Jump to content

3 Steps Ahead

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
3 Steps Ahead
Birth namePeter-Paul Pigmans
Born(1961-01-31)31 January 1961
Rotterdam, Netherlands
Died27 August 2003(2003-08-27) (aged 42)
Netherlands
GenresGabber
Years active1994 - 2003

Peter-Paul Pigmans (31 January 1961 – 27 August 2003) was a Dutch gabber music producer, best known for his production under the pseudonym 3 Steps Ahead.

Born in Berkel en Rodenrijs and based out of Rotterdam, Pigmans' music is widely considered one of the most innovative specimens of the gabber genre;[1] while many gabber producers favor raw force and little virtuosity when creating a song, Pigmans' music always had a strong technical side, and his songs often featured atmospherical elements, an unusual thing in the genre at the time. He was also known for his extremely wild live shows.[2]

His first full-length album Most Wanted & Mad (1997) reached #35 on the Dutch Album Top 100.[3]

Pigmans was known for his eccentric live performances, with bizarre suits, strange sound effects and rousing live sets. For instance, he wore a football shirt that was half a Feyenoord shirt and half an Ajax shirt, aiming to promote fraternisation within the hardcore scene.[4][5][6][7]

Pigmans was diagnosed with brain cancer in 1999. On 18 July 2003 in Zaandam at the Hemkade Stadium, fellow Dutch producers organized a fundraising event for him called "3 Steps Ahead 4 Life" where the cream of the Dutch gabber scene performed (for free - all income was spent on his treatment in hope of curing him) and paid respect to him.[8] A couple of weeks later, he died. Two months later the annual Thunderdome started with a one-minute silence in his memory.

He's been elected into the Thunderdome Hall of Fame.[9]

Discography

[edit]

Albums

[edit]
  • Most Wanted & Mad (1997)
  • Junkie (2000)

EPs

[edit]
  • Step 1 (1994)
  • Step 2 (1994)
  • Step 3 (1994)
  • Drop It (1996)
  • Hakkûh (1996)
  • Gangster (1996)
  • It's Delicious (1997)
  • Paint It Black (1998)

Film soundtracks

[edit]

Two of his songs were used in the soundtrack for Brüno (2009): "Thunderdome Till We Die" and "Stravinsky's Bass".[10]

References

[edit]
  1. ^ "Scanned Poster". Party Flock Netherlands.
  2. ^ "3 Steps Ahead live @ thunderdome 96". YouTube. 17 September 2007. Retrieved 21 December 2023.
  3. ^ "3 Steps Ahead - Most Wanted & Mad". dutchcharts.nl. Retrieved 25 April 2022.
  4. ^ "Instagram". www.instagram.com. Retrieved 2024-08-06.
  5. ^ bitoyboyxl (2023-05-30). "Peter Paul pigmans w…". r/gabber. Retrieved 2024-08-06.
  6. ^ "3 steps ahead tribute op ground zero". Synthforum (in Dutch). 2024-02-09. Retrieved 2024-08-06.
  7. ^ MusicMeter. "3 Steps Ahead - Most Wanted & Mad (1997) - MusicMeter.nl". MusicMeter (in Dutch). Retrieved 2024-08-06.
  8. ^ partyflock agenda: 3 Steps Ahead For Life · 18 juli 2003
  9. ^ 3 Steps Ahead Hall of Fame entry Archived 2011-07-17 at the Wayback Machine on Thunderdome.com
  10. ^ Brüno (2009) soundtrack listing at the Internet Movie Database
[edit]