AM013

Audiation 

Exclusive interview 

with the 1st lady of 

Dirtybird 

Colours fly as we delve into Holi 

What type of music allows you to focus? 

Freejak discusses his rise in Dance music

For the love of music.. Magazine 

presenting a variety of genres and 

exclusive industry content. 

Audiation 

Music magazine giving exposure 

to the freshest music sounds and 

talent, as well as discussing 

industry related topics. We aim 

to showcase the amazing unheard 

talent in the International & 

Underground music scene. 

For the love of music you will 

most definitely be able to find 

something you enjoy in our 

eclectic selection. Whether your 

groove is house, garage, dance or 

soul; we will cater to your 

desires. 

www.AudiationMagazine.com

"Music is the voice of the soul. It is much more 

than sound. Music can be a comforter, party 

maker, career path or a way of life. " 

Mizz Ruby, Company Director 

"Music joins people together from all around the 

world, without music life would be pretty boring." 

Rokuro, Associate Editor. 

"The birth of one's child is the only feeling that 

comes close to getting lost in music." 

Cessle, Associate Editor. 

"Music is a form of art that reveals a truth in a 

world full of mystery." 

Sarah, Staff Writer. 

"No matter what's happening in life, it's usually 

great music will keep you going.." 

Malachi, Staff Writer. 

"Music is life. It's a universal language that has no 

barriers. It unifies people around the world. It 

brings people joy. " 

Andy, Contributing Editor

RADIO UK 

Time Zone 

MONDAY 

6pm South Star Radio 

DJ Junior UK - UK Garage & Bass 

9pm Ministry Of Sound 

Essential Garage 

TUESDAY 

2pm Select Radio UK 

Danny Blaze National Anthems - Club Classics 

3pm Pure Music 24/7 

AK Steppa - House 

4pm Select Radio UK 

Lizzie Curious – Funky / Tech / Groove 

8pm Empire London 

DJ X-Ray – House & UK Garage 

9pm Kiss FM UK 

Majestic – UK Garage 

FRIDAY 

SATURDAY 

12 am - Kiss FM UK 

Wideboys - Lovers off Music & Bass 

2pm HouseHeadsRadio 

Adam Dmize - House 

8pm Shine 

EssnVee – House & UK Garage 

9pm Kiss Fresh 

Mike Delinquent – UK Garage & Bass 

WEDNESDAY 

8am Empire London 

Pintsize & D'Elle's Big Breakfast 

THURSDAY 

2am WLUW 

Dave Gee - The G Spot 

12pm WLUW 

Sarah Becker - Independent Music 

4pm Vision Radio UK 

DJ Pyro - House & UK Garage 

10pm Empire LDN 

Heartbreak – UK Garage 

SUNDAY 

10am Silk City 

Wally B & Johnson - House & Garage 

2pm Silk City 

WisK & OSG - House, Garage & Bass 

8pm Silk City 

Shakedown Show - House & Garage 

4 


Audiation 

5

6 


Holi Festival of Colours 

For those of you who are yet to have had your attention averted to the funfilled 

colourful experience that is Holi Festival of Colours, rest your upon the 

Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park this summer and witness bright blues skies 

transform into multi-coloured rainbows with an explosion of powder paint. 

Since the first Holi Festival of Colours in 2012 which sold out in 4 minutes and 

had 3500 guests, founders Max Riedel, Maxim Derenko and Jasper Hellman 

were right in thinking big, as within 2 years the the festival is now on a world 

tour with festivals planned in around 30 major cities throughout 2014. The 

concept is derived from a long standing Indian tradition where every year Gulal 

(a coloured powder) and loud music intoxicate the people as a way of 

welcoming in the spring, living the spirit of the indian festival. This combination 

of music, colours and a festival atmosphere helps the festival to sell itself and 

you can be sure there have been people who have bought tickets on the 

strength of the videos on Youtube alone. This September the festival returns 

for its London leg of its worldly tour running over 2 days with a line up that out 

does the one from last year, with the promise of even more colour than before. 

