DJ Phantasy has been around since the Rave Anthems began. With so many productions tucked under musical belt Moondance have secured a few tracks off him for their new album released this week. We here at CYFI Media (Can You Feel It) have picked this DJ’s brains and have given him an interview that has made him laugh-out-loud but also gives you the raver a good insight as to what this guy is all about.
1.) I’m going to start this interview with a fun question. You’re called DJ Phantasy, but which hot young lady out there right now would you say is your ideal fantasy?
Haha, my wife.. boring for you lot but its true.. wouldnāt have married her if she werenāt. But if I am pushed to say someone then, ha-ha, Keely. She is just naturally beautiful.
2.) I write on alot of Dance Music sites and one theme that’s seems to be repeated is that there are too many “moody heads” in the DnB rooms. I’ve had some of the best nights of my life at raves like Devotion in Brighton and never seen any trouble. What would you say to people who claim that the DnB scene is dark and dangerous?
Its rubbish! The World is dark & dangerous, not DnB. Ive been going to nights all over the World for years and everything seems to be ok when Iām there. Look, I aint burying my head in the sand here. I know there can be fights and things like that at clubs but its not as bad as some people think or say and it certainly is not just linked with DnB. These things can happen anywhere. This is one of the main reasons I hate these forums. Cause now you think these things about our music without having experienced it. So, how will a new clubber feel when thinking about coming out to a DnB show? They will think twice reading a forum post from someone who wants to make themselves feel important with some information they just cant help but pass on. To me this is killing our scene. But let me ask you, there are so many moody people on the London underground; does it stop you using the train?
3.) If you had unlimited license to remix any track, or tracks together to make your ultimate dance record, which tracks would you mix and remix, and what would you call the finished product?
Gwen McCrea ā Giving All My Lovin. Absolutely bad tune. I just love the track. There are so many great records from many years ago, I just wonder if any music being made now will have the same value as these classics in 20 years time.
4.) I’ve noticed from my research on you that you seem to have quite an interest in Ska music, citing your first record as Baggy Trousers by 80’s Chelsea Ska outift madness. Many of our readers won’t know too much about Ska music and wouldn’t even realise that some people reckon MCing originated on the Ska dancefloor scene as “toasting”. What Ska tunes would you recommend to someone who’s never heard the style?
I wouldnāt say I was heavily into it to be honest. My mate bought me that record when I was 6 as a birthday present. My true music love from back in those days was Electro. When that first come around I was instantly hooked. The ska thing was just what was around when I was a kid. There were punks, and casuals. I was a casual cause I couldnāt really see myself wearing make up. Not from the streets I roamed around in. For those who donāt know the music then the best thing to do is search for some of the albums that were around in that era. You wonāt get the best tracks from that time but you will get the more known ones.
5.) The Moondance album is going to be called Rave Anthems. I know that you dislike certain overground tracks like M-Beat’s “Incredible” – how do you go about putting together a track listing for a classic album like this and do you put aside all your personal preferences regarding the commercial nature of some tracks ?
Wow, you have done your research aint ya! Well, look that tune for me I felt at the time was taking the piss out of the scene. Even though I was probably the only one who thought it, I did and I said my piece there and then. But it didnāt matter anyway as the tune went on to sell loads. I get on really well with Levy now funnily enough but I never knew him at the time and the whole scene was playing it. I was not, then all of a sudden, Levy came out with this claim he started DnB, then all the DJās & MCās were trying to call meetings to stop people playing the tune. My reply to all of them at that time was and I quote āI am not playing the tune, you are, you sort it out. I donāt need a meeting to tell me what to play and what not to play. Let me know the outcomeā I also think when compiling an Album like this you have to think of the bigger picture. You have to pick tracks that the public will like or the Album wonāt sell. If I picked an album of tracks that I personally liked it would be a really different diverse selection of music. Hummm, maybe I should do something like that and do it through you lot, what you saying, we got a deal then? Haha
6.) Alot of people will say that dance music has changed their lives. Asides from being one of the biggest names in the DnB scene and a recognised pioneer of Jungle music, how has dance music changed your outlook on life and your hopes and dreams for the future?
