INTERVIEW: The Phantom [Senseless/Top Billin]

Another producer in the Polish contigent - whose hardcore, dancefloor aimed productions have breathed a little unexpected life into our ears on many occasions over the last few months - The Phantom, and his tunes have been rollocking around the globe in the record boxes of some of the most influential, tastemakers around. Sharing an affinity to the perplexingly infectious synthesized grooves of labels like Night Slugs and Hum + Buzz, The Phantom’s own rhythms centre around the 4x4 pulse, but come unique with a highly melodic slant.

Equipped with the rhythm and drive those shuffling, incessant snares provide his music hits heavy, but it’s the uplifting lean of his lead lines on tracks like ‘Girl’ and ‘Night Game’ that really stand out. With tracks and remixes for people like Jack Dixon and Supra1, popping up with ferocity and a debut EP for the Senseless imprint - out earlier this wee - we caught up with the producer to talk our way into grabbing the 63rd Sonic Router Mix…

SR: Can you provide those who may not know you with a bit of background info?

The Phantom: Hi, Bartosz Kruczynski here. I'm a currently Warsaw, Poland based producer/DJ.

Outside of music who are you? What do you do on the daily?

Studying the culture of early modern England! I'm writing my master's degree thesis on ritualistic laughter. Apart from that - sleeping a lot, watching obscure films, listening to weird experimental records.

How did you first get into making music? What was it that infected you to do so?

I started putting together some ideas at the age of 15. All the tunes back then (made with a friend of mine) were sample-based, sort of early Coldcut or Big Apple Productions, despite being a fan of early XL Recordings rave records. At that time, I became influenced by the bootleg scene as well - Richard X/Girls On Top, Soulwax, Mark Vidler, Soundhog. All the early pioneers. Been making bootlegs for a couple of years now (I still produce them occasionally). Got back to writing my own music like a year ago.

What’s your production set up like? What’s your favourite bit of kit in the studio?

Just a laptop and a pair of ears really...

How would you describe your music? I mean it shares a kinship with UK stables like Night Slugs and Hum & Buzz... Are those guys an influence for you?

Yes, they definitely are! I mean, thanks to Supra1, I was lucky enough to DJ alongside Bok Bok in Cracow, Poland like two years ago! And I was already a Faggatronix fan back then, as well as a a regular reader of Lower End Spasm (RIP). Club experiences are definitely a very important influence to me. The same with Ikonika playing at Unsound last year or, let's say, seeing Dam-Funk live. As for my music. I'm trying to keep it very raw and simple sounding, almost dated. It's also about the melodies, or particular chords rather than beats.



Where do you take inspiration from when making music? I mean it’s easy to hear the influence of more tribal drum patterns but outside of that...

If I had to choose any particular tracks sharing a similar sound these would be perhaps 'Desire' by Robert Hood or 'Strings' by Da Posse or some South African house music. Pop esthetics are important as well - I'd name Madonna's 'The Look Of Love' as an influence behind my own track - 'Night Game'. Apart from that - I'm using quite a lot of jazz chords.

You’ve turned ears with your remixes of people like Supra1 and Jack Dixon. Do you approach remixes differently to your original productions?

Yeah, to some extent. It is rather unconscious, but I always try to experiment a bit more when remixing, later incorporating the ideas (like new presets) into the original tracks.

What’s the scene like in your native Poland? There seems to be some really good producers putting out records at the moment... I mean we asked Sentel the same thing, but is the club side of it blossoming and is that affecting your profile do you think?

The scene is definitely growing strong here. Apart from Supra1, Zeppy Zep, Sentel, Sekta (releasing a new EP on Shifting Peaks soon) there are a couple of yet to be discovered producers like Rhythm Baboon, Venice Calypso or MCQ and Vanatoski. There's obviously also the tech-side - Catz N Dogz or Czubala. Lots of events here as well - almost everyone from the scene played in Poland - NB Funky, HH Banton, Crazy Cousinz, Untold, Kode9, Ikonika, Jackmaster, Bok Bok & Lvis, Girl Unit, Guido etc. All thanks to promoters like Unsound, Supra1, Sorry Ghettoblaster, BBQ or Gangsteppaz. As I said earlier - all the gigs definitely influence my music.

Are there any producers you rate the world should know about? I'm really into what Glamfranklin is doing,

I think signed to Hum & Buzz actually! Also the likes of Salva, Tri-Funk, Akhluts. I'm a big fan of Jam City as well.

How did you link with Senseless for you forthcoming EP? Did you choose the remixers yourself?

