Mr Haywood

Check our Goloka remix of Afterlife's 'Let It Go' on Bargrooves. Available through Defected. NiceGOLOKA 'Thinking About You'.If there is one dj that encompasses everything the Wild Fruit ethos is about it’s Pete Haywood. The fun, the innovation, the passion; each is as synonymous with Haywood’s and Wild Fruits partnership. From banging out basslines on his guitar, to swapping guitar strings for electro-filled bass bins in the Eighties and finally to landing behind the decks for the very first Wild Fruit in the early Nineties, Haywood’s history is a fine one.A history most clubbers have witnessed. Has there been a Pride or a celebration we’ve not lost it to courtesy of his unique sound? Described by Mr. Haywood as “bang on it big records coupled with dirty disco and electro-tinged tunes for Wild Fruit or tracky and underground for Monkey” his sets are the stuff of Fruit legends. He’s a dj’s dj, leading the way with electro house when everyone was shrinking from the bleeps or bringing us the new before we even knew it had happened. A tastemaker and an innovator, Haywood’s humble German youth club dj beginnings may not have signaled much intent but by the time he’d served his time via Brighton’s Zap in the mid Eighties that Haywood sound began to emerge. Residencies and guest slots at various clubs and events including Love Bomb Warsaw, Sunday Sundae, The Escape, The Ocean Rooms and for the fashion conscious at shows in Berlin, Warsaw and London ensured it was so.Take Haywood away from the decks and you certainly don’t have a lost soul. Instead you get an intriguing Haywood after-hours career. Compilations including Hed Kandi’s ‘Served Chilled’ and Defected’s ‘Café Mambo 07’, Sureplayerz ‘Electro House’ and the Comfort Zone series are just some of those who’ve enjoyed a Haywood contribution, whilst his own collection of compilations for Crazy Diamond; ‘Hotel St Tropez’, ‘Hotel Marrakech’ and ‘Hotel Voyeur’ seem tailored for life outside the clubs. As does his latest venture with partner and songstress Kasia. Together they bring us GOLOKA debut artist album ‘Afterglow’ on iLabel, a slice of tailored electronica that will thrill as it chills as it seduces. It’s Pete at his best.However you take your Haywood, surround sound at home or surrounded by fellow clubbers, you’re in for a treat. Like peaches and cream Haywood and Wild Fruit are the perfect combination. Forget shouting “more” at the end of a Haywood Wild Fruit set – how about “seconds anyone?”words by Kate Wildblood