Toronto-based producer and label owner Peter Mac shares his story of transformation from a live event promoter to an acclaimed figure in soulful and deep house. When the pandemic hit in 2020 and his events agency came to a halt, Peter used the time to learn music production from scratch, watching hundreds of tutorials and applying his background in musical theory to his new craft. His passion led to releases across multiple labels, culminating in the creation of his own imprint, Barking Mad Music.
The label, inspired by Peter’s love for deep and Latin house, showcases both his own tracks and collaborations with emerging artists, particularly from Mexico. His dedication to high-quality house music reflects a lifelong love for the genre’s roots, from Chicago’s 90s era to its current global resurgence. Peter recounts promoting early house legends such as Frankie Knuckles, David Morales, and Carl Cox, describing the thrill of helping shape dance culture during its formative years in Europe.
The discussion dives deep into the modern state of the music industry, exploring social media burnout, inflated egos, and how commercialism has diluted artistic authenticity. Peter and Darran agree that while technology has transformed accessibility, it has also diminished attention spans and organic connection on the dance floor. Despite these challenges, Peter remains optimistic that true house music endures through its passion-driven community.
He closes with a heartfelt message to fans: seek quality music, dig deeper, and reconnect with the underground roots that made dance culture so powerful in the first place.
Topics
0:12 – Growing up in Toronto and launching Barking Mad Music 2:49 – From event promoter to music producer during lockdown 5:12 – Building a label and working with Latin and soulful house artists 7:53 – The golden era of house and early collaborations with legends 10:54 – Industry egos, online negativity, and creative competition 17:26 – The impact of money, EDM culture, and authenticity in music 19:42 – Cell phone bans and restoring real dance floor energy 25:57 – Technology, social media burnout, and shrinking attention spans 35:29 – Collaborating with Quantize and DJ Spen on new soulful releases 55:25 – The underground’s future and preserving house music’s legacy
Connect with Peter Mac
Instagram: @petermacofficial
About Peter Mac –
Canadian native Peter Mac is an innovative music producer who is growing in strength and popularity in the music business. His musical background arises from years of experience as an owner-operator of his independently owned music agency as a promoter and booker for house music DJs and events.
Additionally, Peter attended Berklee College of Music in Boston, which served as a foundation for his musical education and training. In 2020 when Covid erupted, his agency came to a sudden halt. This disruption turned out to be a significant turning point for Peter and this is when he found his light to follow his dream and begin making music of his own.
Admiring his new found career (at 55 years of age), Peter invested in the musical software and hardware so he could quickly get his new profession off the ground. With this anticipation, he was eager to start using his musical imagination and could not wait to get his creative juices flowing in order to start flourishing in his new profession.
In the learning of how to create and advance as a music producer and dj, Peter found it fun to figure out all the buttons and knobs required in order for him to develop and progress. With his heart finally in the right place, the music just seemed to flow rather effortlessly and suddenly everything finally fell into place to be able to launch into his new found career.
Time travel to 2023, Peter has already launched his own record label that’s quickly gaining high recognition, called Barking Mad Music. He was swiftly sorted by numerous labels and signed in the first few months of making his own productions.
His tracks have been released on well-known labels like: QUANTIZE RECORDINGS, Inward, Plastik People, Native Music Recordings, Vibe Boutique, Import Tracks, Open Bar, Little Jack, Black Riot, Phoenix Music, Pasqua, Heavy, Lump, Moiss Music, Hive, Soul Beach, Delve Deeper, Kolour, HOUPH, Monoside, Grooveland BR, Soul Room, Double Cheese, Be Adult, Mavek Recordings, Personal Belongings, Astrolife, Sonambulos, Deep Clicks, M-Sol Records, Chuggy Trax, Azucar Distribution and many more to come…..
About The DJ Sessions –
“The DJ Sessions” is a Twitch/Mixcloud “Featured Partner” live streaming/podcast series featuring electronic music DJ’s/Producers via live mixes/interviews and streamed/distributed to a global audience. TheDJSessions.com
The series constantly places in the “Top Ten” on Twitch Music and the “Top Five” in the “Electronic Music”, “DJ”, “Dance Music” categories. TDJS is rated in the Top 0.11% of live streaming shows on Twitch out of millions of live streamers.
“The DJ Sessions” is listed in the Feedspot directory as one of the Top 60 EDM Podcasts.
It has also been recognized by Apple twice as a “New and Noteworthy” podcast and featured three times in the Apple Music Store video podcast section. UStream and Livestream have also listed the series as a “Featured” stream on their platforms since its inception.
The series is also streamed live to multiple other platforms and hosted on several podcast sites. It has a combined live streaming/podcast audience is over 125,000 viewers per week.
With over 2,700 episodes produced over the last 16 years “The DJ Sessions” has featured international artists such as: Matt Staffanina, The Midnight, Amal Nemer, Andrea Casta, Peter Mac, Martin Jensen, Felix Sama, Larse, Ria Mehta, Jens Lissat, Riko & Gugga, BT, Martin Eyerer, Thomas Turner, Plastik Funk, Johan Blende, syence, Redman, Youngr, Dr. Fresch, Sergio Matina, Robbo Fitzgibbons, Jungstedt, Deuandra, Faranoe Bros., Leandro Da Silva, Djuma Soundsystem, Massimo Vivona, Late Aster, Andrea Grasselli, ASTOR, Ferry Corsten, Nvrsoft, Alejandro, Thaylo, Robert Owens, Darude, Erika Grapes, Herbert Holler, Meecah, YORK, Sevenn, Amber D, Joey Riot, Drove, Martin Trevy, Thomas Datt, Siryuz & Smoky, Simon Shackleton, SurfingDJ’s, Jacob Henry, Rïa Mehta, Vintage & Morrelli, Joachim Garraud, Mizeyesis, Drop Out Orchestra, Dave Lambert, Tom Wax, Kenn Colt, Nathassia aka Goddess is a DJ, Joni Ljungqvist, mAdcAt, Wuki, DiscoKitty, Handshake in Space, Thaylo, Moon Beats, Barnacle Boi, IAMDRAKE, Spag Heddy, Scott Slyter, Simply City, Rob Gee, Micke, Jerry Davila, SpeakerHoney, Sickotoy, Teenage Mutants, DJ Mowgli, Wooli, Somna, Gamuel Sori, Curbi, Alex Whalen, Netsky, Rich DietZ, Stylust, Bexxie, Chuwe, Proff, Muzz, Raphaelle, Boris, MJ Cole, Flipside, Ross Harper, DJ S.K.T., Skeeter, Bissen, 2SOON, Kayzo, Sabat, Katie Chonacas, DJ Fabio, Homemade, Hollaphonic, Lady Waks, Dr. Ushuu, Arty/Alpha 9, Miri Ben-Ari, DJ Ruby, DJ Colette, Textbook Maneuver, Nima Gorji, Kaspar Tasane, Queen City Hooligan, Andy Caldwell, Party Shirt, Plastik Funk, ENDO, John Tejada, Hoss, Alejandro, DJ Sash U, Arkley, Bee Bee, Cozmic Cat, Superstar DJ Keoki, Crystal Waters, Swedish Egil, Dezarate, Maddy O’Neal, Sonic Union, Lea Luna, Belle Humble, Marc Marzenit, Ricky Disco, AthenaLuv, Maximillian, Saeed Younan, Inkfish, Kidd Mike, Magitman, Michael Anthony, They Kiss, Downupright, Harry “the Bigdog” Jamison, DJ Tiger, DJ Aleksandra, 22Bullets, Carlo Astuti, Mr Jammer, Kevin..
