Dub Phizix is a name you should be more than familiar with by now. A string of killer releases has cemented him in his position as one of Manchester’s finest drum and bass producers, and with a lot more to come things can only get bigger and better.
His latest release on Marcus Intalex’s Soul:R marks the label’s 10 year anniversary in fine style, with the four-track ‘Editor’ E.P. featuring the vocal talents of Manchester’s Strategy, Fox and Chimpo.
The eponymous opener ‘The Editor’ combines Strategy’s on-point vocals with a rolling sub, tight percussion and some timely electronic ambience to great effect, worked into a frenzy with a cheeky switch 2 minutes in. You’ll no doubt recognise this tune from any one of a host of DJs sets and it’s not hard to tell why.
‘Narrow Eyes’ sees Chimpo and Fox take to the mic for a dub-inspired, dark-as-you-like intro which drops into a blend of ragga-style vocals, undulating percussion and a sub bass you don’t so much hear as feel in the pit of your stomach.
The third and fourth tracks, ‘Shake Down’ and ‘Bateman’ respectively, are equally nasty. The former is a maelstrom of stomping drums and merciless bass and the latter, while I’m not sure if there’s any link with Brett Easton Ellis’ psychotic Patrick, certainly sounds like it was made by a madman. Comprising an unforgiving bass drum & snare combination coupled with some rolling breaks and a lip-turning mid bass guaranteed to replace any smiles in the room with hardened grimaces, this one is definitely not to be missed.
You can buy the full release (2 tunes on vinyl and 4 digital) from A Bunch of Cuts
In light of his recent (and forthcoming) activity, we decided to fire Mr Phizix a few questions…
First, thanks for agreeing to do this, you’re obviously pretty busy at the moment! How’s life treating you? As I write it’s actually quite sunny outside which makes a change, no doubt it’ll be pissing it down by the time this reaches you.
Well that’s Manchester for you, but we wouldn’t be the same without the rain. To be honest I spend most of my time in a dark studio with no windows so its all the same to me anyway ha ha.
Yeah I’m good, just cracking on. Definitely busy, but its good to be busy, I feel guilty if I’m not.
As a kid, what did you used to listen to and do you still draw influences from that now? Were you ‘exposed’ to music early on and do you think this has affected your own production?
I listened to all kinds of stuff, 60s music had a big influence on me. A lot of blues based stuff. That was through my Mum and Dad and definitely from a young age. Later it was Stone Roses, Paul Weller and that gear before getting into Hip-hop, Wu, Tribe Called Quest, Roots. It’s all definitely had an effect. How much is hard to tell but I think there’s aspects you can hear in there.
How would you describe the scene in Manchester at the moment, and the way it’s changed in the past 5-10 years? How does living in a city with such a diverse musical spread affect one guy making music?
Well Manchester is a great place for culture in general. I think it’s got better in the last few years from the preceding few years. It reminds me of how it used to be. All the vets are still doing their thing and there’s some great new talent coming through. Again, across all aspects of culture.
At this same time, Manchester’s scene has always been strong, and time and time again the city has been seen as a leading light in the world of music. Are there any producers, or people just doing things creatively, that you’d recommend keeping an eye out for?
I answered this question in an interview recently and it ended up about a page long ha ha. Manchester is looking great at the moment and pretty much everyone is making good music. I’m especially into what Chimpo is doing though.
Outside of music there’s a guy called Dose who has been at the forefront of graffiti in the city for over a decade and is doing some really good commissioned stuff. Find him on Twitter @nmdose
Do you enjoy working with other artists? Who’ve been some of your favourites and are there any upcoming collaborations to look out for? What would be your ideal collaboration?
Yeah I’m working on stuff with loads of people at the moment, the stuff with Skeptical is probably the most notable and he’s probably my favourite person to work with. I enjoyed working with Loxy, it felt like a really natural process. I’m also really happy with the tune I’ve been working on with Kasra. I’m not sure what my ideal collab would be, maybe a really naturally soulful vocalist like the late, great Dennis Brown or just a genius songwriter like Burt Bacharach.
In this interview with Example magazine you said you saw the value in both digital and vinyl. Is this still the case and do you think the same can be said for other digital alternatives to other physical things, such as Traktor, Ableton etc?
Yeah definitely. It’s all a way to portray music which can only be a good thing. I also think it’s important to embrace advances in technology. People moaned about the electric guitar when it was first made and look what’s been done with that.
The old stuff is cool but it has its drawbacks and the new technology addresses that. Both in a format sense and in terms of performance and production. I’ve just bought a reel to reel tape machine because they sound so good, especially in comparison to a lot of digital audio. Fuck trying to edit on it though, I’ve got the computer for that.
There’s a bit of a luddite mentality with some people and thats their perogative, whatever people are comfortable with. I’m a bit if a nerd at heart though so I’m into it.
When it comes to production, how do you approach it? Do you prefer to sit down with an idea to work towards or just let things develop? What’s your preferred software/hardware setup?
It’s different every time to be honest. Sometimes I sit down knowing exactly what tune I want to make because it’s already made in my head. Sometimes I sit down and plan to make a certain kind of tune and it comes out completely different. But yeah a lot of the time I just sit and play with stuff until something inspires me.
Gear wise I’m just working on Logic with a set of Adam s3a monitors in a decent sounding room. Those 2 aspects are paramount. I’ve also got a good front end for recording with . There’s a few more bits I’m thinking of bringing in but again it would need to be something that fits my workflow and sound, I wouldn’t just buy something for the sake of it. The tape machine I mentioned earlier is definitely something I feel has improved what I do without disruption.
Is there any style of production you’d like to turn your hand to, but haven’t yet, for whatever reason?
Well at some point I’d like to do something more acoustic. Probably still DnB but loads of live instrumentation. It all depends where I’m at musically in a few years. It would have to be a natural thing. At the moment I feel in tune with what I’m doing and it feels natural so I’m just going to try to improve on it.
This year so far has seen you release tracks on Critical, Dispatch and Ingredients, with forthcoming tunes on Soul:r. Is there anything else on the cards for this year and where would you like to be at in 12-18 months time?
Yeah there’s loads of stuff coming. “The Editor” EP is out on Soul:r on the 19th September. That features Strategy on vocals and the B-side “Narrow Eyes” features Chimpo and Fox. There’s also 2 tunes available as digi only which are “Shake down” and “Bateman”. Following that, I’ve got a 12 on Commercial Suicide around October which is “Scum” b/w “Polar” and a tune called “Marka” on Exit in November thats a collab with Skeptical and again features Strategy. In the new year will be another 12 on Ingredients and a 12 on their new sister label Mars, there’s also more stuff for Dispatch with Skeptical, a 12 on Samurai and a 12 on Marky’s Innerground.
In 18 months time I’ll be cruising down Santa Monica boulevard drinking sizzurp in the back of my Bentley which is chauffeur driven by Montel Williams. I’m wearing 500 bangles, a pair of lenseless national health specs and a bright green T-shirt which reads “known in the endz”. I’m on my way to the studio where I’ll meet Lil’ Wayne and Wiz Khalifa to work on our new Baltimore club/brostep crossover track. We’re using the London philharmonic as a backing band just because we can. I will leave half way through though because Lil Wayne doesn’t respect me for the credible artist I’ve become.
Any parting words of wisdom about life, the universe and everything?
Don’t take drugs kids.
