David Kennedy (born 1988), professionally known as Pearson Sound, is an

electronic dance Electronic dance music (EDM), also referred to as dance music or club music, is a broad range of percussive electronic music genres originally made for nightclubs, raves, and List of electronic dance music festivals, festivals. It is generally ...

music producer, mix engineer and DJ based in London. His style is a combination of house,

dubstep Dubstep is a genre of electronic dance music that originated in South London in the early 2000s. The style emerged as a UK garage offshoot that blended 2-step rhythms and sparse dub production, as well as incorporating elements of broken ...

UK funky UK funky (sometimes known as UKF or funky) is a genre of electronic dance music which originated in England that is heavily influenced by soca, soulful house, tribal house, funky house, UK garage, broken beat and grime. Typically, UK funky ...

UK garage UK garage, abbreviated as UKG, is a genre of electronic dance music which originated in England in the early to mid-1990s. The genre was most clearly inspired by garage house and jungle production methods, but also incorporates elements from ...

and

jungle jungle is land covered with dense forest and tangled vegetation, usually in tropical climates. Application of the term has varied greatly during the past century. Etymology The word ''jungle'' originates from the Sanskrit word ''jaṅgala'' ...

. In October 2024, a review of his EP release stated: "''Which Way Is Up'' cements Pearson Sound's position as one of UK electronic music's all time greats."

Career

Early in his career, Kennedy released some music under the names Ramadanman (until 2010) and Maurice Donovan. He has worked under the Pearson Sound alias since 2008 and tracks under old and new names featured in his '' FabricLive.56'' mix. He has released several acclaimed

EPs An extended play (EP) is a Sound recording and reproduction, musical recording that contains more tracks than a Single (music), single but fewer than an album. Contemporary EPs generally contain up to eight tracks and have a playing time of 1 ...

and

singles Singles are people not in a committed relationship. Singles may also refer to: Film and television * ''Singles'' (miniseries), a 1984 Australian television series * ''Singles'' (1992 film), written and directed by Cameron Crowe * ''Singles'' ...

, including "Blanked", "Deep Inside" and "Thaw Cycle". He has completed remixes for artists such as

Radiohead Radiohead are an English rock band formed in Abingdon-on-Thames, Abingdon, Oxfordshire, in 1985. The band members are Thom Yorke (vocals, guitar, piano, keyboards); brothers Jonny Greenwood (guitar, keyboards, other instruments) and Colin Gre ...

Depeche Mode Depeche Mode are an English electronic music, electronic band formed in Basildon, Essex in 1980. Originally formed with the line-up of Dave Gahan, Martin Gore, Andy Fletcher (musician), Andy Fletcher and Vince Clarke, the band currently consists ...

the XX The xx are an English indie rock band from Wandsworth, London, formed in 2005. The band consists of Romy Madley Croft (guitar, vocals), Oliver Sim (bass guitar, vocals), Jamie Smith, also known as Jamie xx (beats, MPC, record production), ...

Disclosure Disclosure may refer to: Arts and media Film and television *'' CBC News: Disclosure'', a television newsmagazine series in Canada * ''Disclosure'' (1994 film), an American erotic thriller film based on the 1994 novel by Michael Crichton * ''Dis ...

and

MIA Mia, Mía, MIA, or M.I.A. may refer to: Music Artists * M.I.A. (rapper) (born 1975), English rapper and singer * M.I.A. (American band), 1980s punk rock band from Orange County, California * MIA. (German band), a German rock/pop band formed i ...

, on labels including XL,

Warner Warner can refer to: People * Warner (writer) * Warner (given name) * Warner (surname) Fictional characters * Yakko, Wakko, and Dot Warner, stars of the animated television series ''Animaniacs'' * Aaron Warner, a character in '' Shatter M ...

and Columbia. He was voted by the public as one of ''

Resident Advisor ''Resident Advisor'' (also known as ''RA'') is an online music magazine and community platform established in 2001 and dedicated to showcasing electronic music, artists and events across the globe. Its editorial team provides news, music and ev ...

''s top 100 DJs in the world in both 2010 and 2011. In 2007, he founded the record label Hessle Audio with Ben Thomson ( Ben UFO) and Kevin McAuley (Pangaea). Since then, Hessle Audio have been featured regularly in major dance music publications, as well as touring across the world. On their 15th anniversary in 2022, a cover feature in ''Crack'' magazine stated: "Pound for pound, Hessle Audio are surely the most influential British club label of their generation". Kennedy released his debut self-titled

album An album is a collection of audio recordings (e.g., music) issued on a medium such as compact disc (CD), Phonograph record, vinyl (record), audio tape (like 8-track cartridge, 8-track or Cassette tape, cassette), or digital distribution, dig ...

in 2015 on Hessle Audio. The album was well received critically and scored 8.1 by the website ''

Pitchfork A pitchfork or hay fork is an agricultural tool used to pitch loose material, such as hay, straw, manure, or leaves. It has a long handle and usually two to five thin tines designed to efficiently move such materials. The term is also applie ...

