to his main love of jungle and hardcore.
With a crucial role in the jungle scenes renaissance, when he decided to dust down his old Amiga in 2013 little did he know the impact the genre would have on British music culture over a decade later. Artists such as Nia Archives, Sherelle, Tim Reaper, Dwarde, Sully, and a whole host of household names have aided as a driving force in bringing jungle to the world in their own unique styles. His label N4 is arguably one of the most forward-thinking in the scene, initially releasing his own tracks during its infancy from 2019 then branching out post lockdown to have the likes of exciting up-and-comers like Cheetah, Janaway, and Stekker, on top of the ever reliable Swankout and T-Cuts, become a part of the label – showcasing a multi-dimensional depiction of this high tempo sound. Ofcourse, hardcore also plays a huge part in Pete Cannon’s soundboard and this feeds into a presence during the rave that teleports you back to the 90s, creating a feeling of euphoria in whatever he decides to execute.
Fast-forwarding to the present day, Cannon’s unsurprisingly firing on all fronts. DJing at some of the most iconic events around, churning out dynamic releases consistently, and running a successful label that are refreshingly nurturing the authentic old school sound whilst also progressing the genre sonically. We were itching to catch up with this celebrated, maverick, musical figure from the north and find out more about his compelling journey and multifaceted career.
What were your musical inspirations growing up?
It’s an easy one really, my dad, he’s a musician who plays the guitar and sings. He was in a band called Carl Gibson And The Night Rider. He had a couple of records out back then. He still plays today, but he definitely passed the passion on to me. He got me into playing the piano when I was five. He had a little studio in the house which was the catalyst for me making noises. Watching him at work inspired me to give it a go and felt like a natural progression. Growing up in Blackpool there were loads of second hand shops where I was able to pick up a second hand Yamaha DX7 when I was 10 years old. Since that point, I basically robbed my dads studio and have not stopped since, whilst also stealing some of his records and listening to them.
Would you be picking up records as you were growing up?
Yeah, when I was three my dad gave me a record collection, his old bits. I used to play them on 78rpm, which played them really fast. There was something intrinsic in me to want to listen to everything in that way. I remember the first single I bought was ‘turtle power!’ by teenage mutant ninja turtles. I was always collecting records. I guess I picked that habit up off my dad. Trying to pick up a gem when I could. Finding the one independent record shop in Blackpool called Melody House that stocked stuff that your HMV’s didn’t was a real moment for me. Picking stuff up like ‘Dred Bass’ and ‘Ganjaman’ with the bit of pocket money I got – if I was lucky. I was able to start building my extensive collection at 11. I was listening to loads of jungle tapes, loads of jungle packs from all over.
At what point did you realise you wanted to do this all the time?
From playing the piano at 5 then getting the DX7 at ten. I then got an Amiga for christmas and
managed to connect them all through MIDI, once I discovered that this was it for me. I was twelve when I started discovering all this. I managed to blag getting a drum machine, called a DR5, off my dad, and other bits from second hand shops. Just merging all this equipment together. I made an album when I was twelve, I’m sure I’ve still got it somewhere. 13 to 15 I was coming home from school every day and went straight into the little studio we had at home. I guess making music all the time growing up was a sign to me that I just wanted to do this forever. I was trying to emulate this jungle and hardcore sound that I was listening to as a kid. I was influenced by loads of breakbeats too. I got a sampler where I could mix a record in and sample it into the Amiga. It was wicked! That’s when I realised I’m doing this for life. When I was old enough to go out in Blackpool the jungle and hardcore I loved started to move on to tech-step and happy hardcore in 1997-98. The drum & bass became so heavy and the hardcore so cheesy – I decided to move to hip-hop production.
Going into adult life, what were you doing musically?
So I went to music college in Preston at 16, my dad was all for it. It was there I learned a more advanced understanding of creating and sequencing music. Moving from the Amiga to a mac and PC, this was the late 90s so we were using cubase and logic. Then I went to do music at university at Leeds College of Music, which had amazing facilities (shoutout Ben Burrows one of the lecturers who was wicked). Getting to learn how to use all the equipment properly was so valuable. Ofcourse, the nature of being a student meant I had to do odd jobs to get by. I was still building up my home equipment, buying the synthesisers etc.
That must’ve been a real breakthrough for you!
Yes it was. It was pop music, but it really transferred to a lot of the hip-hop I was making.The money I got from producing for Rizzle Kicks gave me the opportunity to take some time off to make a go of it. Making a tune for Apple’s Iphone X advert also financed me nicely allowing more time afterwards to concentrate on churning out more production and more importantly making music I wanted – in this case jungle. From there I was able to quit the day job and start making advert music which allowed me to work in music full-time coming up to around 15 years now. To this day I’m still doing advert and film production. I think you’ve always got to spin a lot of plates in this music industry. Being able to have my own DJ career and N4 record label, in the field I love, would not be possible without those other entities in my music career. I also started making videos that I would throw online which would break down the process of me making tracks on my set-up. Because it’s a more archaic type of operating system, a lot of people were interested. My studio setup is of course of a certain era, but it’s what gets me excited to make music. There’s no right or wrong way to produce. As a producer, getting excited to create is always going to get me in the right state of mind to make music.
What was jungle looking like when you got back into producing the genre?
