Made in NY, Loved Around the World: Getting to Know Jean Pierre

5 Tracks from Up-and-Coming Artists on Jean Pierre’s House Label, Pakate Records

If there is one word that could collectively describe the talented DJ/Producer Jean Pierre (Hot Creations, Cuttin' Headz), it is passion. Born and raised in the concrete jungle of New York City, this "Borough Beatman" from Queens has done nothing but live and breathe music for over fifteen years. And he has no intention of stopping it right now. 

Lost Souls - JJ aka Jean Pierre & Jesse Calosso Remix

Coming off a stellar 2023 which has seen him playing in some of the biggest venues in the world, including Space Miami, BPM Festival, and Buena Vida Festival, not to mention Ibiza shows at renowned clubs like Hi, Space, Pacha, Privilege, and Amnesia, this year is looking even brighter for Jean Pierre.

Jean has always been focused on finding unique records that transform his sets into riveting musical journeys, fusing house and groovy percussive patterns with the more modern minimal and techno sonorities, giving life to a unique sound also thanks to both his NYC upbringing and his Colombian roots, he has successfully created a unique style also influenced by the factors of his multi-cultural upbringing. His background, mixed with a two-year experience working at "Halcyon" - Brooklyn's legendary vinyl shop - truly helped him define and sharpen his musical taste, now finally mature and well-defined. 

Live recording of my set in Amsterdam for Loveland & Music ON

Nothing like ADE much love guys!

Jean Pierre LIVE @ Music On x Loveland (ADE 2023) by Jean Pierre

His hard work and dedication in the studio led to recent releases on industry-leading imprints such as Hot Creations, Cuttin' Headz, Desolat, Mindshake, and Defected, to name a few. Jean Pierre has thus garnered industry-wide support with his driving and powerhouse sound, making himself one of the hottest names to watch in the electronic house music panorama.