''. His single "XLB" was voted as the second best track of 2016 by ''Resident Advisor''. Kennedy makes regular appearances on

BBC Radio 1 BBC Radio 1 is a British national radio station owned and operated by the BBC. It specialises in modern popular music and Contemporary hit radio, current chart hits throughout the day. The station provides alternative genres at night, including ...

who describe him as a 'key figure in the K bassscene', as well as co-hosting a regular show on London's

Rinse FM Rinse FM is a London-based community radio station, licensed for "young people living and/or working within the central, east and south London areas". It plays garage, grime, dubstep, house, jungle, UK funky and other dance music genres po ...

. Aside from DJing, producing and mixing, Kennedy also ran for many years a

vinyl Vinyl may refer to: Chemistry * Polyvinyl chloride (PVC), a particular vinyl polymer * Vinyl cation, a type of carbocation * Vinyl group, a broad class of organic molecules in chemistry * Vinyl polymer, a group of polymers derived from vinyl ...

-only club night called Acetate at the

Leeds Leeds is a city in West Yorkshire, England. It is the largest settlement in Yorkshire and the administrative centre of the City of Leeds Metropolitan Borough, which is the second most populous district in the United Kingdom. It is built aro ...

nightclub Wire, featuring guests such as

Gilles Peterson Gilles Jérôme Moehrle MBE (; born 28 September 1964), better known as Gilles Peterson (), is a broadcaster, DJ, record label and festival owner. He is renowned for his genre-defying approach to music with jazz at its core. From this base he ...

and

Four Tet Kieran Miles David Hebden (born September 1977), known as Four Tet, is an English electronic musician. He came to prominence as a member of the post-rock band Fridge before establishing himself as a solo artist with charting and critically acc ...

, and he was a headline act at the club's final club night weekend before its closure in June 2024.

Personal life

Kennedy was brought up in north London and studied at

Highgate School Highgate School, formally Sir Roger Cholmeley's School at Highgate, is a co-educational, fee-charging, private day school, founded in 1565 in Highgate, London, England. It educates over 1,400 pupils in three sections – Highgate Pre-Preparato ...

and the

University of Leeds The University of Leeds is a public research university in Leeds, West Yorkshire, England. It was established in 1874 as the Yorkshire College of Science. In 1884, it merged with the Leeds School of Medicine (established 1831) and was renamed Y ...

. His mother is the civil engineer

Joanna Kennedy Joanna Kennedy (born 22 July 1950), is a British civil engineer and project manager who was Global Leader for Programme and Project Management at Arup until 2013 (a director from 1996). She is a patron of Women into Science and Engineering (W ...

. He lives in south London.

Discography

Albums

* ''Pearson Sound'' (2015), Hessle Audio

EPs

* "Hornet" / "Twister" / "Slingshot" / "Which Way Is Up" (October 2024) * "Red Sky" / "Sinkhole" / "Freefall" / "Around in Circles" (2022) * "Alien Mode" / "Cobwebs" / "Everything Inside Out" (2020) * "Rubble" / "Earwig" / "Our Spirits Soar" (2018) * "Robin Chasing Butterflies" / "Eels" / "Heal Me" (2017) * "REM" / "Gridlock" / "Figment" / "Crimson (Beat Ritual Mix)" (2013) * "Lola" / "Power Drumsss" / "Starburst" (2013) * "Clutch" / "Underdog" / "Piston" (2012)

Singles

* "Hornet" (June 2024) * "XLB" (2016) * "Thaw Cycle" / "Freeze Cycle" (2015) * "Raindrops" (2014)"Review: Pearson Sound, 'Pearson Sound'
NPR, 17 March 2015 * "Quivver" (2013) * "Untitled" / "Footloose" (2012) * "Faint", with

Joy Orbison Peter O'Grady, better known as Joy Orbison or Joy O, is an English electronic musician. His style is a coalescence of house, dubstep, UK funky, UK garage and oldschool jungle. O'Grady achieved underground success with his debut single " Hyph Mng ...

and Boddika (2012) * "Deep Inside" / "Working With" (2011)

References

External links

Official website

SoundCloud page
*
Pearson Sound lecture at

Red Bull Music Academy The Red Bull Music Academy (RBMA) is a world-traveling series of music workshops and festivals that was founded in 1998 by Red Bull GmbH. The main five-week event is held in a different city each year. The public portion of its program is a festiv ...

(Madrid 2011), hosted by

Benji B Benjamin Benstead, known professionally as Benji B, is a British DJ, radio presenter, and record producer. A longtime BBC Radio producer and presenter, he has presented a weekly show on BBC Radio 1 since 2010 that highlights an eclectic mix of ...

{{DEFAULTSORT:Sound, Pearson DJs from London English electronic dance music DJs English electronic musicians English radio DJs English record producers 1988 births Living people People educated at Highgate School Alumni of the University of Leeds