Senseless approached me over a year ago proposing the EP, despite me being completely unknown at that time. At first two completely other tunes were meant to be released. Decided to scrap them eventually tho. The remixers were chosen deliberately - already had quite a good contact with both Brenmar and Hackman (and Zeppy Zep obviously), loved their work so we offered them remixes.


The Phantom – The Phantom EP [Senseless Records]

What other projects have you got in the pipeline?

Working on a couple of remixes now, including Voltron (Discobelle Records) and French Fries (together with Zeppy Zep). Releasing an EP on Pets Recordings (Catz N Dogz label) and a single track on a Top Billin compilation. All early next year.

Tell us a little bit about the mix you’ve put together for us…

The mix includes a couple of new releases I'm really enjoying - 'The Alps' or the Brenmar remix (I think they are out already at this point), a demo by JTRP (Deep Teknologi Records), an African house anthem by DJ Bongz and 'Shivers' by Skalpel off their second LP.

Any words of wisdom, for our readers?

Don't eat the yellow snow.

::

DOWNLOAD: The Phantom – Sonic Router Mix #63



Tracklist:

Robert Hood – Clash – M Plant
Bateman – Tephra Riddim (Grevious Angel Remix) – Unreleased
Brenmar – You Make Me Say (Ikonika + Optimum Remix) – Forthcoming Discobelle Records
Braiden – The Alps – Doldrums
DJ Bongz – Underground Ft. Kgomotso – Huge Entertainment
JTRP – Shady – Unreleased
The Phantom – Night Game (Hackman Remix) – Forthcoming Senseless
Storm Queen – Look Right Through (Dub) – Environ
Untold – Come Follow Me – Soul Jazz
DJ Orgasmic – How Clap Low Trap (Joe x Ludacris) – Unreleased
Girl Unit – IRL (Bok Bok Remix) – Night Slugs
Jack Dixon – I Let You (The Phantom Remix) – Silverback
Ikonika – Simulacrum – Hyperdub
Skalpel – Shivers – Ninja Tune

The Phantom EP is out now on Senseless Records.

Link:
www.myspace.com/phantomghostwhowalks

INTERVIEW: C.R.S.T [No Hats No Hoods]

The Welsh quartet of C.R.S.T. have made a big impact on us of late. First jumping out with their garage tinged selections in promo mixes, their solo and collected productions started to seep out in the wide world of the internet through releases on perfectly formed labels like Well Rounded and Car Crash Set. Bordering the lines between 2-step, syncopated funky and straight house, their remixes have infiltrated our Hivemind.fm selections completely, seemingly popping up without fail, in the run up to the prep for every show.

With their Good Love EP for London based label No Hats No Hoods, out in shops imminently, plus work forthcoming on label’s like Doc Daneeka’s Ten Thousand Yen and tracks like ‘Cervantis Riddim’ heating up our regularly checked blog network, we caught up with the guys to figure how their formula works with 4 pairs of hands reaching for the mouse at any one time and grab our the 60th mix in our ongoing series.

SR: Can you provide those who may not know you with a bit of background info?

C.R.S.T: C.R.S.T stands for Chesus, Rodski, St.Rowdy & Tony Blitz… We are 4 DJs/Producers from Wales that focus on making garage and house and all the stuff in between, basically we like to make tunes that get you moving in the club. We have been making tunes together and playing out as C.R.S.T for just over a year now and things have been moving pretty quickly. Chesus, St.Rowdy & Tony Blitz are from Barry and we have known each other from a very young age and all have similar interests in music. Rodski is from Ystrad Mynach and met Chesus selling trainers in Size (Cardiff). Chesus & Rodski started playing at a few parties together and became Chesus & Rodski and shortly after, came to Barry and started making beats with St.Rowdy & Tony Blitz so it made sense to all come under one name eventually as we were churning out so many tunes in a short space of time.

Outside of music who are you guys? What do you do on the daily?

Chesus is a part time scrappy and has his own microphone to shout "Rag n Bone" out of the window of his transit tipper.

Rodski is half man half mattress so if he's not making beats or on chat roulette, he's sleeping.

St.Rowdy (aka JDS) works at a heating spares company, if you need to know about a boiler, he's your man! you can usually find him at the back door of his works slyly passing his non ferrous scrap metal to chesus.

Tony Blitz works for a large law firm in Cardiff dealing with selling repossessed houses.

How did you first get into making music? What was it that infected you to do so?

