Pete Dev/Null is a legend of the American underground, at least the part that concerns itself with the bleeding edges of electronic music. Dev/Null has been a fixture of the East Coast scene since the late ’90s, first as a death metal drummer and breakcore producer, then as a resident DJ at renowned Boston parties like Heartthrob, Thunderdome, and Shake! Along the way, Pete’s work as a producer, DJ, label owner and historian has bridged the gap between early ’90s cyberpunk, internet futurism and the legacy of jungle with the present-day interest in global bass mutations and the diverse branches of the hardcore continuum.

Dev/Null is not just a dedicated record collector, he’s an archivist, spreading the knowledge of rave gems throughout time and space. This obsession with shining a light on the obscure and otherwise forgotten talents of the old skool finds its way into his NTS radio show Demon Poetry and his long-running Jungletrain.net show BTTO Radio with Tim Reaper. The latter is a spin-off of Blog to the Old Skool, the cult favorite site Pete has been curating since 2009, delving into deep cuts and history from the early years of rave. Additionally, Pete runs 8205 Recordings, a record label dedicated to limited edition 12” vinyl releases of unreleased breakbeat hardcore and early jungle gems, unearthed on long-forgotten DAT tapes.

Dev/Null’s recent releases on Aura-T09 and Trickfinger’s EVAR Records and Justice’s Modern Urban Jazz label find him pushing deeper into the style, helped along by Teenage Engineering’s PO-33, a pocket-sized sampler/sequencer whose sound recalls 8-bit and early Amiga. More collaborations with new-wave jungle king Tim Reaper are on the way, after scorching tracks released earlier this year on Lobster Theremin and Future Retro, as well as some new material for Berlin hardcore revivalists Parallax Recordings. Pete only ever wanted to make music for himself – but by shining a small, powerful beam of light on the niche sounds he loves, Dev/Null has attracted worldwide attention. In the words of N.R.G., he’s never lost his hardcore.