What sets this festival apart from others? Aside from the obvious fact that on 

the hour, every hour, the crowd all gather and count in unison with the 

countdown ready to paint the sky an unforgettable rainbow. What sets Holi 

Festival of Colours aside from other festival exercise baring the obvious? Its the 

vibe that's projected within its grounds. The feeling of living within a (its funny 

to say it) an almost colourless Utopian society, because for them few hours 

each and every festival goer is a colourful mess, with the vast majority having 

very little concern for vanity and ones social appearance. And rightly so. Festival 

season is supposed to be that time of year where you are allowed to let go, be 

free and enjoy the experience. Where better than an environment that allows 

you to, in a sense, regress and go back to being a kid. Simply put you are a first 

hand liar if you can say that as a minor you never had naughty thoughts of being 

part of a crazy food fight/paint fight, if you haven’t already been in one. 

7

With the music focus all aligned to just one stage it leaves little room for 

music snobbery, but London 2015 has a line up that is sure to keep 

everybody happy. A music policy of feel good music that covers the 

spectrum, easily allowing moments where the crowd can all sing in unison 

to a familiar soundtrack. This year's line up sees Aussie sisters Nervo top 

the bill for Saturday’s affair having worked with a an array acts such a 

Steve Aoki & Afrojack accumulating over 3 Million likes on their Facebook 

page. Berlin based duo Booka Shade headline the Sunday, an act who have 

carved out a reputation as one of the most celebrated electronic acts to 

come out of Europe within the last two decades. Most notably known for 

club hits “In White Rooms” and “Body Language” they add the icing to the 

cake that already boasts Dubvision, Teemid,Marco Almanza and the 

unforgettable Bombay Boogie Soundsystem. An event that consists of so 

much colour infused with music in a festival environment, is not done so 

without an incredible amount of hard work and imagination. Audiation 

magazine decided to catch up Holi Festival of Colours Co-founder Maxim 

Derenko to find out how it all began. 

A COLOURLESS UTOPIAN SOCIETY 

8 


Heya Maxim, thanks a lot for taking 

part. Holi Festival of Colours, is truly 

an experience. so first and foremost, 

what is your favourite colour? 

I love them all :) 

What is your role with the Holi 

Festival of Colours team? 

I am a Co-Founder and Chief Business 

Development Officer. 

How did the idea for the 1st Holi 

Colours in Germany cultivate? 

My partner Jasper has been travelling to 

India and experienced Holi in India. He was 

so amazed by this festival that as he came 

back we started the planning right away. 

The very 1st Holi Colours Festival in 

Berlin sold out in a number of hours, 

since then you taken the format 

across the globe. How does every 

event differ in each country? 

how do you deal with the pressure of 

ensuring that the same high standards 

are met each event? 

We are setting the bar very high for 

ourselves. We always want to create a 

great experience and unforgettable 

moments for the attendees. And so far this 

works very good :) The people are happy :) 

Who has been your most favoured act 

to work with? 

We had the honour to book a lot of great 

talents. I do not have a specific favourite - I 

like them all :) 

One sentence that sums up what Hol 

Festival of Colours means to you? 

The most colourful day and unforgettable 

experience 

The events are very similar all over the 

world. The people celebrate the joy and the 

happiness together and love the festival. 

How big a team do you now have to 

help with with all the production? 

This number differs from production to 

production. But a production like London 

for example needs around 300 people 

working on the festival at the festival day 

With the music policy being that of a 

mix genre and the focus being on just 

one stage how does it affect the type 

of acts that you choose to book? 

We are booking an electronic line up mainly 

With the numbers growing each year, 

9

Solsine burst onto the music 

scene last year with a sound that was 

refreshingly unhindered by genre 

boundaries. Having produced 

separately for some time, the duo 

united to focus their sound and already 

that process has garnered significant 

results, with the garage swoon of 

debut track ‘Deeper’ lighting up the 

airwaves. They have recently written 

songs for Rudimental, performed on 

Tim Westwood’s Crib Sessions and 

supported Laura Mvula and Ella Eyre, 

so the future looks bright for the 

London-based duo. We caught up with 

them ahead of the release of their 

second single ‘Time’ to chat about how 

things came together for the duo. 

What are the origins of Solsine – how 

did you come together? 