Like we mentioned previously, 3 of us are from sunny Barry and have known each other since our first pube, so as we were interested in the same music and all loved to DJ, it seemed like the obvious choice to start making tunes together. Chesus originally got into music by playing garage in the early years and then went on to focus on hip hop as Metabeats. At the same time Tony Blitz was mainly focusing on producing drum & Bass and St.Rowdy was the scratch master of us all. Rodski started off playing breakbeat as a young student. Over the last year and a half, we have all been bit by the garage bug, some call what we do 'future garage' but its straight garage and that’s what we are trying to bring back, all good vibes!

What’s your production set up like? How does it work with the 4 of you producing? Do you all just make your own shit and merge it... ? You’ve had a lot of releases in a short spurt – do you attribute that to the proficiency of the core quad, spewing out beats?

We don't have a set way of working although we have adopted a 'musical chair' style production system. basically if you are at the helm ,and are not getting any ideas out that are any good, you move over and let someone else take over and have a go. We think it helps get a good idea out quick. Sometimes one of us will start something and bring it to the studio and we will all work on it to get it done and sometimes we will all make our own tunes and put it out under the C.R.S.T name. We like to keep a consistent workflow so these techniques allow us to do so. The current main studio is at Tony Blitz's yard but Chesus' studio is nearly done also so expect even more beats to be flying out!

How would you describe your sound?

That’s a hard one, we have made a few different styles but at the moment I think it’s very 'speed garage' orientated.



What is an inspiration for you?

Hearing good new music, there are a lot of up and coming producers and some of the stuff that’s getting played at the moment is amazing.

Where do you see your sound developing?

As there is 4 of us, there is always going to be a number of styles that are involved in any particular tune so it’s hard to say if it will be more on the housey tip or 2step tip. Who knows, we may even develop our own genre and call it Basrastep!

What’s the scene like in Wales? Any recommended jams?

There are a few good nights in Cardiff, there is a Friday night in Cardiff Arts Institute which always has a good little line up; as well as a new night called Signature which also has some good acts. Martyn was down last week, also Mount Kimbie... To be honest, we are always in the studio if we are not playing out so we don't have time to check out too many nights.

Are there any producers you rate that the world should know about? Any peeps not getting the props you think they deserve?

Well there is a big pool of talent in Cardiff: Monky & Stagga have been killing it for a while now and there is Darkhouse Family which Chesus is one half of. Diverse Concepts has been making great music for a while now and also Didz & Chico. People need to check out the stuff coming out from people like Magenta, Mr Healan, Lung and Dan Marshall too.

Like we said, there is a lot of talent, it’s a shame there are not enough nights to showcase them all.

Your NHNH release is out. What else have you got forthcoming?

We have a track coming out on Ten Thousand Yen (Doc Daneeka's label) called 'Roulette' which is the AA side of Didz & Chico – ‘Something New.’ It's a dancefloor smasher for sure! We have a more techno styled release through Catapult Records with a remix from Cooly G and then we have the 2 part EP (6 tunes) coming out through 'Cheap Thrills' early next year. We also have a number of remixes coming out at various dates in between but we have no idea when, including remixes for Kele (Bloc Party), Diamond Lights, Monarchy, The Drop & Mista Men.

We have also just produced the BBC Radio 1 United Nations Theme track which was a bit weird, they gave us 4 lame records to sample and make a beat out of. we did it and you can download it from our soundcloud for free!

DOWNLOAD: C.R.S.T - BBC Radio 1 United Nations Theme

Tell us a little bit about the mix you’ve put together for us…

As you can see we had to cram some garage in. Especially 'Melody' by Masterstepz and the Baffled remix of 'Steppin Through Time'. Another one is the Julio Bashmore remix of Mosca's ‘Tilt Shift.’ Have a listen and you'll see why.

It’s more like an inspirational mix of old and new.

Any words of wisdom, for our readers?

Don't throw away your metal.

::

DOWNLOAD: C.R.S.T. – Sonic Router Mix #60



TrackList:

01. Behling and Simpson – Stress
02. Jera – Another One
03. Mosca – Tilt Shift(Julio Bashmore Remix)
04. JTRP – You Want It
05. Hackman – Made Up My Mind (Hodge’s Undecided Mix)
06. Zomby – A Forest
07. Midland and Ramadanman – Your Words Matter
08. Somore ft. Damon Truett – What You Want (Industry Standard Mix)
09. Tuff Jam – Need Good Love (Tuff Jam D.I.Y. dub)
10. Jeremy Sylvester – Chunky Beats
11. Phillip Bailey – Steppin’ Through Time (Baffled Remix)
12. Mistamen – What Uou Do (C.R.S.T. Remix)
13. Masterstepz – Melody
14. Tina Moore – Nobody Better (Dem2 Unlimited Dub)
15. Didz & Chico – Can’t Compare

The Good Love EP is out on the 15th November on No Hats No Hoods. It features remixes from Doc Daneeka, Mosca and D Malice; oh and it bangs.

