‘Nope… no men are created equal’ was my first impression upon meeting Pedro Winter for the first time. I figured that not everyone is capable of becoming a relevant figure of a music scene just because they were on the right place at the right time. But after a visit to the Parisian basement of the Ed Banger boss, after a raid through ugly trunks, dusty frames, old carpets and moldy smells, and after rummaging through his past; We find that, yup, we’ve been all created equal. None of us is exempt from our henna-dye teenage years, with badly squeezed pimples, silly faces and hands making a "Vs" and "Ws" for photos. We hereby present: Basement raid with (and by) Pedro Winter, the only man who waited until his thirties to grow his hair long:

Fig. 1

Welcome to my world! Welcome to the Ed Banger Records’ basement in northern Paris, in lovely Montmartre!

Fig. 2

It all started with my musical education, which came from my older brother Thomas who introduced me to a lot of bands. Yes I’m a fan of Steve Vai and Deee Lite! What’s wrong with that? I’ve also banged my head to Led Zeppelin and cry to Tears for Fears.

Fig. 3

In 1989 I started skating in the streets of Paris… that was a great education in life. 20 years later I produced my first skateboard with the artist Neck Face, which was a dream of mine. I have also kept two very important boards that defined my life as a teenager: the board of Pierre André Senizergues, the only French world champion of skateboarding, and the "Ripper" from the brand Powell Peralta which I have tattooed on my arm.

Fig. 4

This photo was taken in 1995; it was my very first public DJ set (not in my room). I was lucky to have Dimitri from Paris watching my back (at left in the photo). We were at Folies Pigalle which is where I organized my first weekly house music parties.

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Speaking of the parties, here are some of the flyers we used to make with Michel Poulain, better known at the time as “La Shampouineuse.”

Fig. 6 (abcd)

It was the summer of 96’ in Montmartre. It was the beginning of Internet and emails. I had quit university to start a new adventure with two other Parisian kids who called themselves Daft Punk. I spent 12 years with those guys and basically learnt everything I know today. I owe a lot to them. Here are my first notebooks! We went to Miami for the Winter Music Conference every year, look at those heavy passes!

Fig. 7 (abcd)

My record collection. I’ve been DJing since 1995. We broke our backs carrying those records to parties. Sad I can’t spin those 12" anymore.  I’ve got everything here from Jay Dee to Cosmo Vitelli, from Madonna to Metallica…

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In 1997, I bought my first sampler. The Daft boys gave me a few other machines and I started to produce my own beats.

Fig. 9 (ab)

Then in 2003, I woke up without knowing I was going to start my own label. I met a guy called Mr. Flash, he had me listen to his music, and I went to bed dreaming of Ed Banger Records. Here are all the records we’ve produced in 9 years. Justice hasn’t finished conquering the world. The adventure continues!