Piotr Orlov was born a music enthusiast in St. Petersburg, Russia – back when it was called Leningrad – and remembers hearing Louis Armstrong records in his crib.
He’s been a New Yorker since the plane carrying his family touched down at JFK in March of ‘77. Henceforth, Piotr’s life has been about adapting to, and pursuing the new. Cause that’s how immigrants do.
Piotr’s DJ debut was at his own 7th grade dance, and paints a direct line to the monthly “Treehouse” parties he throws in Brooklyn. Over the past 18 years, his writing on music and culture has appeared in the New York Times, Wired, Arthur, numerous alt-weeklies, and countless websites. (His own is Newly Lost Edge.) In the ‘00s, he’s helped curate the music for a museum show about Fela Kuti (“The Black President” at the New Museum), started a digital music business for MTV, and began consulting on digital strategy for bands, brands and one creative agency.
PS: Feel free to call him “Peter.”
Piotr Orlov appears in the following:
At Penn Station and in a Chelsea gallery, artist Derrick Adams offers fresh sights and stories
Saturday, February 11, 2023
Whether he’s creating works for gallery shows or mass-transit displays, Brooklyn artist Derrick Adams focuses on responsibility and representation.
Three NYC modern-art museums reverberate with musical inspiration
Friday, February 03, 2023
Retrospectives at the New Museum and the Guggenheim, and a historic survey at MoMA, showcase art rooted in music, improvisation and dance.
Saxophonist David Murray returns to the New York jazz scene in a new role
Friday, January 20, 2023
After two decades abroad, a onetime pillar of New York's music and theater communities has come home to as an elder statesman for a new generation of jazz musicians.
Talking With Ghosts
Monday, November 22, 2021
The new album by Joan as Police Woman began as a thrilling, one-night-only collaboration with Afrobeat legend Tony Allen. Then disaster struck.
Madlib Heads Back To The Future On 'Sound Ancestors'
Thursday, January 28, 2021
For over two decades, Madlib's work has been defined not by any one style, but by the artist's stylistic breadth and tireless output. On a new album, the polymath compiles his artifacts.
Still Saving The Day: The Most Influential Dance Party In History Turns 50
Wednesday, February 19, 2020
The Loft, a party that David Mancuso first threw at his Manhattan home 50 years ago, seeded a community — and cemented a belief system that continues to reverberate.
Robert Hunter's Words Helped Bring Life To The Grateful Dead
Wednesday, September 25, 2019
Robert Hunter was more than another gear spinning within the perpetual motion machine of the Grateful Dead — his songwriting helped define the group's narratives and bloom its philosophies.
'Matangi / Maya / M.I.A.' Documents A Complex Life In Pop Atop An Unrelenting World
Friday, September 28, 2018
In the new documentary Matangi / Maya / M.I.A., director Steve Loveridge examines the development, rise and oppositional success of the iconoclastic pop star — who was always something else entirely.
First Listen: Kamaal Williams, 'The Return'
Thursday, May 17, 2018
Williams is a central figure in London's jazz renaissance. Stream the producer's debut full-length in its entirety.
First Listen: Wajatta, 'Casual High Technology'
Thursday, May 03, 2018
Reggie Watts teams up with John Tejada, an elder statesman of West Coast dance music, to create soulful and abstract electro-pop.
First Listen: Mr. Fingers, 'Cerebral Hemispheres'
Thursday, April 05, 2018
One of house music's Chicago architects returns with a journey through his eclectic past, and a renewed creative streak.
What You Could Take Away From 'David Bowie Is'
Saturday, March 17, 2018
When the exhibit was first conceived, in tandem with Bowie's own collection, its success was far from guaranteed. In the five years since, its outlived its subject and changed as much as he once did.
First Listen: The Maghreban, '01DEAS'
Thursday, March 15, 2018
The veteran U.K. hip-hop producer turns outsider and crafts a sample-heavy, house music debut.
First Listen: Daphni, 'Fabriclive 93'
Thursday, July 13, 2017
The new album from Caribou's Dan Snaith is a continuous mix consisting entirely of brand new music and exclusive remixes.
Songs We Love: Bonobo, 'Bambro Koyo Ganda (Feat. Innov Gnawa) (Analog Version)'
Wednesday, June 07, 2017
This alternate mix of the downbeat electronic producer's collaboration with the Moroccan folk group Innov Gnawa electrifies the track's cross-cultural currents.
First Listen: Jlin, 'Black Origami'
Thursday, May 11, 2017
The Gary, Ind., electronic producer turns a Chicago footwork party into a global drum-machine circle.
First Listen: Carl Craig, 'Versus'
Thursday, April 27, 2017
The Detroit techno colossus reimagines his greatest tracks with a concert pianist and a symphony orchestra.
First Listen: Mr. Mitch, 'Devout'
Thursday, April 13, 2017
The London grime producer's second album is a song-cycle about family.
Four Tet Remixes The xx's Gloomy 'A Violent Noise' Into A Danceable Seduction
Wednesday, April 12, 2017
Four Tet revisits the music of his longtime collaborators The xx.
First Listen: Spoek Mathambo, 'Mzansi Beat Code'
Thursday, April 06, 2017
Mzansi Beat Code is a groove-packed, sociopolitical statement that places the 34-year-old producer at South Africa's creative center.
