As Pigeon prepare to release their debut album, bassist, DJ, producer, and label co-founder Josh Ludlow spoke about the band’s early days, formative live experiences, and the festival culture that shaped their sound. The culturally diverse group, which blends afro-disco, jazz, and post-punk, has recently garnered attention from major music and news outlets.
Early Musical Roots
Ludlow grew up in West London surrounded by music. His father played guitar, sang, and performed in bands, which led to Ludlow picking up an instrument at a young age.
“I grew up in West London. Lots of music in the house. My dad always had a guitar, was always singing, always in bands. So, by the time I was 10 or 11, I was playing in a band with my brother.”
Those early groups drew heavily from pop-punk. One of his first collaborations was with Tom Dream, who would later become a member of Pigeon.
“We were listening to a lot of Blink 182 and Green Day, so I imagine it sounded like that. One of the first groups I was in was with Tom (Dream) from Pigeon, when he was about 13 and I was 12. I don’t think we played a gig. But yeah, as long as I can remember, I’ve been playing music.”
First Live Shows
Ludlow’s earliest concert experiences took place at a youth centre in Twickenham called Heatham House, which hosted battle of the bands and open mic nights.
“The first live shows I went to were at a place in Twickenham called Heatham House, where they would put on Battle of the Bands and open mic nights. It was a crazy thing, where there would be no adults, just loads of kids getting drunk, moshing and doing other things that teenagers do. Those were the first gigs I remember. Not the most professional set-up, but a lot of fun.”
His first major festival experience came at age 14, when he attended Reading Festival. That event became a regular destination during his teenage years.
“I think that it could have been a festival, like Reading or something. I went there when I was 14.”
Festival Culture and a Slipknot Connection
Ludlow and his brother moved from rock into metal, forming a thrash band called Mutant and touring the UK. At Reading, a standout memory was seeing Slipknot in the early 2000s.
“We saw Slipknot in the early 2000s. They were the biggest band in that world at the time. They were so culturally relevant then, just because they were so freaky. I remember they did the thing where they get everybody to get on the floor, then jump up at once. I don’t know how many people were there, but it felt like it was everyone in the world.”
Later, while playing in a group called Turbogeist, Ludlow crossed paths with Slipknot again through a shared manager. A member of the masked band attended one of their gigs and socialized afterward.
“He brought one of the members of Slipknot to one of our gigs, then he hung out afterwards, we had a few drinks and ended up being friends with him. They told us some pretty crazy drinking games that they used to play and we ended up playing some of them, some involving pints of piss. I don’t want to name any names, but it all got a little bit messy.”
The anonymity provided by the masks meant the musician could move through crowded spaces unnoticed, even at events like SXSW.
“It was so great hanging with him, because he was the soundest guy and we’d be in SXSW, but nobody would recognise him, because of the mask. If it were a member of any other band as big as them, you wouldn’t have been able to be in the bar, without constant photos, you know?”
Burning Man and Disconnection
Ludlow, now 36, reflected on how the absence of smartphones at early festivals created a more present atmosphere. He experienced a similar feeling more recently at Burning Man.
“I am now 36, so I got to experience life without smart phones, especially because I started going out so long ago. I was out doing my thing from 12 years old, basically. At my first festival, nobody had phones, I think maybe my brother had a pager at the time, so could communicate in a way but overall, I think everybody was far more present than they are now.”
“I had a bit of that more recently, when I went to Burning Man a few times. They had no phone service one year, so we were plunged back into that way of life. If you got lost, you wouldn’t see your friends for eight hours, or whatever.”
