THUMP on 1: Pete Tong Goes to the Queen’s House Because He’s a Boss

He's met the Queen, he's friends with Jamie Jones, and even though he's a certified DJ legend, he's still driven to perfect his craft. "I still feel in one part of my brain, I'm a novice," Pete Tong admits. "I need to put the time in. The more prepared you are, the better the gig is."

Since moving to Los Angeles last year, Pete Tong, MBE, has officially entered a North American phase of his career. Even as he maintains his BBC Radio 1 show from abroad, he's focusing more and more on his Stateside ventures including his room-shaking All Gone series at Sound in Hollywood, LiFE in Las Vegas and Story in Miami. He's also curating festival stages, most recently at TomorrowWorld.

"There's a real hunger for other sounds now," Tong explains, referring to the non-mainstream artists and records he champions at his events.

Tong stopped by THUMP headquarters in Venice, California to talk about how you can still play the sounds of the underground when you get invites to Buckingham Pal.