Whether you have been partying in Byron Bay or Beijing, chances are you have had the pleasure of catching Phil K in action lately.  Since being voted Victoria’s number 1 DJ in the 2004 Technics ITM DJ Poll (& fifth nationally), he has covered more ground than many DJs do in a lifetime.  With a career that spans over fifteen years, Phil shows no signs of slowing down.  With jam-packed tour dates, endless recording sessions and the development of ground breaking technology it seems there is nothing he cannot achieve.  As you prepare to cast your vote for the 2005 Technics ITM poll, we caught up with Australia’s ambassador of dance music for a recap on what has been a phenomenal year.

You have certainly been a busy boy over the past 12 months. Is there any accomplishment or event in particular that stands out to you?

Getting to grips with DVD technology, finishing my Y4K compilation, playing in countries I have never even dreamt of playing in and having people come up to me in clubs all over the world wanting me to sign copies of my records and CDs – even in India!

 Your style – both in terms of music selection and mixing technique – is quite different from many of the other ‘popular’ mainstream Australian DJs.   Where does your unique taste in music come from?

Without trying to sound cheesy or anything, the best answer I can give you is from the heart.  I play what feels right to me and try to stay away from obvious things.

The Pioneer DVJ-X1 was launched last year, and you’ve since had the opportunity to show it off in clubs all around the world.  What has been the reaction?  Do you see such technology becoming a part of mainstream clubbing any time soon?

It’s a technology that is way ahead of its time, but the video age is upon us. Video is now where audio production with a computer was 8 years ago.  When you see Apple Macs coming standard with programs like iMovie, it’s telling you something.  It’s only been a year or so since were able to burn DVDs and the discs themselves are getting cheap.  Look at how long it took CDs to be accepted by most DJs.  It will happen, but it will take time.

In an era where every bedroom DJ has his or her own fancy website, your website was only just launched quite recently.  Any reason why we didn’t see it sooner?

Because I’m old school I guess, I’ve always felt like it was something that I didn’t need.  I think in a way it has been good for people hear about me and not really be able to get the full story.  Being somewhat mysterious and elusive in an age where information is instant can be a good thing in a weird way.  I think now, though, that because I travel so much and have had so many releases, I felt it was time to have something up there.
 
You’ve mentioned on your website that you have a ‘top secret’ project in development.  Any hints as to what’s up your sleeve?

Top secret means exactly that.  Let’s just say I was in Tokyo two weeks ago discussing and lecturing product developers and engineers on music theory from a DJ perspective.

You’ve been booked to play at Glastonbury in the UK in the coming months – an event for which over 100,000 tickets have been sold.  How do you anticipate playing for a crowd that size will differ from your more traditional club gigs?

It will be a lot muddier.

We’ve heard whispers of your name in connection with a solo album release later this year.  What’s the story?

Well, its a lostep album with Luke Chable for Global Underground.  He’s living in Amsterdam now, so that is one of the reasons I’ve moved to Europe – so we can finish it off.

Your successes have been many – you’ve gone from Fabric and Glastonbury in the UK to gigs in Serbia, Bali, Shanghai – everywhere but Antarctica it seems!  What’s next for Phil K?

More of the same, really.  I’m looking forward to Russia and getting down to South America and then I can say I’ve been pretty much everywhere.

Your overseas gigs are all well and good, but as an Australian I have to ask: what do you miss most about Australia while abroad – and when can we expect you home?

I miss my friends, and having no fixed address.  I plan to follow the sun for the time being, so you can expect me back around October at this stage – but I’m taking each day as it comes now, so I can’t promise anything.

Last year phil k scored the 5th national position in the technics inthemix50 dj poll. Voting for 2005 is open now, where will he rank this year? Vote now!

http://www.inthemix.com.au/50