PHONIQUE
March 30th, 2005 by rui
Forum regular Big Daddy talks to Berlin-based DJ/Producer Phonique…
Do you see yourself more as a DJ or a producer?
More as a dj, as I think, I’m way better as a dj than as a producer 
What are you working on at present?
I’m always very quick with producing (with my partner Alex). We just did a remix for a swedish rock-band called CDOASS. I also did an exclusive track for Sven Väths next Cocoon compilation and a track for the next f.u.n. compilation on Fine. And we did some more new tracks for Dessous and for Moodmusic. We also started to produce a singer and songwriter from Berlin called Ruben.
Do you think you’ve achieved everything you planned with your album “Identification”?
Oh yes. as I haven’t really planned anything. I’m very surprised, that I only got positive feedback (even by people like Sven Väth) and lots of amazing reviews. even people, who are not really into house music told me, that they really love it.
How successful was that worldwide?
I know that we sold lots of copies worldwide and we got good feedback from everywhere from Australia to South Africa…
What is planned for future albums?
I’m already working on new album tracks. they will be electronic house listening tracks with great vocalists…
Does success in the house underground with tracks like “do you know where the party’s at?” and “the red dress” help feed into an album? Or do you think of dance 12″s as totally separate projects?
I think, every promotion + sucess helps. People, who like my dancefloor 12″s are probably also listening to some more mellow music at home. Productionwise, it doesn’t really make a difference. I mainly go to the studio and we produce, what I feel like at that moment. If it’s a dancefloor track: okay. if it’s more a listening track, then I keep that for my next album…
With your dance 12″s, is it more important that they are sonically groundbreaking, or that they are great for dancing?
Of course, i would love to be sonically groundbreaking, but that’s too difficult to plan. it’s easier to make a track danceble.
In the UK, it’s hard to escape the idea that serious dance producers should consider moving to Berlin for the collaboration, cheap rent and what appears to be endless opportunities to DJ at cool parties. But is the influx of new people destroying what made Berlin attractive in the first place?
Oh no! Berlin is full of people who moved there. So why should that destoy Berlin’s attractivity now? But it’s not that easy to dj at cool parties, because we have so many talented dj’s here plus lots of well known producers, who are also dj’s. So don’t make people think, they can come here and dj easily…
If styles like minimal funk and glitch are driving so much interesting music at the moment, what styles will become big in house in 2005? Will minimal and glitch remain mainly European styles?
What is glitch? I never heard that! Minimal will surely stay for a while. but i also think, that classical deep house is coming back (like alexis alvarez style).
Across the world, which other musicians, producers and labels do you rate?
There are really many: Ame, Charles Webster, Joshua, Metro Area, James Holden, Jeff Samuell, Tim Paris, to name a few.
Erlend Oye is a big artist for the Big Chill audience. How did you end up working on his DJ Kicks compilation, and then having him appear on ‘Identification’?
Erlend is a good friend of mine. when he was askes to do a dj kicks, we were listening through lots of my records to find some tracks for the mix. Then he offered me to produce the mix for him, so we were working out everything together. the whole process took 3 months. and because i wanted to work with some guest vocalists for my album, there had to be a track with erlend. i’m very happy about the result. the feedback for this track is incredible. a dj from copenhagen just asked me, if i know, how many people are emotionally related to this tune and that a friend of him, wants to listen to this track, when she gets married We also did a video for that track, which was shown on german mtv and another music tv…
Thanks!
Phonique plays at Playtime at Egg Fri Apr 1.
www.playtime-club.com
