Skiddle Mix 004 - Gilles Peterson (Suncebeat/Southport Weekender)

Photo by Tom Morgan

Mercurial. Enigmatic. Brilliant. Dance music comes with an overused canon of superlatives but one DJ who deserves them all is Gilles Peterson. The legendary figure has been an essential component of the UK dance scene for decades, his unfaltering enthusiasm for music delivered across his many radio shows and brilliantly eclectic DJ sets. He is, unequivocally, an icon.

One event which matches his stature is the long running Southport Weekender, recently relocated to Minehead in the South West but still an torchbearer for the more soulful aspect of dance music. Gilles has been a long term protagonist of the festival for obvious reasons, even extending his hand to play at their festival in the Croatian sun, Suncebeat. So when we got asked if we’d like to use his mix at this year’s festival to spotlight the vibes he’ll be pulling over in Croatia, we bit their hand off. And we’re so glad we did, because the mix is an absolute stunner!

It takes everything in you’d expect from a Gilles mix, a string laden edit of Michael Jackson’s ‘I want to rock with You’ kick-starting a selection that also takes in Hall & Oates, Marvin Gaye, Whitney Houston and covering the world music, funk and broken beats palette. A little rough round the edges, it’s a great example of a live DJ set. But don’t just take our word for it, listen yourself!

Gilles will be playing in Tisno for the Suncebeat Festival when it takes place next month, and we’ve still got a few tickets left if you’re thinking an across the board range of music and near enough assured sunshine is tantamount to a perfect festival experience. Joining Gilles will be the likes of Moodymann, Derrick Carter, Kenny Dope, Motor City Drum Ensemble and loads more.

Head here for more info and tickets to Suncebeat festival.

Click here for more info on the Southport Weekender

Tickets are no longer available for this event