Interview : Rennie Pilgrem

Interview : Rennie Pilgrem

17 December, 2008 | 12.23PM

• Written by: Dan Cole
• Filed under: Music News: rennie pilgrem, tcr

Back in 1993 Rennie Pilgrem set up the now infamous Thursday Club Recordings (TCR), and is credited for almost single-handedly creating the nu skool breaks scene and spawning the careers of Adam Freeland and The Plump DJs to name but a few.

Commonly referred to as the ‘Godfather of Breakbeat’ Rennie Pilgrem releases his new album ‘Skin’ this week on Beatport and talks to Beatportal about the 15 years of service TCR has provided to the music industry.

To celebrate the 15th year anniversary Rennie has put together an exclusive TCR mix for Beatportal here.

What made you decide to set up TCR?

I was coming to the end of my ‘Hardcore Rave’ phase in the band Rhythm Section and wanted to slow the tempo down to a sensible speed. I also felt it was time to have a vehicle for my own material.

How do you think the scene is now compared to 15 years ago?

Back then, there was one breaks release a week so it was a special occasion and you bought every one because that’s all there was. Also back then there was a real sense of ‘us against the world’. But there were hardly any clubs supporting the music

What has been your favourite TCR record you put out?

I think ‘2 Freaks’ with BLIM and Chickaboo because it was a genuine anthem and we got such a lot of love from that record

Who do you think was one of your best signings?

Dopamine ‘Hold You’. Pippa Hockey who co-ran the label heard it as a demo in a London Club and we found out it was unsigned and snapped it up.

How did the demise of Intergroove effect things for you?

It was terrible. Thousands of records destroyed. Losing money. Losing your ‘home’ for music. The physical release side of things has never recovered which is sad and a lot of small labels went bust.

What does the future hold in store for TCR?

We are 15 years old so many of our best tracks are being remixed. We are giving away a series of one hour mixes and we are making a lot more of our material available for the first time digitally.

What current producers do you think are really making waves and who’s really influencing you at the moment?

Bassbin Twins, his dubstep-inspired breaks are showing where the scene should be headed. Also I.D. for doing very forward-thinking stuff as well.

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