Born in Switzerland, Gilles Peterson is one of the world's great DJs. He used to have a radio show on London's Kiss FM, but was recruited to BBC Radio 1 in 1998. Known for his eclectic musical selections, he plays anything from dub and reggae through jazz, nu-jazz, drum and bass and hip-hop.

As a club DJ, Gilles Peterson established a reputation for bouncing around musical categories from soul to jazz playing Sunday afternoon sessions at Dingwalls in Camden. He started up on pirate stations in the 1980s, eventually moving on to legit stations.

Nevertheless he maintained the independent mentality of free music, getting fired from Jazz FM for playing a set of songs that were banned for potentially being able to stir up anti-war sentiment (one of which was Bomb the Bass).

The best way his audience connects with his vibe is still through radio. You can hear him every week on his Worldwide show on BBC Radio 1 every Sunday night. The show also goes out on Kiss FM London, Radio Mafia (Finland), Radio Nova (Paris), Coleur 3 (Switzerland), Acik Radyo (Istanbul), Shibuya FM (Tokyo), Radio Montecarlo (Italy), Radio X (Frankfurt), B92 (Belgrade), Pavli 9 (Zagreb), WXPN Chicago, Pseudo Internet, Gaia Live and DJ Index.

One of his many accomplishments was establishing his own Talkin Loud label to release quality music from all classes. But he has also released a ton of quality comopilations (show on the right) which I strongly urge you to check out. I also recommend taping his regular Sunday night show and listening to it at your leisure throughout the week. The stuff he plays is just flippin' brilliant. Seriously.