In terms of being at one with the machines, Phil K is Australia’s answer to James Zabiela. But to make such a comparison really sells him short: he’s been doing his thing since Zabs was still in preschool. Literally. Ever since the techno-wizard extraordinaire brought his first decks in the mid 80s, the Melbourne born lad has been at the forefront of the Australian scene. Never following, always leading, it’s been impossible to ever knuckle down his style to any single genre or sound. Basically, because he’s too busy skirting along the bleeding edge of what’s happening in the dance music world.
While he’s been based in the US for the last little while, he regularly makes the trip back home to play gigs. And the time has come again… ITM finds out what Phil K has been up to.
Who would you say is your biggest musical influence would be?
I couldn’t really put it down to one person. It’d have to be my friends. Lucky that I’ve know some truly inspirational people.
What made you decide to be a DJ – was it always your ambition, or a gradual progression?
I guess from when I was about 12 or 13 I wanted to be a DJ. And ever since then it’s what I wanted to do.
How would you say your style and sound has evolved over the years?
For me it’s simply been about new music. That’s always what it’s been about. Different years, different things are happening and as things sound new and fresh – that’s what I’m into. That’s all I’ve ever been into – things that sound fresh to me. I’m not one to harp on about one beat or when I hear it, I run with it. I like to keep it interesting.
How has the music you play changed over the years?
The thing is, recently, music has become quite faceless. But when I was playing records there was always an image in my mind with a picture of the cover – even if it was a white label, you still had a catalogue number. But now there’s not even catalogue numbers, which makes it even more faceless. Now it’s completely random, it’s a bunch of emails with links. In a way it’s good though – you’re not following trends. Unless it’s in front of me, I don’t sit there and actively follow labels. Where as back in the days of record shopping I’d be like “oh I know that label”. The result is a more even playing field for artists, I have to sit myself down for hours and listen to it. And I’m finding a lot of new artists doing it that way. Now it’s also a lot cheaper because people just send you links.
Do you miss record shopping?
I was playing on vinyl since the 80s. It’s still a romantic notion for young people, but it’s not romantic for me anymore. I’ve carried record boxes up and down stairs and through airports and it’s not about being romantic, its inconvenient for me. Record boxes are heavy. Having said that, I miss the social event of record shopping. Hanging around and talking to people in the know and being in the store and chatting with mates.
What made you decide to base yourself in the US?
Well I always had loads of work over there and my fiancé is American. But I’ve lived in a lot of places over the years.
How do you find the scene over there?
In Atlanta it’s the capital of clunk. There’s a lot of hip-hop but not much of a house scene – definitely not on the levels of Melbourne or Sydney. I turn the radio on here in Oz and generally every station is dance music in some form or another (even if it’s stuff I don’t like). In Atlanta it’s a lot harder to come by a decent piece of music on the radio. Most of the time its classic funk stations and RnB stations, sometimes a bit of classic rock – but yeah, it’s really strange. The strangest thing is having my fiance’s family listening to the music that I create and not being able to associate it with people dancing in a club. It’s really quite hard trying to explain what I’m making and creating.
Did you ever feel pressured to move to the UK in the early days?
I lived in England in 2005 doing a residency at Fabric once a month and I’ve pretty much gone there regularly since 1994. I often go over to London a lot from Altanta.
You’ve always been one to embrace new technologies, what does your current set up consist of?
My current set up is CDJs and an effects unit – though I’m really considering moving onto something like Serato, in terms of interfacing with the music. Serato is great for being able to have basic editing abilities over the actual picture control of the music. I want to be able to loop sections and replay sections as I see fit. Being able to do basic replay, echo and reverb, because even though it’s basic – you can get a lot out of those basics. The only thing that I’m lacking with CDs is the organisation of everything. As I said before, everything is faceless. It’s just a file on a computer. Having said that, I’m very organised. I know where it all is. But as soon as it gets converted to a CD it looses its organisation. The only way of getting organisation back is through Serato.
What’s involved in being a global ambassador for Pioneer?
I’ve always just done what I’ve done – but it’s the equipment I use. And I’ve been fortunate enough to be involved with the guys in Tokyo and America and Europe. I consciously haven’t changed anything, I do what I do, and just maybe take it a step further. I’m not a sales person because I get paid – if people ask me about Pioneer, I show them the equipment and offer them as much information as possible but yeah… I just do what I do.
Tell us a bit about your audio-visual mixing?
That’s just another element of what I wanted to achieve. I’ve always been into visuals – but it wasn’t something I ever thought I was going to do myself. But one day I thought – I can do this. I’ve got the ability with the CDJs, I can pitch music with a line in it. In terms of performing it and making it work for an audience, its just one step beyond mixing CDs, only there’s video tied in with it. The hardest part is creating the videos and syncing them. Which puts me off a bit, because I like to get up and play whatever I think is right on the night. With videos your library is limited to what you’ve created, if you’ve got 100 videos than you’ve only got those 100 videos to play with. But as time progresses the thing that holds you back is processing time and rendering time. But with technology now you’ve got DVD recorders and can sit there with a bunch of CDs and run all instead of sitting on a sequencer and linking it with various sections. I’m manipulating and fading between all the video cues I can create it in 8 minutes. Creating real time film clicks instead of pre developed ones. Basically doing them on the fly and creating them in a live sequence.
Have you got any plans to start up your own label one day?
Possibly. I’ll see how I go. I don’t really like dealing with the business side of music – I’d rather just make music. If that was a passion it’s not something that I’ve really looked at. It might be one day, but if I did, I’d want to put a lot of time into it. I don’t think I could successfully run a label unless I really threw myself into it.
What’s it like to play at home in Australia?
It’s always good. You’ve got your friends and get to see all the people you know.
How often do you try to get back?
Well I aim for 3 to 6 months. And obviously when the weather is nicer, it’s easier. Especially where I am, it’s easy to do the summer in the states and then hop over to Europe for a few months and it’s only a few hours to London from where I am.
What are some of the immerging Australian artists that we should keep our ears out for?
I don’t know – like I said, it’s hard for me to follow names anymore. There is no set pattern to what I do. What I’m feeling a lot with Australia as I’m going away and listening is that there seems to be a lot of ‘Scrape-Up-Electro-House’ – people aren’t getting over that. I’ve been coming backwards and forwards and it’s the same stuff over and over again. So it’s a bit weird. But it happens all the time. People latch onto something and find it hard to get over. Infusion are doing some cool stuff. You’ve got your Dirty South – that guy is doing really well. But I’m sure there are lots of kids that are doing stuff now which is going under the radar week by week.
Can you give us an idea of what you’ve got instore for your local gigs?
If you had to categorise it, I’d call it techno-tech-house-break-beat-house. But it really depends on the crowd I’ve got, that determines what I play.
Catch Phil K getting all robotic behind the decks at the following gigs…
7 Mar:Step Inn, Brisbane
9 Mar:La Di Da, Melbourne
14 Mar: Chinese Laundry, Sydney
15 Mar: Candy Bar, Melbourne
21 Mar: Boat Party w/ Dave Seaman, Melbourne
21 Mar: Darkbeat 5th Anniversary, Melbourne
22 Mar: Elsewhere Bar, Gold Coast
23 Mar: La Di Da, Melbourne