Link:
www.myspace.com/crstuk

READ/DOWNLOAD: SRQ015: Hypno [PTN/Ramp]

This edition of the Sonic Router column for respected web portal theQuietus is live now. Focused entirely on the work of Icelandic producer Hypno it comes equipped with the 55th Sonic Router mix.

"That playful aspect in Hypno's music is obvious as soon as you listen out for it. What may sound like micro programmed percussion lines and over studied drum programming is the sound of a producer completely immersing himself in the 'fun' aspect of making rhythm. There's seldom been something so endlessly satisfying as writing a groove that can drive, thump and swing all at the same time; and in places, on tracks like the aforementioned 'Over The Top' and 'Telescopes', it's hard not to grin as the drum hits bumble over themselves repeatedly." - Oli Marlow

READ: SRQ015 - Hypno [PTN/Ramp]

DOWNLOAD: Hypno - Sonic Router Mix #55



Tracklist:

1. Kerri Chandler – Mommy, What’s A Record? (Downtown 161)
2. Orlando B. – New York Tale (Yore)
3. West Norwood Cassette Library – Blonde On Blonde (Teal dub)
4. Maddslinky ft. Omar – Special (Karizma mix) (dub)
5. Hypno – War Demons (PTN)
6. Missing Linkx – A Short History Of… (Philpot)
7. A Made Up Sound – Alarm (A Made Up Sound)
8. Hypno – Over The Top (PTN)
9. Girl Unit – Shade On (Night Slugs)
10. Shortstuff – Galaxy (Ramp)
11. Twice As Nyce – Fittest (Twyce As Nyce)
12. Joe – Claptrap (Hessle Audio)
13. Brackles & Shortstuff – Pipey D (Blunted Robots)
14. Hypno – Sunkin (forthcoming Ramp)

Link:
www.myspace.com/hypnonpyh

STREAM: Sonic Router x Hivemind.fm 12.09.2010

Sonic Router on Hivemind.fm
Hosted by Oli Marlow.
Bi-weekly/every 2nd & 4th Sunday of the month // 10pm -12am

STREAM: Sonic Router x Hivemind.fm 12.09.2010

Direct Download (Right Click/Save As)

Tracklist:

1. Cloaks - Desolate [forthcoming 3by3]
2. Jack Sparrow - Loveless [forthcoming Tectonic]
3. Distal & HxdB - Typewriter [unreleased]
4. Ramadanman - Bass Drums [forthcoming Soul Jazz]
5. Icicle - Anything [forthcoming Tempa]
6. Silkie - 80s Baby [forthcoming Deep Medi]
7. Redlight - MDMA [forthcoming MTA]
8. Numan - XX [forthcoming Planet Mu]
9. Lakritze - Adama (Doshy Remix) [forthcoming Robox Neotech]
10. Coki - Ransom [forthcoming Soul Jazz]
11. Sclist - Freaks [forthcoming Urban Scrumping]
12. Untold - Fly Girls [forthcoming Soul Jazz]
13. Spatial - 20100319 [forthcoming Infrasonics]
14. Scuba - Three Sided Shape [Hotflush]
15. Peverelist & Hyetal- The Hum [forthcoming Punch Drunk]
16. Lesotho Protokol - I Feel You 2 [unreleased]
17. Simon/off - About To See You [unreleased]
18. The Hizatron - Telescope Dope [forthcoming Wigflex]
19. The Bug - Poison Dart (Scratcha DVA Remix) [forthcoming Ninja Tune]
20. Ikonika - Shouldn't Be Here [Planet Mu]
21. WNCL - Blonde on Blonde [forthcoming Teal]
22. Mista Men - From Me To You [unreleased]
23. Leon - Say 2 U [unreleased]
24. T.Williams - Hard Cash [Deep Teknologi]
25. DVA feat Fatima - Vybe (Soule:Power Mix) [forthcoming Hyperdub]
26. Braiden - The Alps [forthcoming Doldrums] >> Hypno - Over The Top [PTN]
27. Mista Men - Water Melon [Car Crash Set]
28. LV - Boomslang [forthcoming Hyperdub]
29, Sentel - Chapel 20 [forthcoming Concrete Cut]
30. Bowly - Jubilee [unreleased]
31. xxxy - Ordinary Things [unreleased]
32. Doc Daneeka - Mario's Mushrooms [forthcoming PTN]
33. The Hizatron - Executive Ball Scratcher [forthcoming Wigflex]

:: Crackazat - Sonic Router Mix #44 (Excerpt) ::

