Faith In The Beat

FROM LONDON'S KALEIDOSCOPIC HUM TO THE SUN-BLEACHED SANCTUARIES OF IBIZA AND BALI, BRITISH DJ-PRODUCER PIPPI CIEZ HAS TURNED RHYTHM INTO RITUAL. A DISCIPLE OF SOUL AND SOUND, HE SPEAKS OF DRUMS AS DIVINE, RISK AS FUNDAMENTAL, AND MUSIC AS THE OLDEST PRAYER HE KNOWS.

- WORDS INDRAN PARAMASIVAM PHOTO PIPPI CIEZ

IN BIRMINGHAM, WHERE MACHINES once howled and techno carved its angular imprint, a young Pippi Ciez was hearing something softer. He grew up in a home where his mother spun Motown and Aretha Franklin, and his father played Beatles records in the house and film soundtracks on drives to his nan's house. "I grew up listening to real soul superstars and epic cinematic soundscapes," he reminisces. "These influences just wound up into a much more cultural sound for me, which is why my path has been different."

That difference shaped Ciez's approach, where sound becomes a sacred canvas. For him, drums not only provide kinetic energy but draw pulse and purpose from the body itself. In every aspect of his creative work—DJ, producer, label owner (Inward Records), and audio engineer—he exemplifies the triumph of emotion and discipline over the chaos of impulse and the vagaries of trends. This uncompromising stance has led him to move beyond Afro-house, one of the year's breakout sonic tropes that he is often associated with.

When your passion demands constant reinvention, change is the only roof you'll stand under.

THE WILL IS THE WAY

"Musically, I've been really experimental and moving away from Afro, not in a bad way, but in the sense that I'm trying to create a version of everything that's kind of melded together," he explains. "It might have an Afro drumbeat. But you can also hear an indie or disco groove, something that makes people smile and put their hands in the air, but at the same time, gives them a reason to pull a screwy face."