United States

Jean Pierre

Andy Baxter

spanish techno

Anna Tur

latin tech house

Tini Gessler

deep tech house

Cuartero

Jesse Calosso

house

uk dance

uk house

Paul Woolford

Spain

Eden Ibiza

Space at Eden Week 5

Space

tech house

Cloonee

melodic house

Francis Mercier

circuit

dutch tech house

Franky Rizardo

HoneyLuv

uk tech house

Joshwa

bass house

Martin Ikin

Melé

dutch house

Shermanology

Toni Varga

The Brooklyn Mirage

Elrow NYC: Summer Festival 2022 Far Rowest

Daniel Orpi

Damelo

Angie Ocampo

Doubleheader

Debut

The Roof of Superior Ingredients

Doubleheader: Daniel Orpi & Jean Pierre w. Angie Ocampo

deep disco house

minimal tech house

minimal techno

The Martinez Brothers

Paco Osuna

birmingham grime

grime

instrumental grime

uk hip hop

Skepta

Mahony

Wheats

Hï Ibiza

The Martinez Brothers Week 4

italian techno

techno

Marco Carola

Pacha Ibiza

Music On Week 15

Music On

Elena Pavla

Sad Money

Tyler Young

Daylight Sessions 004 w/ Sad Money, Jean Pierre, Tyler Young, Elena Pavla

Andres Campo

Anfisa Letyago

rominimal

Arapu

Boris Werner

Chris Stussy

Christian AB

Dubfire

house argentino

Franco Cinelli

Korolova

arab electronic

canadian electronic

Maher Daniel

Manda Moor

Manu Gonzalez

O.Bee

Raresh

Rhadoo

german techno

microhouse

Ricardo Villalobos

south african house

south african pop

Shimza

french tech house

Sirus Hood

swiss techno

Sonja Moonear

Tomas Station

dutch experimental electronic

William Djoko

Unum

Albania

Shëngjin

Unum 2024

Music On week 17

afro house

AMÉMÉ

Apollonia

Archie Hamilton

Carlita

italian electronica

melodic techno

DJ Tennis

south african pop dance

Black Coffee

progressive house

CamelPhat

Deer Jade

electra

Francesca Lombardo

techengue

Gordo

Konstantin Sibold

Layla Benitez

Loco Dice

Mochakk

Ms. Mada

Natalia Roth

Rossi

Tony y Not

organic house

YokoO

Saint Martin

Happy Bay

SXM Festival 2023

czsk viral pop

Misha

Mood Child

The Room at Superior Ingredients

Mood Child by Manda Moor & Sirus Hood + Jean Pierre & Jesse Calasso

De La Swing

Mikayla Wolf

Quantum Brooklyn

Doubleheader with De La Swing & Jean Pierre

deep house

Jamie Jones

TSHA

Ben Sterling

deep minimal techno

Alan Fitzpatrick

ALISHA

Mason Maynard

Chicks Luv Us

Amnesia Ibiza

Paradise Week 13

Paradise

Nicole Moudaber

Serge Devant

Hot Since 82

wAFF

NowHere

REFUGE

NOW HERE: After Party New York

France

Born Dirty

Australia

australian experimental

HAAi

Nitti Gritti

latin house

tribal house

Maahez

trance

Tensteps

indie dance

Luke Alessi

alternative dance

dance-punk

electronica

filter house

indietronica

new rave

Justice

electro house

electronic trap

Baauer

deep tropical house

pop edm

vapor soul

vapor twitch

Autograf

Simon Vuarambon

Success did not come overnight for NYC DJ and producer 

Success did not come overnight for NYC DJ and producer Jean Pierre. His path took him to Colombia and back again, steeping him in the underground club scene of the Big Apple before sending him to stages across the globe by way of Miami. It’s a career that stands as testament to the power of perseverance, and it’s only begun to unfold.




“I was born in Queens,” Jean says. “I mostly grew up with hip-hop culture and was really into that … My older brother started putting the bug in my ear that he was going to the Sound Factory and telling me all these crazy stories about what happened in that club. I was intrigued by it.”




Before Jean had a chance to dive into dance music, though, his mother had different plans. “During my freshman year of high school I was a little more rebellious and going out — you know, crazy stuff that you get into when you’re going to high school — and my mom said, ‘You know what? I’m sending you to live with your dad,’” he says.




Jean Pierre’s Fresh Prince story of sorts sent him to Colombia, where his father lived. Jean had been visiting every summer, so he already had friends and knew his way around. The synchronous pull of club culture managed to reach him a continent away, however.




Colombia’s two biggest clubs were Privilege and Mission — the latter of which had sound and lighting specifically designed to emulate New York’s legendary Sound Factory. Mission introduced European DJs like Carl Cox and Marco Carola to the country’s dance music fans during that time.




By comparison, Jean’s first experience behind the decks was far more modest.




“A year later, I was at a friend’s house and they were partying,” he recalls. “They said, ‘Hey, we can’t play because we’re too drunk … There were no CDJs, just two boomboxes playing CDs. They were like, ‘Yo, this does this, this does this, just figure it out.’ I did, and it was one of the experiences that changed my life. I was 15 years old.”




Four years later, Jean Pierre returned to NYC — but he chose to hone his craft before getting his feet wet. “I came back and I was just watching, not really pushing myself,” he says. “I felt like I still needed a lot of work DJing and getting more experience. My older brother had a lot of friends, so I started building my little network, going to Pacha and all these other clubs that were open at that time, looking and listening.”




Jean first performed at after-hours events in Queens before landing a gig in the Pacha basement courtesy of the late promoter Robert Hernandez. “He did a lot for me and my career,” says Jean. Rob would get him gigs at Cielo, the Pacha main floor, and Asseteria, opening up for the likes of Oscar G, Boris, and Chris Vargas.




“I just kept on doing my thing with my head down, trying not to get lost in that New York City scene,” Jean says. “It was intense and pretty nonstop — every weekend there was something.”




The 2010s saw Jean Pierre build a home studio and produce music as often as he could, releasing on Nervous Records and Victor Calderone’s Waveform Recordings. When the rise of social media platforms triggered a shift in the scene’s power structures, Jean remained relevant by landing a job at the since-shuttered NYC record store Halcyon.




“It helped a lot for [NYC club] Output to see my face consistently,” Jean says. “They started giving me sets in the Panther Room, brought me into the main room, and that’s kind of how the whole story went until Output closed and the record store closed a couple months later.”




Jean then relocated to Miami and built another music studio with a friend. The timing of the move turned out to be advantageous, as the COVID-19 pandemic gave him no option but to stay at home and focus on writing tracks. He honed his skills in the studio and tapped into a new revenue source by offering mixdowns as a service, stocking up on his own music before restrictions eased enough for him to hit the ground running again.




Calling Miami his home base has allowed Jean to travel easily between South America and Europe, solidifying his presence as an international artist. He also now runs his own record label, Pakate. It has given a home to releases by up-and-coming talent such as FLETCH, Daniel Orpi, and Reelow.




Even after two decades in the house music game, Jean Pierre’s story feels like it is only just beginning. Time has told that nothing will stop this persistent talent from taking anything he pursues to the next level.

Jean Pierre

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