When I got the Amiga back out in 2013, there was a tiny scene starting to emerge. Tim Reaper and Dwarde were around as was Kid lib and a few others. Of course the music had never gone away it just wasn’t as popular. Labels like Reinforced, Moving Shadow, Sub Base and Kniteforce are the founding staple and the heritage to the scene and of course there are a lot more labels and artists from the 90s. There were definitely more people interested in making that sound again during the 2010s and with many repress labels and legends coming back to make this sound the scene is banging at the moment.
Looking at the scene today, it seems to be in a healthy place. Would you agree?
For sure, looking at someone like Nia Archives who is the apex of how big it’s become. That’s great because so many people want to hear that sound and potentially recreate it. There is so much of it about. There’s such a diverse range of artists, sounds, and styles knocking about in the scene at the moment, it’s amazing to see. With my label N4 we’ve taken events to Amsterdam, Berlin, Japan, the U.S, and obviously all over the UK. This probably wouldn’t have been possible without these pioneer artists at the forefront pushing the sound further. It was mental being in the heart of New York playing to a young crowd who were going bonkers for jungle and hardcore. Regardless of what happens in the future and where it goes, the beauty is that this period of time will always be there. Jungle music will always be a significant part of our electronic dance history.
Let’s talk about N4 Records and how that came about.
I started it in 2019 on my actual birthday, just before the pandemic. Initially, Luna-C from Knightforce got in touch because he saw all the videos I was making online breaking down my production I was doing with my Amiga. I was one of the first people to do online breakdowns of production. He was wondering if I ever finished these tracks. He wanted me to release an EP with them which I did and we called it the N4 volume 1 EP as I’d just moved to the N4 area in London. But then I had all these other Amiga tracks that I was making that I wanted to keep for myself. Working in the music industry professionally has meant I’ve dealt with a lot of publishing deals and music business in general. I was pretty fed up with not being able to completely own my music. I guess I wanted something to call my own and ultimately be proud of. I felt old enough, confident enough and knowledgeable enough to start my own label. As I say, it was just before the pandemic so vinyl pressing time was pretty quick, obviously during lockdown that all changed, all the vinyl plants were backed up, and it’s only just started getting back to normality now. The first N4 record that came out, Aphex Twin played it in Mexico in front of 10,000 people which was an amazing start for the label – shout out to him!
And fastforwarding to the last couple of years, what have the plans been for the label?
In terms of the team, I’ve got Ivan Cargo who sorts out the events – so a big shout out to him. We wanted to start signing artists and their records to the label has pretty much been the focus. Because the scene was growing it was a no-brainer to try and get some of the names like Tim Reaper, Dwarde, Sully, Kid-Lib, T-Cuts, Swankout, Cheetah, Janaway, DJ Sofa, and so many more. First person I had on the label was Swankout, I’ve known him for ages and he was making some great stuff and we’ve not looked back since then with the likes of Samurai Breaks, Denham Audio, Fluid Haunts, and Stekker also contributing to the label. I feel we’ve already got a cross pollination of styles, giving an imprint of each side of the scene.
Standout moments with N4?
Having the Glastonbury takeover on the Totem stage at The Common was big for us. It felt like such a big moment, we’d come a long way. Bangface is another highlight. The first one I played was in 2022 and I’ve been back every year since. We got a N4 stage last year where we got 4am Kru, Denham Audio, Dwarde, and Mixtress on, a really cool curation. We’ve had Rinse’s Kool FM show that’s been wicked to be a part of. We’ve been lucky enough to tick off a lot of the legendary venues in London, including Electrowerkz, Phonox, and Electric Brixton. Doing an N4 night in Japan is also such a wicked concept to me, it’s unbelievable where we’ve been able to take this sound. I want to give a shout to Singularity who we’ve done a lot of these events with. I do love playing the little intimate ones as well like low profile studios which have a heritage in those bricks as there were parties going in there back in 1988.
And some Pete Cannon highlights?
I think personally, playing in Fabric’s main room will be a memory that stays with me forever. A good one actually is, where my university lecturer stumbled across my Sound On Sound video where I’d done a retro jungle production session. He messaged me saying well done, that was boss. Touring America last year playing jungle music and being able to take my dad with me was a really special moment for me. We got to hang out, he had his own rider and even mc’d a bit, what a guy
You’ve got to talk to me about one of the songs of 2023 ‘Blinded By The Lights 23’ a remix you made with Mixtress.
Making music is very personal and bringing someone into my space is an intimate thing. Mixtress is great, her energy is brilliant. We’d gossip in between making tunes. She had an idea to remix this The Streets and came to me to put it together. She was playing Boiler Room and we wrapped up a first version because she wanted to play it for that set. They used that clip as the main footage for that event and it went crazy online. Locked On saw that video and they came to us with a serious proposition to talk to Mike Skinner and turn it into an official remix. From there we got it signed to a major label and made an official music video. We did make a Flowdan remix of it, but it fell through unfortunately. It’s a great dub for my sets though
Events-wise what have you got coming up?
We’ve just sold out Electric Brixton which was a lot of fun. Then next we’ve got an event called ‘First Press’ at Oslo Hackney, giving DJs the opportunity to play stuff they don’t usually play – with a more extended set. A real chance to test new things, whilst also educating people on the history of the scene.
And what about releases? Any upcoming bits on N4?
We’ve got a really exciting one coming up next. A guy I’ve worked with before, Dirty Dike. He’s put together this 4-track EP that’ll be coming out on N4. It’s a full circle moment because he helped me with my hip-hop stuff back in the day. I’ve got another Amiga one coming and also an album I’m trying to put together. There’s a lot we’ve got to put out and there’s also a lot of talent we want to get on.
