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Pierre Pienaar Interview



We Chat to Pierre Pienaar about heading up Nukleuz, being a neat freak, and a  secret love for Brooklyn Bounce.



Q:
So, you come from a country that’s known for a couple of things… being mostly dry and desert like… and share a surname with quite a few famous sportsman including Francois Pienaar,Steven Pienaar,Ruan Pienaar and Gysie Pienaar… by what miracle did you manage to get into Dance music?


A:
I grew up in a household where music was always abundant...My first exposure to dance music was when my sister came back after studying in Switzerland..there was tracks from Sash!, Brooklyn Bounce, Faithless, Da Hool etc on it and at that time it really hit the spot for me...and then the internet came and I just got deeper and deeper into the different EDM styles and sounds.


Q:
You’ve been involved with “Nukleuz” for quite some time, how did this meeting come about… and how did you end up heading the “green” department?


A:
Andy Whitby and I used to chat a lot and he was supporting a lot of my tracks at that time. He used two of my tracks on his Frantic Residents CD which was released on Nukleuz and through that I got in touch with Dave Louca who is the Head of A&R there. I ended up doing a few remixes for them and after a while Peter Pritchard contacted me to ask if I would be interested in heading the Nukleuz Green imprint. Nukleuz was always one of the brands that moulded my love for the EDM scene so it was amazing to get the opportunity!


Q:
You’ve done a lot of your best work under various pseudonyms including “Melodia, P.H.A.T.T. and ReBirth”, is there a specific story linked to why you chose each of these?


A:
There's no specific reason why I chose those exact names, but I'm kind of a neat freak..so when I started experimenting with different sounds and styles I had to categorise them and using different aliases worked well..it also gave me freedom to venture into different directions without dropping my old sound.


Q:
you’ve collaborated with a couple of great producer’s in the past including Jason Van Wyk most recently… anyone you’d love to work with in the future?


A:
Yes I'm working with Jason at the moment...we've been talking about doing a collab for years now and just never got to it, but I'm very excited about the track we're working on and I'm positive that our respective fans will love the outcome! There's a lot of producers that I'd like to work with from various genres...Liam Howlett from The Prodigy, Rolo who produces for Faithless and Dido...but in trance terms it would be Sean Tyas for a nice uplifting track, Simon Patterson for something techy and Mat Zo for the more melodic stuff...but my list is pretty much endless!


Q:
Best and Worst gig you’ve ever played?


A:
It's hard to pinpoint specific gigs as my best or worst...I've had a few gigs which I'd rather forget but funily enough they are always the ones you recall the most and in a funny way you look back at them as good memories! The most epic gig I've played though was H2O Africa...that was just massive!


Q:
What would surprise us about “Pierre Pienaar”?


A:
Well if I told you it wouldn't be a surprise hey? ;)


Q:
What are you currently working on, anything exciting?


A:
Apart from my collaboration with Jason I'm working on a few projects outside my normal scope..I'm working on a commercial album and at the moment I'm having auditions for a lead singer. Apart from that I'm constantly working on new singles and remixes under my different aliases and there's a few P.H.A.T.T. releases lined up..the next remix that'll be out is the one that I did for T.O.M & Alpha Force called Paradice which ventures into a more progressive sound but still has a lot of balls (am I allowed to say balls!?)


Q:
Where would we find “Pierre Pienaar”, when he isn’t DJ’ing or Producing music? Do you have any hidden talents, hobbies or passions?


A:
I'm a very chilled guy...maybe I'm just showing my age but these days you'd rather find me chilling on the couch, watching DVD's than consuming large amounts of Jaggermeister! Regarding hidden talents, I like working in the kitchen and cooking tasty food..but I'm no Jamie Oliver, so I'll stick to composing music as my profession!

Q:
What’s playing on your Ipod/MP3 player or car radio at the moment?


A:
There's quite a mixture of music in my Car shuttle...I always have the latest Podcasts from Ferry and Above & Beyond in there, but there's a mix CD tthere with random tracks which I actually listen to more..After working all day in the studio it's refreshing to just sit back and listen to a bit of Pitbull or Eminem...I love music too much to constrict myself to only listening one style.


Q:
What can we expect from “Pierre Pienaar” In the near and distant future?


A:
I'm currently at a crossroads with my life and career and I'm assessing what I want to do and the direction I want to go in..so your guess is as good as mine! But watch this space...

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