Raph: Ben and I met years ago when he 

started going out with my sister. After a 

while, we began making music together and 

released stuff under different aliases. We 

formed as Solsine last summer when we 

found our new sound and have been working 

with a close-knit group of featured singers 

who perform live with us. 

You’ve both produced separately under 

other aliases. 

How did you originally find your way 

into becoming producers? 

Raph: I had two simultaneous roots into it 

really. I started off DJing Hip Hop in my early 

teens and then discovered Garage in the late 

90s. Once I got into that I started messing 

around on Fruity Loops and Reason, making 

pretty simple loops and beats. Around this 

time I was also learning about analogue 

recording gear in my dad’s studio, 

sequencing on an old Atari and recording 

ideas onto tape! As digital got more 

advanced and affordable these two routes 

came together. 

Ben: I come from a musical background with 

both my parents being music teachers. I 

made tunes on an old Atari too and saved up 

for an Emu sampler which I paid £1700 in 

cash for. It was 32MB memory which is 

laughable now. I fell in love with Drum & Bass 

after going to MetalHeadz nights and had 

some releases in that scene under a 

different name. I branched out into different 

styles around the time I started working 

with Raph. 

10 www.AudiationMagazine.com

You’re not tied down to any one genre. 

Was this a conscious decision or an 

organic process, and is there any genre 

you haven’t tackled yet that you’d like 

to? 

Ben: We've both always been into a range of 

different music so it all happened naturally. I 

wouldn't want to listen to Garage or any 

other genre all day and night as it can feel 

really limited. We like a mixed selection and I 

think that's reflected in our music. Whilst it 

has a unifying sound it can't be described as 

any one particular style. 

Raph: Yeah, different genres evoke different 

emotional responses and have a potential 

to create a different energy. Limiting 

yourself to one genre is like a painter only 

using a one colour palette, and whilst 

making those colours work is a real skill, I’d 

soon find it a bit repetitive. 

Since your inception in 2014, what 

have been some of the highlights for 

you and the favourite places that 

you’ve performed? 

Raph: There are a couple that are highlights 

for different reasons. We performed at 

Ibiza Rocks last summer which was fun, it 

was great to hear our music on such a big 

sound system and it was our first trip 

playing abroad. Not too long ago we put on 

a launch at The Social which is definitely 

one to remember. It was packed, the 

atmosphere was electric, and we had 

people singing along… At one point I 

remember looking up to see a club full of 

people going nuts and thinking we might 

actually be on to something. 

What do Solsine bring to a 

performance that other acts don’t? 

Throughout your lives, who has 

inspired you as an artist? 

Ben: I've always been inspired by Drum & 

Bass and Old Skool as it's what I grew up 

with. I've been influenced by bands like The 

Prodigy and Massive Attack for having their 

own unique sound that doesn't fit neatly 

into one genre. 

Raph: Yeah similar, I think when I was 

younger I had certain alliances to different 

genres of music at different times, almost 

as a badge of identity. Then when I started 

to make music I noticed that often there is 

such a thin line between genres that 

committing to one genre at the expense of 

others is completely ridiculous. Often 

bringing a snare hit forward - or pushing it 

back a beat - when making a track would 

transform a House track into a Garage one 

for example. Since this realisation, I’ve tried 

to take inspiration from everything and 

build elements into the music we make. 

Energy! Lots of it. We didn’t just want to be 

two DJs behind a booth, so from the 

inception we were thinking about how to 

deliver a proper performance. We have 

different featured singers on each track so 

it keeps things varied and they each have 

their own particular style. We’re also 

conscious of how it looks tonally. I think the 

first thing we did was buy a strobe and 

some lasers to translate some of the 

musical elements into some visual support. 

We’ve since expanded on our lighting gear. 

Where do you see Solsine in five 

years’ time? 

Ben: We'd like to start on the festival 

circuit as our music's always been 

geared toward that scene. Hopefully 

we'll have a few trips to Glastonbury and 

Coachella in the bag. 

11

Raph: I have no idea! I think this project 

feels so fresh and new that I’m thinking 

shorter term than 5 years. We’ve been 

getting some great gigs recently and the 

immediate future looks positive so 

anything could happen I guess. 

From your own experiences, have 

you got any advice for artists 

starting out? 