1. Erroll Garner – Stormy Weather
2. Koushik – Morning Comes
3. Skalpel – So Far
4. Lukid – Saddlebags
5. Super Smoky Soul – Compromise (Original Mix)
6. Flako – Hump
7. Sam Irl & Dorian Concept - Untitled One
8. Moo – Spacetravelin'
9. Slope Ft Capitol A – In The Mix
10. Crackazat Ft Evergreen – Flight

RECOMMENDED: Jam City – Night Slugs White Label [White]

It’s easy to end up with a spot of tunnel vision when you’re locked to the constant shifting of sounds and styles going on in a scene, so when I say Jam City’s anthemic refix of Endgames’ ‘Ecstasy’ is hotly anticipated, it’s hard to really gauge whether that excitement spreads beyond the borders of the usual Night Slugs/UK bass followers. Still, it ought to – while the track’s been doing the rounds on dubplate for what feels like an age now, it’s just as good as it was when it first started appearing in mixes from Bok Bok, Greena and the rest of the London crew.

The first thing that strikes when needle hits wax is just how stripped-back and lo-fi Jam City’s production sounds. It was initially tempting to write off its canned feel as a product of the low bitrate mixes it appeared in, but placed alongside the highly buffed sheen of everything else coming out at the moment, ‘Ecstasy Refix’ stands out as a maverick and entirely successful experiment. It helps that its percussion is perfectly pitched - 808 hits rattle around the mix, seemingly in a hundred different places at once. Played off against the hypnotic repetition of its maddeningly catchy central motif the overall effect is one of stasis, of having to run flat out just to stay in the same place. If that sounds like strange praise, it’s probably not quite doing justice to the jittery, adrenal feel of the whole thing, or its compulsively twitchy charm.

On the flipside, JC offers another pair of reimaginings: a venomous house refix of DJ Deeon’s ‘Let Me Bang’, replete with an insistent drum hook – clearly an emerging trademark – and an odd but very interesting Wiley-styled ‘Devil Mix’ of DJ Bone’s ‘Shut The Lights Off’. Considering the unrelenting nature of Bone’s own productions, its spaced out eski-stylings come as a surprise, but a welcome one. Once again it relies on a central hook around which to hang incremental change – in this case an abrasive, grinding sub – and burns itself out over four airy minutes, and rounds out a 12" that may well be the best Night Slugs have yet put out there. It's certainly their finest white label so far, and to be honest if you haven't managed to snag a copy by now it might well already be too late. Still, it's well worth the effort to track down.

Words: Rory Gibb
Out: Now

Link:
www.myspace.com/jamcitytrax

RECOMMENDED: Bowly – Bleeps/Idee D’Un Tropique [Berkane Sol]

Despite the runaway dancefloor success of Martin Kemp’s brilliantly oddball releases on Blunted Robots, there has been comparatively little of the same sort of stuff appearing from other sources. It could well be because Kemp’s take on broken house is a delicate kind of alchemy, and one that’s difficult to replicate outside of optimum laboratory conditions. It’s certainly true that the tricky sense of swing and timing that makes ‘No Charisma’ and ‘What U Got’ so fiendishly addictive – and impossible to avoid dancing to – is a tough balancing act, and one that very few have managed to match. Cooly G’s new 12” for Hyperdub is one contender, though both ‘Phat Si’ and ‘Up In My Head’ are still tied to a far more traditional house template. DVA’s upcoming Hyperdub release again touches on similar territory, but so far this new release from Bowly is the closest anyone’s yet come to matching the unique tension between rigidity and flexibility that marks out Kemp’s tunes.

Bowly’s not entirely there, in the sense that both tracks still pivot around a recognisable house pulse, but they aim for something else entirely. With its slow pace and delicate conga rolls, ‘Bleeps’ is a slightly more contemplative take on the UK funky sounds Geiom’s recently been putting out, hitting similar humid notes as ‘Sugar Coated Lover’ or the best of Hackman’s music. ‘Idee D’un Tropique’ is the more interesting thing here though, and it’s a fantastically supple track, riding off a broken beat that seems to contort into a thousand different shapes over the course of its five-minute runtime. What’s most enjoyable about both these tracks though is how strongly they remain connected to the evolutionary lineage of UK bass music – you can hear grime’s heatshocked synths exploding in the backdrop of ‘Idee’, and the descending chords of ‘Bleeps’ are straight out of the first wave of funky. But alongside the likes of Cooly G, Kemp and Hackman they’re breezily unconcerned with where they end up along the way, and all the better for it.

Words: Rory Gibb
Out: Now

Links:
www.myspace.com/zorbowly