Born and raised in London, James Boore, aka Made By Pete, is an artist admired by electronic music mavens like Damian Lazarus, Keinemusik, Black Coffee, and Pete Tong. His work has been picked up by labels such as Crosstown Rebels, Flying Circus, and The Soundgarden.
Photo credit: Made By Pete – Official
Made By Pete’s breakthrough came in 2018 with his ‘So Long’ EP (Crosstown Rebels) featuring vocals from Jem Cooke. With remixes from Solomon and Audiojack, the release topped the Beatport charts and received heavy rotation on BBC Radio 1 from Pete Tong.
Throughout his career, Made By Pete has played all over the world, from Space Ibiza to the jungles of Tulum, Off Sonar in Barcelona, and UK venues such as Fabric, O2 Brixton Academy, Ministry of Sound, and Birmingham’s Rainbow Venues.
Made By Pete has recently released his latest single ‘Run With Me’ featuring the collaboration of Blindsmyth. To celebrate the release, Made By Pete invited EG into the studio to share 5 essential studio tips that highlight the importance of being playful, continuously learning, referencing arrangements, exploring hardware, and ultimately, being true to oneself.
1. Be playful
In my experience, the best ideas have always come when i’m not trying to make a finished product. I’ve learnt to go into the studio with a different mindset, to explore and be playful. This relieves any pressure and gives me total freedom. Sometimes the day will end with a few sketches or ideas that can be revisited later or I will stumble across the missing piece of the puzzle for a track idea that’s been sitting on my desktop for a year.
2. Learn
This ties in with the previous point about having a different mindset. For my latest release ‘Run With Me’, I had recently purchased a new delay plugin. I went to the studio with a goal to explore it and learn every inch of it. I stumbled across an idea to freeze the delay and modulate the delay time which gave me the main breakdown effect on the lead sound. Last year I bought a new Eurorack sequencer and again, went into the studio to learn how to use it. It produced a bassline that for some reason inspired me to start singing! This idea ended up as my track ‘Fires’ which became Pete Tong’s Essential New Tune earlier this summer. Never stop learning and enjoy the process.
3. Reference arrangements
When we talk about referencing, we usually focus on sound design and mixing but for me, the arrangement is such a key factor in a great record. It tells the story and that is so important. I’ve messed up many great ideas with the wrong arrangement! Study the arrangements of your favourite tracks and try to understand what makes them great. Your track could have a completely different vibe sonically but you can still take away ideas of how to lay it out and tell your own story.
4. Explore hardware
We live in an amazing time for electronic instruments. Never has there been more amazing, affordable creative tools at our disposal. Software is just as powerful and can sound just as good (I use both)… but hardware can make you approach music from a different perspective. Getting hands-on with an instrument and recording it produces happy accidents that I don’t get as often from software.
5. Be you
Finding your own sounds can be hard and take a lot of time. The best way to do it is to be yourself. I’ve had records that were turned down by many labels but I believed in them and didn’t change them. Just because someone else doesn’t like it doesn’t mean it’s not good, it just means they have a different taste to you. Stick with what makes you happy and eventually your sound will come through.
Made By Pete’s ‘Run With Me’ is out now via Human By Default. Stream and download here.
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