Any self-respecting member of the MySpace world would be well-versed as to who Busy P is, or at least be capable of making a vague connection between the name and his famous flashing avatars. However what most might not know, is that Busy P (aka Pedro Winter) is a much more complex character than originally meets the eye. Semone Maksimovic catches up with the enigmatic identity in the lead up to his Australian tour debut to find out more.

Not only does Busy P have a whole host of slick beats, a natural hip hop sensibility and some thrilling remixes up his sleeve, but he also literally OWNS when it comes to the French music scene. Miraculously managing to juggle a whole gamut of titles, including: artist/producer/DJ (Busy P), label owner and founder (Ed Banger) and busy band manager (Daft Punk, Justice & DJ Mehdi at present), is it any wonder this cool cat rules the school? Whether it’s schmick production or chaotic DJ sets, he’s able to walk the walk, not just talk the talk. “Since I was a kid, I always knew I wanted to be involved in the entertainment business,” he enlightens. “I’ve always had a varied taste in music, when I was younger my older brother got me opened me up to all kinds of music, [most notably] Metallica, Run DMC, Pink Floyd, Led Zep, Dee Lite, Kraftwerk, those bands changed my life, before I discovered electronic music in 1990.”

From here Pedro was, of course, drawn into the club scene, dancing away night after night at clubs and raves until the high was no longer enough for him. He suffered a dancefloor epiphany, realising his job was to be behind the decks. But as the first step, while he was still honing the craft of DJing, he decided to start his own dance parties, and in 1995 ‘Hype’ was born. “I wanted my parties to be different from what other clubs proposed. My parties were in small venues and you could hear house and hip hop – while the trend at the time was big House hits only. I also started making funny flyers written in Spanish and gave out invitations for 3 people, not 2,” he recalls. “When I look at the line ups we did now, I’m proud. We had Daft Punk, Zdar, Bob Sinclar, Dimitri from Paris, [all] more than 10 years ago. I’m happy to see that all those guys are now famous and respected,” he smiles.

Through these nights he watched the DJs patiently and picked up the tips and tricks he needed to learn his craft. “The people who really taught me DJing were Dimitri from Paris, DJ Gregory and Zdar [Cassius]. I was watching them all night long, then at the end of the night I used to play for the last hour. I think when you like electronic music, you have to buy vinyl as most of the club tunes are not available on CD, and you have to get a turntable, [a] Technics MK2. So I bought 2 turntables and practised at home and in small Paris bars. It’s been more than 10 years now and I’ve played in all Paris clubs, and I’m lucky enough to travel the world thanks to my love of electronic music,” he adds proudly. But almost as soon as his DJ stints started to stack up, he had to put them on the backburner for a little while, as he learned to cope with his new role as full-time manager of the world’s biggest electronic duo; Daft Punk! However he refused to give it up altogether, so found a way to keep it going on the side as a bit of a creative release.

If you’ve been to his MySpace page you may have been enlightened by his brilliant remix work, or maybe you’ve even had a listen to some of his magnificent solo tracks. I know I got rather hyper having had a taste test of what he was capable of, however a solo album isn’t on the cards for the man anytime in the near future. “Unfortunately I don’t really have enough time to work on my Busy P music. I hope I’ll be able to put out my first 12” this year, though. I set up my studio in 1997, so I have hundreds of demos, now all I need is to take some time and finish it,” he laughs. And as most of today’s DJs get lazier and lazier, rapidly losing touch with their crowd, Pedro reveals that interaction is the key ingredient during his shambolic DJ sets. “I play with the audience, I even dance with them. We’re all here to party, the DJ too! Throwing records [while playing] is my thing, I love giving stuff to people. They come to support us, so I want them to leave with a souvenir!”

Dodge the flying records for yourself as Busy P continues his tour of Australia throughout January and February:

Jan 26 – Killer, Sydney
Jan 27 – Room, Melbourne
Feb 2 – Rocket Bar, Adelaide
Feb 4 – Gilkisons, Perth