3 Steps Ahead

Peter-Paul Pigmans (31 January 1961 – 27 August 2003) was a Dutch gabber music producer, best known for his production under the pseudonym 3 Steps Ahead.

3 Steps Ahead
Birth name	Peter-Paul Pigmans
Born	(1961-01-31)31 January 1961 Rotterdam, Netherlands
Died	27 August 2003(2003-08-27) (aged 42) Netherlands
Genres	Gabber
Years active	1994 - 2003

Born in Berkel en Rodenrijs and based out of Rotterdam, Pigmans' music is widely considered one of the most innovative specimens of the gabber genre;^[1] while many gabber producers favor raw force and little virtuosity when creating a song, Pigmans' music always had a strong technical side, and his songs often featured atmospherical elements, an unusual thing in the genre at the time. He was also known for his extremely wild live shows.^[2]

His first full-length album Most Wanted & Mad (1997) reached #35 on the Dutch Album Top 100.^[3]

Pigmans was known for his eccentric live performances, with bizarre suits, strange sound effects and rousing live sets. For instance, he wore a football shirt that was half a Feyenoord shirt and half an Ajax shirt, aiming to promote fraternisation within the hardcore scene.^[4][5][6][7]

Pigmans was diagnosed with brain cancer in 1999. On 18 July 2003 in Zaandam at the Hemkade Stadium, fellow Dutch producers organized a fundraising event for him called "3 Steps Ahead 4 Life" where the cream of the Dutch gabber scene performed (for free - all income was spent on his treatment in hope of curing him) and paid respect to him.^[8] A couple of weeks later, he died. Two months later the annual Thunderdome started with a one-minute silence in his memory.

He's been elected into the Thunderdome Hall of Fame.^[9]

Discography

Albums

• Most Wanted & Mad (1997)
• Junkie (2000)

EPs

• Step 1 (1994)
• Step 2 (1994)
• Step 3 (1994)
• Drop It (1996)
• Hakkûh (1996)
• Gangster (1996)
• It's Delicious (1997)
• Paint It Black (1998)

Singles

• In the Name of Love (2010)

Film soundtracks

Two of his songs were used in the soundtrack for Brüno (2009): "Thunderdome Till We Die" and "Stravinsky's Bass".^[10]