Pete Lockett
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 hundreds of artists.
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 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).
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.
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.
Pete is based in London, England and is endorsed and supported by, the following companies:
REMO percussion
Vic Firth
Zildjian
2Box
Dixon
Garrahand