Of course it has changed my life. I could have been doing a number of things I wont go into now. But I thank God everyday for giving me the gift to be doing what I am doing. One thing I think after 19 years doing this is that I appreciate and love playing music to people. Above all else, that is the one thing that inspires me. Sitting in a studio can get tedious when its not clicking and the problem these days is you cant just do a track and release it, as the public are so clued up to the music. If you listen to some of the music thatās come out 15 years ago and more, Iām sure that certain producers would be embarrassed by what they were doing at that time. But today, you canāt get away with nothing. You could make 3 great tracks in a row, have the ravers loving you and bigging you up, then have 1 bad record and your back to square one.
But one thing I do say is this, for those people who write on forums, saying that this track is rubbish and that track is crap, please, please go into the studio, make a track how you think it should be made and then send it over to me. If itās good I will release it. If its not, I will tell you why I think its not and try help you get it sorted out. Some of us Artists are here to help the scene progress and grow. That can only happen when we have new Artists coming through. Some people are in this game for themselves but they are mostly the ones who come & go. There are a few of us who are there to help nurture the future talent of this scene. The software is not hard to find. So go get started.
7.) When you were very young you were signed up by a DJ a few people might have heard of called Carl Cox… (otherwise known to us as the Godfather of Rave) – how did it feel to be signed up by such a huge superstar at such an early young age, and how did you explain to your mum and dad what it was you were doing instead of getting a “real” job?
Haha, it is a real job. I work hard everyday. My dad was a bit sceptical but my mum, bloody hell; you think I was Carl Cox the way she would talk about me. It was embarrassing to be honest. I was good friends with Carl, we used to do a lot of shows together and looking back it was a great time in my life. One that I will cherish for ever. I was honoured that he could see the potential in me at the time to take me under his wing. I had already been causing a stir in clubland but I joined up with him, thatās when things went to a different level. Iām not a big headed guy, so I just rode the wave. I never got carried away with it. I honestly didnāt realise what was going on until a few years later when it slowed down. Then I looked back and reflected and thought, bloody hell, what just happened there.
8.) Looking to the future, what new developments can we expect from DJ Phantasy and the Jungle scene. Things in dance music are forever becoming more and more competitive as larger organisations think they can mimic the underground sounds, so how are you going to keep things new and fresh?
The great thing about DnB is it keep evolving and it always will. As long as the youth are coming through trying to put their mark on the scene then its all good. One thing that does worry me a bit is that I personally think some of the agents around are squeezing the arse out of the scene and not really helping it like they should be, but then again, itās the artists they represent who need to really try to help out. In a few years time when them guys have no work, they might then reflect on it and think where did they go wrong.
9.) There are alot of old skool and DnB albums coming out this summer, although obviously you’ve got the pedigree to come up with something that’s really unique, so what’s going to make your DnB classics album stand out from the rest of the field?
As I said before, maybe I should do one. The underground sounds of Phantasy. I have an album coming out in a couple of weeks alongside Digital called the Jungle Story which is an album whereby the MCās can put their stories across and kinda give people an insight into their journeys though DnB. The album took a while to piece together but is part of my mission to put a face to Drum n Bass.
10.) Can you give us an idea of how you go about making a DnB classics album, what’s involved and give us an idea of how long you’ve got to sit in the studio before you get it right ?
Erm, depends really. The Jungle Story album has taken over 2 years to put together. When I have read in the past that certain groups have taken x-amount of time to complete an album, Iāve thought, yea really. I could do that in 3 months. But wow, didnāt I get a reality check. You canāt put a time on something like that.
However if I was to make a classic album compilation, where I pick tunes from back in the days, then that could be done inside a month. Purely a month because I would want to make sure I didnāt use the same tunes everyone else has done in the past.
Iām defiantly now thinking about doing one of these. Haha.
