Anu Pillai is DJ/Producer that can see no boundaries; this is a surprisingly rare quality in the so-called music lovers that tour the world commanding big fees. So many DJs that play dance music list all number of producers/bands as inspirations in their ‘sound’, but if you didn’t know this you could easily be mistaken that they just play Phonica’s top 10 records that month.
Anu is different, he lays it all out to see in all his work. From stunning reworkings for artists as diverse as NERD, Brian Wilson, X-Press 2 & David Byrne, Jamie Lidell, Justin Timberlake, Felix Da Housecat and The Killers, to his critically acclaimed DJ mix albums, ‘Bisous Bisous II’ & ‘Misch Masch’ and contributions to several of Kitsuné’s genre defining compilations.
At the same time, you only have to look at the list of artists who have swapped mixes with Freeform Five to see the high regard in which they are held – Tiefschwarz, Radioslave, Alter Ego, Lindstrom, Mylo, M.A.N.D.Y, Switch, Ewan Pearson, Jackson & His Computer Band and Maurice Fulton to name a few.
He’s spent a small fortune offsetting his airmiles with DJ appearances at Fabric, Space, Cocoon, Watergate, The Razz, D-Edge, Womb, Rex, and Lux plus tours of Scandinavia, Australia, America, and all the major festivals, including Glastonbury, T in the Park, Benicassim and Pukkelpop.
His record label, Perspex Recordings, is dedicated to giving some of the planet’s most talented boundary breakers a vinyl-loving platform. Releases include Chicago legend Derrick Carter, French rock band ‘Poney Poney’ (produced by Xavier from Justice) and Swedish auteur ‘The Subliminal Kid’ (co producer of Fever Ray) along with reworks by like minded friends Gabriel Ananda, Riton, Headman & Riva Starr.
As well as working on a new Freeform Five long player, Anu has collaborated with The Glimmers & Shinichi Osawa on their albums as well as writing & producing for Ladyhawke, Little Boots, VV Brown, Roisin Murphy & Primary 1.