Biography
A pivotal force within French electronic music from the mid-1990s onward, Pedro Winter—operating as Busy P—first gained prominence by serving as Daft Punk’s inaugural manager and later launched the influential Ed Banger Records imprint in 2003. Although he issued his own material only intermittently, he frequently supplied remixes for fellow artists; the resulting sound, shared across much of the Ed Banger catalogue, fused abrasive electro textures with house, disco, and hip-hop elements. The 2007 Rainbow Man EP ranked among the label’s earliest commercial peaks, while the following decade saw Winter expand into film scoring via the 2015 Gypsy Life project and collaborate with Thunderbird Gerard alongside Mayer Hawthorne.
Pierre Winter entered the world in Paris in 1975. Electronic dance music captured his attention around 1992, prompting him to begin DJing in clubs and organizing events soon afterward. Deeper immersion in the city’s underground scene brought him into contact with David Guetta, DJ Cam, Dimitri from Paris, and Daft Punk. The last of these encounters occurred in 1996, when Winter was still studying law; the pair, then on the cusp of fame, recruited him as manager, and he accepted.
Capitalizing on Daft Punk’s global breakthrough, Winter established the Headbangers Entertainment management firm in 2002 and took on additional French electronic acts including Cassius, DJ Mehdi, Cosmo Vitelli, and Thomas Winter et Bogue. The following year he created Ed Banger Records, which quickly began releasing music by emerging talents such as Justice, SebastiAn, Uffie, and DJ Mehdi. Winter’s own production career under the Busy P alias commenced in 2004 with the Limit Ed 12-inch containing “Colette C’est Chouette” and “Bearbrickdance,” and he simultaneously explored remixing. Further occasional singles appeared on Arcade Mode, among them 2005’s “Chop Suey,” yet his output remained sporadic until the 2007 Rainbow Man 12-inch on Ed Banger. Momentum increased after Justice’s 2007 hit “D.A.N.C.E.” propelled the label’s profile, leading to the 2008 Pedrophilia release featuring Crookers and Mr. Oizo reworkings.
Winter continued reinterpreting tracks by UNKLE, MGMT, and Drop the Lime in subsequent years. The Still Busy 12-inch, featuring Thunderbird Gerard, arrived in 2013, followed in 2014 by the remix compilation Reworking Is Not a Crime. That same year he contributed to the Vandroid soundtrack alongside Feadz and Mr. Flash. Gypsy Life, issued in 2015, assembled his compositions for the accompanying full-length skateboarding film. The 2017 Genie EP united Winter with Mayer Hawthorne and included reinterpretations by Joe Goddard and Reckonwrong. He returned in 2021 with a remix of Django Django’s “Free from Gravity.”
Pierre Winter entered the world in Paris in 1975. Electronic dance music captured his attention around 1992, prompting him to begin DJing in clubs and organizing events soon afterward. Deeper immersion in the city’s underground scene brought him into contact with David Guetta, DJ Cam, Dimitri from Paris, and Daft Punk. The last of these encounters occurred in 1996, when Winter was still studying law; the pair, then on the cusp of fame, recruited him as manager, and he accepted.
Capitalizing on Daft Punk’s global breakthrough, Winter established the Headbangers Entertainment management firm in 2002 and took on additional French electronic acts including Cassius, DJ Mehdi, Cosmo Vitelli, and Thomas Winter et Bogue. The following year he created Ed Banger Records, which quickly began releasing music by emerging talents such as Justice, SebastiAn, Uffie, and DJ Mehdi. Winter’s own production career under the Busy P alias commenced in 2004 with the Limit Ed 12-inch containing “Colette C’est Chouette” and “Bearbrickdance,” and he simultaneously explored remixing. Further occasional singles appeared on Arcade Mode, among them 2005’s “Chop Suey,” yet his output remained sporadic until the 2007 Rainbow Man 12-inch on Ed Banger. Momentum increased after Justice’s 2007 hit “D.A.N.C.E.” propelled the label’s profile, leading to the 2008 Pedrophilia release featuring Crookers and Mr. Oizo reworkings.
Winter continued reinterpreting tracks by UNKLE, MGMT, and Drop the Lime in subsequent years. The Still Busy 12-inch, featuring Thunderbird Gerard, arrived in 2013, followed in 2014 by the remix compilation Reworking Is Not a Crime. That same year he contributed to the Vandroid soundtrack alongside Feadz and Mr. Flash. Gypsy Life, issued in 2015, assembled his compositions for the accompanying full-length skateboarding film. The 2017 Genie EP united Winter with Mayer Hawthorne and included reinterpretations by Joe Goddard and Reckonwrong. He returned in 2021 with a remix of Django Django’s “Free from Gravity.”