Rennie Pilgrem

Rennie Pilgrem

Rennie Pilgrem is a breaks producer, DJ and label founder from Canvey Island, United Kingdom. Born in 1965, he starts out playing tenor saxophone and sitting in with his father’s jazz bands across southern England, then moves into funk groups on saxophone and keyboards.

Early work and Rhythm Section

He later makes early house music with Ellis Dee, Richie T and Nick Newton, using basic drum machines. The group attracts interest from the British house label Guerrilla, but instead chooses to issue its own records. It forms Rhythm Section Recordings and becomes part of the breakbeat house wave that develops into hardcore in the early 1990s. The group’s third release, “Comin’ On Strong”, becomes a major track and is said to have had chart potential. Rhythm Section plays widely between 1990 and 1992 on bills with acts including The Prodigy, Moby, Altern 8, Shades of Rhythm and Bizarre Inc. When tempos move up to around 150 bpm, the group ends and Pilgrem returns to house-paced material.

Thursday Club Recordings and solo work

In 1993, Pilgrem founds Thursday Club Recordings, also known as TCR, as an outlet for his own music. Recording under the name Thursday Club, he has a notable track with “Thursday Theme”, which draws attention from Virgin. In 1995, “A Place Called Acid” becomes one of the prominent breaks records of the period. He also issues records on Whole9yards, City Of Angels, Chrysalis/EMI, Mob and China Records.

Nu skool breaks and collaborations

A visit to Florida in 1994 helps redirect him toward breaks at its original tempo. He helps set up Friction with Adam Freeland, Tayo and Ian Williams, a project that helps launch the nu skool scene. He also helps coin the term “Nu Skool” with the other Friction members to describe the style. His collaborations include Arthur Baker, BLIM, Meat Katie and Uberzone. With BLIM, he works on “Eskimo” and “2Freaks”. With Uberzone, he follows “Black Widow” with “Cous Cous”. He also works with Rennie Pilgrem & Arthur Baker, Rennie Pilgrem & B.L.I.M. and Überzone & Rennie Pilgrem, among other credited project names.

DJ work, clubs and recognition

Pilgrem continues to DJ internationally with a funk-influenced breaks style. He is resident at Agatha in Rome and runs the clubnight Hum in London. He is also involved in the Breaksday concept, with events held at Miami’s WMC and at The Glade Festivals. He receives repeated recognition at The International Breaks Awards, including four consecutive wins as Most Valuable/Influential Person, and also wins Best Single for “2Freaks” and Best Remix.

Albums, remixes and later projects

He releases the mix album Perfecto Breaks on Perfecto, and his second artist album, Pilgremage, appears on TCR. He remixes Braund Reynolds, Rich Thair and Ferry Corsten’s “Rock Your Body”, and he completes further collaborations with Lee Coombs. He also scores the opening sequence for the film Football Factory.

Live work and TCR

Pilgrem later forms the live band Rennie Pilgrem & The TCR Allstars, which plays live shows at events including Glastonbury, Glade Festival and Fabric. TCR continues as his main label imprint and reaches a long-running catalogue, with its 100th release noted as a milestone. He also contributes a track for Wipeout Pure on PSP and records an Essential Mix for Radio 1.