I think Phil K is a tad excited about his appearance at Love: “I can’t wait for Love – it should be mad. I’m really looking forward to playing a big party up here.” Not surprising from a man who, quite frankly, really loves what he does. He’s passionate about the vinyl he spins, so much so that this reporter has a little trouble getting a word in edgewise when we chat tunes.
I met up with Melbourne’s Phil Krokidis while he’s visiting Sydney to play at Tweekin’ that evening. Not hugely familiar with our ‘scene’ he nevertheless has an enormous amount of respect for the DJs with which he will share centre stage at this year’s party: “When people talk quality in Sydney, you’ll inevitably hear names like Phil, Ray, Ajax and Kid Kenobi.”
Part of the Melbourne ‘scene’ for over 15 years, Phil has established a well-deserved reputation as a purveyor of beats on the more credible tip. If the few times I have caught the man in action are indication, he quite obviously likes to push boundaries.
His career behind the wheels of steel began in the mid eighties. His grounding, like many contemporaries, was a stint as a ‘disc jockey, working for a company called ‘Future Entertainment’, spinning hits and requests at more than a few 18th birthday parties and school discos.
As we moved through the late 80s and into the following decade Phil’s name became synonymous with clubs now regarded as Melbourne institutions. His mixing ability and ear for good tunes saw him fill floors at venues such as The Chevron, Chasers and Metro. I flick through his bio, noting that he’s certainly shared the decks with quite an array of big names: DJs as diverse as John Digweed, Carl Cox, Stacey Pullen, Adam Freeland and Ken Ishii, to name but a handful.
Fast forward to April in year 2001 and Phil finds himself at a bit of a crossroads musically: ” Breakbeat is really where it’s at for me at the moment. It’s a fusion of so many sounds. I am listening to a lot of house and not finding a great deal which inspires me. A lot of DJs will say house is funky, I think breakbeat is even funkier. You got the funk and you’ll get women on the floor. You get women on the floor and you’re rawkin’”, he says with a cheeky grin. I laugh and nod in appreciation (it’s a call I’ve heard from the odd breaks DJ or two in my time).
“In terms of production, the quality of sound produced by many of the breaks producers these days would have been impossible five years ago…. that crisp, clean beat which is so characteristically ‘nu school’ is only possible with some of the newer soft wear which has been available for the last few years.”
The house Phil is really digging at the moment is quite “blunt”, to be succinct. I ask him to clarify exactly what he means and he explains by slamming the edge of one hand into another and stating emphatically: “Fat beats, straight up, no swing.”
So how do fat, blunt beats work with ze breaks? “My ideal scenario is not 30 minutes of breaks, and a section of breaks, and then another 30 minutes of house. When I’m at my most comfortable I’m finding that I’ll play say three house records, two break beat records, one kick drum record, a few more breaks and another couple of kick drum records. It’s all about building up tension and then providing a release.”
But DJIng is only part of the Phil K story. He’s also a producer and remixer of some note, possibly most famous for his work with a man called Andy Page. Their track ‘Lydian & The Dinosaur’ has gone on to earn the ‘breakbeat anthem’ title, and find itself in the vinyl collection of many a breaks friendly DJ. Currently he has about six tracks due for release this year.
Due for imminent release is a remix of DJ Stephen Allkins, who produces under the moniker Love Tattoo. In the pipeline are reworks of fellow Aussies Pound System and Sonic Animation. The latter has been described as very Tenaglia. He’s also not afraid to get a little exploratory with his production work: “I’ve used a Vangelis ambient acapella track with no beats, taken the original and created beats for it. I also have a track in my sampler at the moment, which is a remix of BT’s ‘Remember’. I’m using the vocals as a guide but I’m going to create completely new beats for it, scrap the vocals and get a new vocalist to come in and sing something on that tip.”
And there’s even more. Phil has been straddling the boundary between producer and DJ of late with Melbourne’s new school breaks lads of the moment, Nubreed. Their ‘act’- part DJ, part live performance, part pre-prepared sounds – has been incredibly well received. Phil’s contribution sees him playing with all manner of eclectic material.
“It’s been really exciting. It’s not really DJing, but it’s not live. For example, I’ll play the acapella of Goldie’s ‘Inner City Life’, re-write the beats, and record the new beats to CD. So I’ll have the CD for beats, take the vocal off the turntable, have Jase from Nubreed playing some loops, washes and incidental sounds; and Dan playing basslines and strings over the top.” Sounds pretty live to me.
Their most notable gig to date was at Melbourne’s Two Tribes party, earning the boys rave reviews. Phil’s really excited about where they’ll take their sound from here “The reaction we received was incredible. The kids seemed to love it. I’m really excited about where we can take things in the next few months.”
Catch Phil on the main floor at Love this Saturday the 14th, at Sydney’s Metro theatre. He’s also in studio putting together the latest mix CD for the next issue of Remix mag, which you’ll find in all good newsagents this May.
