In October London based record label Church showcased their talent on Boiler Room at Corsica Studios in the capital. On the night Laurence Guy, Chaos In The CBD, Beesmunt Soundsystem, Apes, Seb Wildblood and the man in question, Ishmael (all signed to Church) made sure it was a memorable one.

Pete Cunningham a.k.a Ishmael who’s based in Bristol has been a hot topic of discussion within the underground scene. His 2012 debut release ‘Want You’ kick started his career and has since paved the way for many successful releases on Wolf Music and Church. Ishmael’s take on electronic music is a refreshing one, his love of instruments, in particular the Saxophone, is a common theme in his live performances. Ishmael’s not just focused on music production, he also draws attention to the imagery of his art.

Pete works with a close friend of his Amie Nowlan (a talented animator and visual artist), to devise soporific concepts to accompany his unique style and sound. Examples of their work can be seen in the music videos for his tracks, ‘Montparnasse’ and ‘The Mounk’. This just shows he is truly an all-round artiste.

Recently Ishmael gave one of the most impressive live performances Boiler Room has ever seen. The multi-instrumentalist treated us to a demonstration of his incredible talent, using his A/V system. He played some immaculate echoing ambient sounds, as well as his skills on the saxophone that provided a dreamy, jazzy cloak, which galvanises the soul for the first half of the 45-minute set. After the alluring daydream Ishmael perfectly instigates, he then resorts to dragging you out of it to unleash his synthesiser to add an element of grit to the finale of his set.

Words by Max