My Splendid Isolation: Gilles Peterson – 'I am studying legends Bill Withers and Tony Allen'
What I’m watching
Being a DJ, I’ve never stopped travelling for pretty much 35 years. Suddenly, I’m home all the time, which is as odd for my family as it is for me. It’s something I have been longing for in a way, although not under these circumstances. I’m trying to stop watching the news, which was a bit of an obsession at the beginning. But I have been finding it difficult to lose myself in contemporary American and British dramas that already somehow feel like they belong to another time.
There are two brilliant series on Netflix that I highly recommend. Unorthodox is a four-part drama about a young woman from a very closed Hasidic Jewish community in New York who escapes to Berlin. Brilliant actors, great story, really out of the blue. There’s a scene in a club where I was DJing not so long ago, so it was weird seeing that. There’s a similar sense of bearing witness to another world in Swedish drama Caliphate, about young westerners who went off to fight in Syria. And I did enjoy The Assistant – a post-Weinstein drama with a brilliant performance from Julia Garner – through Curzon Home Cinema. It is a great way to support new movies.
What I’m listening to
I am on the air on a daily basis with my online station Worldwide FM, and I have a big show on BBC Radio 6 Music on Saturdays, so I’m completely embedded in music all the time. One of the things that’s really sad is that we have lost so many great musicians during this period, including Manu Dibango, Bill Withers, Tony Allen and Hamilton Bohannon. I find myself studying these legends and then representing them as a DJ. In terms of new music, I’m beginning to hear some great stuff coming through from places like Nigeria and Ghana, where MCs are rapping to Afrobeat to get messages about Covid-19 across to their communities. A lot of creative art can come out of times of crisis, so I am curious to see what will emerge in music.
What I’m reading
A beautiful surprise arrived through the letterbox from America, The Ballad of Tommy LiPuma by Ben Sidran, a musician, songwriter and author based in New York. I’m fascinated by the world of A&R, the mega producers and the history of how it all joins up. Tommy is one of the real greats, who I was honoured to spend time with in the Nineties working on an album, Nuyorican Soul, for my Talkin’ Loud label. Tommy ran labels for decades and produced Miles Davis, Neil Young, George Benson, Randy Crawford, Dr John. Amazing guy, and a fabulous book. It’s an independent, so look it up on the author’s website.
The hobby I’ve taken up
Every hobby I’ve tried to take up, from bagel-making to learning Japanese, has been disastrous. I’m of the mindset that I can only do what I’m truly passionate about, which is basically alphabetising my record collection and reading football gossip columns. Unfortunately, there’s no football now. What I’ve ended up putting all my energy and time into is radio. I’m doing shows six days a week. I’ve only got Sunday’s off.
What made me laugh this week
Shaun Keaveny on 6 Music always makes me snigger. The best mix of humour and music on the radio.
What I can’t wait to do when all this is over
Go and see my mum in a care home abroad. The first moment I can get the train to Paris, I’m off.
Gilles Peterson can be heard on Worldwide FM, Mon-Fri, 9-11am, and on BBC 6 Music, Saturdays from 2pm. On tomorrow’s [May 7’s] show, he shares his 20 favourite disco records.