Raph: Be hungry but patient. Listen, train 

your ear, hang out with sound engineers 

or producers whilst they work to see 

how to get your ideas out of your head 

and sounding good. Failing that watch 

lots of studio tips on YouTube and see 

what you can learn. You’ll most probably 

get it wrong a lot in the beginning but 

when you get to a point where you can 

hear what needs to change in a track 

you’ll feel liberated. 

in Dalston on May 22nd, and putting on 

our own night at 93 Feet East on the 

29th May with a wicked line up!Our 

second single's being released next 

month which features one of our staple 

performers Nadine Wild Palmer. 

‘Deeper’ featuring Hannah Symons 

is out now. 

www.soundcloud.com/solsine 

Interview by Andy 

If you had to pick three tracks to 

define who you are as artists, what 

would they be? 

Raph: Well currently we only officially 

have two singles up so those ones! Our 

first garage influenced single ‘Deeper’ 

showcases one side of our sound, our 

next jungle infused single ‘Time’ is 

definitely a nod to our music making 

roots and the third track you’ll just have 

to wait for... 

What does the rest of the year hold 

for Solsine? 

Raph: We’re back at Ibiza Rocks this 

summer, peak season this time! 

Beforehand we're doing a charity gig for 

Water Aid at Boxpark on May 10th, 

supporting Scroobius Pip at The Victoria 


My Pretty Blue - Shallow Waters 

Meet 'My Pretty Blue' aka Ryan Munroe with his first release 'Shallow 

Waters', an electronic blend of organic sounds and catchy melodies, 

galvanised by a classic soul vocal hook which was written by the British 

composer and performed by Oliver Cruz. 

Munroe, who was raised in one of the more lively parts of Surrey, has had a long 

and reputable music career and has been praised for producing and writing for a 

number of artists. Among those, which include Professor Greenand JLS, the 

musician has had a history of landing official club remixes for some of the biggest 

acts including Amy Winehouse, Chris Brown, Justin Timberlake, Destiny's Child 

and many more. In 2012 he went on to produce Sneakbo's single 'Sing For 

Tomorrow' which independently charted in the UK top 100 after securing Radio 

1's 'B' playlist supported by the likes of Ferne Cotton, Nick Grimshaw and Chris 

Martin (Coldplay). 

Having commanded his career this far, Munroe is now twisting his talent by 

bringing together his musical influences such as Motown, Soul, Indie and EDM by 

creating the sound of My Pretty Blue, a Movement for passionate listeners who 

crave refined music styles. 

Beginning with a lovely 

guitar riff, then in comes the 

beautiful mesmerising 

vocals. A great feel-good, 

rhythmic track for the 

summer. 

13

INTRODUCING: Modec 

Producer and DJ based in Leeds, UK. I 

predominantly create noise, but if we 

were to put a genre on it, it would 

probably lie somewhere between 

house and techno music, taking 

influences from the early stages of 

Detroit Techno up to the newest 

form of Jackin' House. 

I studied music at College in Southport 

where my love for playing around with 

various plug-ins and VST's stemmed from. I 

then went on to study Music Production at 

Leeds Met where my passion for electronic 

music production really took off. The 

amount of analogue synths and pieces of 

production hardware that became 

accessible opened all kinds of doors to 

playing around and developing the sound 

that I have now. Two of the lads from 

Rudimental studied at Leeds Met so at my 

graduation ceremony they also received 

their Masters In Music Award, fun fact for 

you. 

I've met and worked with some of the 

greatest characters and found myself 

working with some cracking people at In:flux 

Audio which is the record label I co-run, and 

Auxiliary which is one of the many cracking 

house and techno nights here in Leeds. 

Some seriously cool plans in the pipeline for 

both the label and the event so make sure 

you check them out. 

I have used various pieces of production 

software from Cubase, which I would never 

recommend, to Reason, Ableton and Logic 

Pro. I would personally recommend Logic on 

the basis it's user friendly and works great 

with other bits of tech like Maschine. If you 

are thinking of taking it seriously I would 

always recommend buying analogue synths 

over VST synths as there's more scope for 

developing and performing. To really make 

your tracks stand out, I prefer mixing in the 

box, as you can really get some cracking EQ 

and compressor plug-ins that out date 

some of the outboard gear. To be honest, 

producing a record is an ongoing learning 

curve and it really is just a case of learning 

and developing as you go. Final tip is to 

always get constructive feedback on your 

productions, good to have more than one 

pair of ears when working on a new project. 

