UPFRONTBEATS

Pete Tong and Goom Gum join forces to deliver ‘Signal” Pete Tong is a man who needs absolutely no introduction; recently awarded the Music Industry Trust Award in recognition of outstanding contribution, it’s fair to say he has been electronic music’s foremost global ambassador. So, it’s fitting he’s looked overseas, specifically Russia, on his latest collaboration to join forces with Goom Gum, a duo who are now at the vanguard of the country’s burgeoning dance scene.

Pete explains how the project came about, ‘I’d been a growing fan of Goom Gum and ended up signing their re-version of Depeche Modes’ ‘Master & Servant’ to TSZ Recordings, a new label I started in 2019. Just before the pandemic the guys sent me a rough sketch of ‘Signal’ and asked if I wanted to collaborate. After playing it out a few times and adding some ideas and arrangement changes, I dropped it in Tulum and the crowd went crazy, which I was grateful to experience because it was one of my last big shows before lockdown.’

‘We’re delighted Pete came onboard for ‘Signal”, Goom Gum continue, ‘His support of our work has been amazing, but to get to actually work together was beyond our wildest expectations. His experience and insight helped craft the track into a total dancefloor bomb. We’ve been road testing it at our gigs lately and, trust us, it works!’

But the track’s evolution doesn’t end there. Inspired by the Tulum party, Pete hit upon the idea of creating a version dedicated to the Mexican clubbing mecca at, of all places, a dinner party! ‘At my house in LA we had a Moroccan room and my wife used to throw these incredible soirées. One night we even had a belly dancer and an amazing percussionist called Marc El Khouri. I played him ‘Signal’ (he loved it) and asked him to record some authentic percussion and tabla sounds inspired by my DJ set – and the Tulum version was born!’, he exclaims.

The project’s global theme is enhanced further with remixes from Berlin’s Anja Schneider and another fast-rising Russian star, Bora Uzer. Anja displays real studio prowess by delivering two different remixes, the electronica inspired ‘Break The Signal’ alongside a wonderfully warm ‘Deep Code’ version, which returns to 4/4 and a sound redolent of clubbing in the German capital; whilst Bora’s mix injects a real dose of energy and emotion to further cement its peak time credentials.

‘We’re so happy to finally release ‘Signal”, Pete and Goom Gum conclude in unison, ‘we had nowhere to play it for 18 months so can’t wait to get it out there.’

Credited - For The Record