Wax Works meet Ø [Phase]

Ahead of our night on the 7^th of September at Stereo, we caught up with Phase to get a brief insight into the man behind the alias.  Make sure to check out his latest EP and the mix at the bottom of the page.

If we go back, right to your first release on Steve Bicknell’s Cosmic Records 13 years ago, can you tell us how that came about? 

I used to go to pretty much all the Lost parties and loved the output from their label. I sent Steve an acetate with 4 tracks on in the hope he might like them and received a phone call a week or so later. Of the 4 he really liked Module Overload (the track the subsequently became the a-side of COS024), the two b-side tracks came later. 

I take it at this time making music was something you were doing, whilst working as a mastering engineer, but this has changed since, what was behind your change in focus?

To be honest, there's a lot of reasons; one was that the music industry went through drastic changes and the big studio where I was based had to close, it was at that point that I started to shift away from full time mastering and focus on production. It's still an interest for me but my true passion has always been the DJ production side.

As a DJ, you’ve been fortunate enough to play in countries all across the world, what clubs have left the biggest impression and where do you love to play?

My most memorable parties are often the one-offs where the promoters have transformed a warehouse space especially for that night. I played such a party for Karbon in Stockholm last new years eve; really good fun.
And a cliche perhaps, but Berghain Berlin always leaves a lasting impression. I think the strict door policy makes a huge difference. As a performer you always know that you're in front of a crowd that's that bit more pure and genuinely interested in what they're hearing.

What has changed for you since the success of Binary Opposition and did the idea for the album come off the back of this?

It's helped me connect with new people mostly, which is always nice and no doubt contributed to some remix commisions this year. The album, I've intended doing for a long while. The tracks draw upon ideas going back to various points over the last 12 years or so. 

Token Records has been your home label since 2007 and an important part of your career so far, how would you describe your relationship with the label and what part has it played in your development as an artist?

Since meeting, Kris & I have become great friends so where my releases are concerned we have a very close relationship and discuss things in great detail. We both have a firm belief in long term development and this has definitely been instrumental in shaping my musical path over the last 6 years. 

When is the album due out and what do you have planned for the future?

The album is due out in October and will be followed up with some very special remixes. I will be gigging around that and aim to do some more remixing myself where possible. 

Frames of Reference, the debut LP from Ø [Phase] is due out on the 21st of October this year.

The latest EP "On The Edge" is currently available in record shops.

Ø [Phase] plays at Stereo on 7th September, entry is £5 and doors open at 11pm.

Phase RA MIX

TRACKS:

1. Stanislav Tolkachev - Building Peaks

2. Shifted - Gates

3. Steven Brown - Polar

4. Martin H & Samuel L Sessions - The Leap

5. Marcel Dettmann - Bleep 5

6. Ø [Phase] - Behind The Sun

7. Forward Strategy Group - Applied Generics

8. Ads - Transversal

9. Ø [Phase] - The Chasedown

10. Dax J & G Wild - Revok (Ø [Phase] Remix)

11. Truncate - Pad Mode

12. B & R - Afterlife

13. Psyk - RDNM

14. John Thomas - Psycho Groove

15. Developer & Truncate - Diffraction (Jonas Kopp Remix)

16. Ø [Phase] - Binary Opposition (Process 1)

17. P.A.S. - Sucktion

18. Robert Hood - A Time To Rebuild

19. Steve Bicknell - Lost Recordings 5 (B1)

20. DVS1 - Evolve

21. Developer - Dirty Drive ('Shifted' Remix)

22. Chris Page - Decoy (Blawan Remix)

23. Ø [Phase] - [Unreleased]

Phase - Smoke Machine Podcast

This is an absolutely storming mix from Phase for the Smoke Machine podcast and it’s definitely worth downloading if you missed it first time around.  We have him playing in Stereo on the 7^th September and this mix should give you a good idea of what to expect.

Starting off with Sigha’s interpretation of Binary Process, it’s not long before you’re 3 or 4 tracks deep and things only pick up from there.  Featuring a wealth of his own productions there’s rarely a down moment. A mix which is pretty much relentless all of the way through and if you’re a fan of contemporary techno, this should give you more than enough reasons to be there next month.

Wax Works & CryptiQ present Ø [Phase]

Ø [Phase], real name Ashley Burchett, made a massive impact with the huge Binary Opposition release on Token Records last year.  However, Phase has been putting out records since 2000 and saw his first record released on our previous guest Steve Bicknell’s Cosmic Records.

Not a prolific producer by any means, he seems to be a man that works at his own pace.  This approach has a positive impact on his output, however,  as there’s a timeless quality to a lot of his music, the sort of thing that producers who rush to meet release schedules and see their tracks forgotten after a just a few months, should maybe take more notice of.  Process 1 & 2 are great examples of this, as they are amongst the biggest techno tracks of the last 12 months and have been played by all your top techno DJs, but they still sound just as fresh & exciting when you drop them.

With an album due to be released in the very near future and bigger things just around the corner, this is a brilliant time to see him play.  He has recorded some absolutely storming mixes for Resident Advisor and Smoke Machine, so you’re in for a treat if techno is your bag.

The night is at Stereo, which is BY FAR our favourite venue in the city and it’s definitely the only club that you can really say feels like it’s a techno club.  So for less than it’ll cost you for a packet of fags, you can come and see one of the most exciting UK techno artists in the coolest venue in the city, with a sound system that is sounding fucking brilliant.

Fuck you, if you’re not into that.

Wax Works - What's Next?

Firstly, thanks to everyone who made it down on Saturday to see Lovejoy and Steve, musically, it was definitely one of my favourite nights and I think Steve is easily among the best DJs I’ve had the pleasure of seeing.  Stereo is definitely my favourite space in Glasgow and if it continues to sound as good as it did on Saturday night, I think we will be putting on our parties there for a long time.

Fortunately we return there on the 7^th of September, completing a huge weekend for techno in Glasgow.  This time we’ll be hosting the night with our friends from Cryptiq and playing for the first time in Scotland will be Token Records’ Ø [Phase].

He is definitely one of the most exciting producers around at the moment and with some brilliant mixes available online, we think he’ll go down a treat.

Wax Works & Cryptiq

Ø [Phase]

at Stereo

07:09:13

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