2015 has opened all kinds of doors, now I'm 

signed to an agency based in Bristol known 

as Nightcap. This year I've made my debut at 

XOYO, who are keen to have us back down 

with my own night Auxiliary, and I'm also 

playing my first festival when we travel 

down to Bathfest for a stage takeover, 

which should be incredible as the line up for 

this is huge. 

It's early days in my career as a producer 

and DJ, so really grateful and thankful for all 

the support this far, and with some plans 

yet to go ahead, it's seriously exciting 

times! 

14 


WE 

work with passionate businesses and 

present those we believe in to our audience 

in order to give them a trustworthy 

experience. Advertisements are 

everywhere, viewers are more inclined to 

ignore and read onwards. If you haven't 

grabbed the audience's attention in the 

first 3 seconds then you can 

KISS 

your sales revenue goodbye. Native 

advertising provides a personalised view 

of a company providing the reader with real 

information and not just selling to them. 

We engage with the client and customer 

aiming to gain more effective results for 

EVERYONE. 

www.AudiationMagazine.com.advertise 

15

What type of music allows people to 

focus? 

Getting closer to summer! Still kicking it in Rome, but by the time 

this issue is out I'll be chilling back at home in Chicago. Yup, that puts 

it into perspective. Semester abroad: check. 

I'm sure our readers vary in ages, some long-gone out of college, 

some being the current student, and some studying towards 

entering university. Overall, I'm sure everyone knows the feelings 

once finals season rolls around. With the high stress among my 

campus, I noticed everyone reading their notebooks/laptops while 

listening to music. Even while I write this, I am grooving to my own 

Spotify playlist. So, I was curious, what type of music allows people 

to focus? 

Although some responses were that they don't listen to music while 

studying because it distracts them, an overwhelming genre were 

classical, indie rock and Spanish! Although there are many playlists 

already created on Spotify, I went on a mission to find the best 

songs to listen to while trying to focus or study. Here is what I came 

up with! Audiation Magazine bringing about that small motivation to 

get the job done. 

These are tested and approved.. 


1. Constant Conversations - 

Passion Pit 

2. Vivir Mi Vida - Marc Anthony 

3. Intro - The xx 

4. Dungen - Du E For Fin For Mig ( 

Only the first 3 minutes, the rest is heavy 

guitar!) 

5. So What- Miles Davis 

6. Slow Dancing in a Burning Room- 

John Mayer 

7. It Had to Be You - Harry Connick, 

Jr. 

17

The National Jazz Museum in Harlem, a Smithsonian Affiliate, holds its 

2015 Gala Benefit Concert on June 10th at The Kaye Playhouse, featuring 

the renowned vocalist Dianne Reeves and a special guest. The National 

Jazz Museum in Harlem Jazz and Community Leadership Award will be 

presented to the late, acclaimed filmmaker Albert Maysles. The 

Legends of Jazz Award will be presented to master bassist, Reggie 

Workman. 

The mission of the National Jazz Museum in Harlem, a Smithsonian 

Affiliate, is to preserve, promote and present jazz by inspiring 

knowledge, appreciation, and the celebration of jazz locally, nationally, 

and internationally. The Museum offers more than 80 free public 

programs each year. 

The Museum is about stimulating hearts and minds through jazz and 

reaching out to diverse audiences to enjoy this most quintessential 

American music. The Visitors Center is the hub for the young and old, 

novice and scholar, artist and patron, enthusiast and curious listener to 

come to live performances, exhibitions, and educational workshops. 

The Museum's long range goal is to create a permanent Smithsonian 

affiliated national jazz museum in Harlem. The artist leadership of the 

Museum consists of Loren Schoenberg (Artistic Director), Christian 

McBride (Associate Artistic Director) and Jonathan Batiste (Artistic 

Director at Large). 

18 


"‘Everyday 

is Record 

Store Day’ 

at DnR Vinyl! 

