Made By Pete Steps Beyond the Club on Crowdfunded Debut Album 'Rosebank' [Q&A]

Made By Pete has spent his career building records for the club. On Rosebank, his debut album – out now via Life In Colour – the London producer gives himself room to wander.

A Crosstown Rebels mainstay since 2018, Pete has also released on Yoshitoshi Recordings, Toolroom, Defected and more. In 2025, he started the Life In Colour imprint so he could release music himself. Rosebank is its biggest test yet.

Named after the road where he lives, Rosebank was recorded in his home studio and took shape over five years. Its oldest track dates to 2019, when a move into a new house and studio nudged Pete beyond the dance floor framework behind some of his most succesful releases such as “Horizon Red,” “Fires” and “In My Head.” The album stretches through house, trip-hop, indie dance and electronica, balancing beauty, tension and psychedelic drift.

Its route into the world is equally distinctive. Rather than pursue a label deal, Pete asked listeners to back the idea. In late 2025, they pledged more than $10,000 through Kickstarter – supporting the project before they had even heard it. That leap of faith allowed him to self-release Rosebank and proved that a small, committed audience can carry creative weight.

That money gave Pete the means to release Rosebank himself. It also put pressure behind the promise. Below, he talks about carrying that weight, working between genres and why a small audience that cares may be worth more than a huge one passing through.

Hey Pete, thanks for joining us! How’s the summer of 2026 been treating you? 

 Well thanks. It’s been a busy few months releasing the singles, preparing for the album release, touring, and rehearsing for my live show next year. 

Your debut album, Rosebank is named after the road where you live and recorded the album. How deeply did that sense of place work its way into the music? 

 My studio is a huge part of my workflow, but I don’t get the feeling that it shapes my sound. Having it at home on my doorstep does allow me to develop an idea quickly when inspiration strikes. That in turn has had a huge impact on my creative freedom. The oldest record on the album was made the year we moved to Rosebank in 2019 (Stories From TV Ft. Stockholm Disco Club). It was a big change. New home, new studio, new sound. I felt inspired to venture outside my normal remit of club records. That was the spark for the album, even though I didn't know it at the time.

You recently wrote in an Instagram post that your music often sits somewhere between genres, which is mildly terrifying for those of us at Beatport. With that being said, where would you file Rosebank? 

Haha yes it’s always tricky. I shared this studio jam of the first single "Loved You Most (feat. Chelsea Hines)" and posed the question “What genre is this?” It’s since had over 1000 comments, and the variety in opinion is wide. It proves to me that genre is subjective to the listener. Deep House to me could mean something different to you…. That’s why I always prefer to let others decide the genre for themselves. But, as this is Beatport, I’ll aid your process by telling you that it’s a mix of trip/hop, downtempo, indie dance & house, with a side of psych acid!

Your fans contributed more than $10,000 to the album through Kickstarter. Did having that support behind you feel liberating, or did it create a new kind of pressure? 

The launch created huge pressure because if I didn’t reach my financial target, I would have gotten nothing and everyone would have been refunded. So yeah… I had to pull my finger out and work really hard for the five weeks while it was running. Once we passed the target, I felt grateful and energized. It’s validating when a risky idea comes through. It’s given me the courage to continue the journey.

What was your biggest takeaway from the crowdfunding campaign around the album? 

That a small, dedicated fanbase can enable a long career. Our industry is very data-led now. Huge streaming figures and social media reach do matter on the surface level. One big track can 10x my monthly listeners, and suddenly I get more DJ bookings.

That’s great, but it’s also temporary. When that buzz fades, what’s left? Relying on hit record after hit record isn’t sustainable for 99% of artists. If you interact with your fanbase in an authentic way and give them the chance to support you, they will.

Now I have a 'backstage members' pass on my website which people can join for free. I send my members free stuff, exclusive first listens to releases, behind-the-scenes videos and early access to gigs. This helps to nurture the relationship with my fanbase, and I believe it’s the key factor in having a longer career.

If Rosebank was the score to a film, what kind of movie would it be? 

Ooooh good question. I’m going with The Beach [2000]. I like my music to have a balance of beauty and tension, which the film has in abundance. If you listen to the album from start to finish, it follows a similar narrative. Track two "House Of Sanskara" was inspired by somewhere I stayed in Koh Phangan, not far from where the film was set in Thailand. I hiked through the jungle recording the sounds as I went. When I got back home to my studio, I used the field recordings to create the intro for the song. There’s a scene after Leo’s character gets kicked out of the community and he’s living on his own in the jungle. He starts to go a bit mad, thinking he’s playing a computer game. The cinematography becomes quite psychedelic, and I think the breakdown and drop in the middle of "Wastelands (feat. Kristina Sheli)" would be a good soundtrack for that scene.

Made By Pete's debut album Rosebank is out now via Life In Colour

Get it on Beatport.