DnR made 

#RSD into a 

celebratory 

party." Hark 

1karan 

19

J.Phlip aka J Phlip tha Bird aka Jessica Phillippe. A truly talented artist with an incredible 

track selection consistently delivered with such an intrepid style, whilst also possessing 

the ability to amaze audiences playing vinyl and CDJ’s. Truth be told, I struggled in finding 

the words to start this article and in choosing which direction i would go with it. This 

surprised me considering the focus of the next few pages are about a friend and an artist 

of which I hold in such high regard, that she sits in my top 3 favoured acts of all time, along 

with Joseph Capriati & Claude Von Stroke. This theoretically should have been the easiest 

article i’ve ever written, but the fact is it wasn’t the case. The reasons i struggled? Simply 

due to me not wanting to come across as being blatantly and evidently bias sharing my 

experiences whilst delivering a truthful perspective.. 

I remember the 1st time I became aware of J.Phlip and this came in 2012 at a Dirtybird 

party held in the Oval Space, East London. It goes without saying that the line up was 

incredible with the likes of Breach, Justin Martin, French Fries and the man I had gone to 

see, my favourite act of all time, Claude Von Stroke. I’ve still got the flyer with the set 

times, proper raving Memorabilia. Little did i know that the the DJ that was going to 

impress me most that night was the one J Phlip. A DJ that I like so many others, and I’ll say 

no names, have been guilty of thinking was a bloke (humblest apologies). This is not down 

to her appearance far from it. Its all due to her stage name not instantly highlighting that 

she is a female like say the names of Nicole Moudaber or Kim Ann Foxman, in what is still a 

predominantly male industry. This can set an artist on an even playing field and pit them 

against their competition or peers in a position that simply lets the music and talent do 

the talking. It was from this day at the Dirtybird BBQ Warehouse party, which at the time 

was the largest DB line up ever, that I had been captivated by her talents. The deliverance 

of proper jacking dirty grooves, coming at time when Shazam was pretty much non 

existent and I had only my brain to savour the memory of a track J Phlip played in the hope 

that somebody could one day inform me. Much to my dismay nobody was able to tell me 

until i’d seen Jess the following year at Village Underground in Shoreditch.The track 

subsequently was Hugz by French Fries released on ClekClekBoom in 2014 and is just an 

indication as to the bumping booty tech style she delivers. 

‘A good DJ plays music, A great DJ plays with music.’ When you think about that statement 

and exactly what it means, its hard to disagree with. A good DJ can play you a set that you 

will enjoy, but don’t get me wrong it can be of fair quality and will entertain a dance floor. 

But a great DJ will leave you in awe, dropping tracks they’ve relentlessly searched for, 

playing with the music at just the right time with such a natural understanding taking you 

on that journey you crave. J.Phlip does seem to fit this mould. Yes, this may be my own 

personal opinion but as always with anything, the proof is in the pudding. Whether it’s an 

excitable ice cream and jelly you crave or a warm humble pie your to be gifted, you need 

not look too far. Her bass jumpin, booty workout sets have earned her an array of 


supporters across the board with the inclusion of a one time personal flasher. Her 

deliverance from behind the DJ booth is one that visually gets the crowd going because 

Phlip is not an artist afraid to show she’s enjoying her craft and that feel good factor only 

projects onto the dance floor right back at the artist. Not so surprising flasher. Her 

deliverance from behind the DJ booth is one that visually gets the crowd going because 

Phlip is not an artist afraid to show she’s enjoying her craft and that feel good factor only 

projects onto the dance floor right back at the artist. Not so surprising as she plainly 

describes her style as “Music that I think sounds cool between 123 and 130 bpm”. Such is 

the reason why her name features on some of the best events across the globe, 

constantly adding to her ever growing fan base. 2014 was no doubt good year for J.Phlip 

coming off an unforgettable festival season with stops at Ultra, Cochella, Electric Forest, 

Dirtybird BBQ and playing an epic closing set at Movement in Detroit, before ending with 

her 1st ever solo tour. 

2014 also saw the release of Phlip’s tech heavy banger “Say my name” receiving huge 

support from the like of Eats Everything, Danny Daze & Huxley. The art of being a good 

track selector naturally falls hand in hand with production and its fair to say she does have 

an ear for good music. After all it was J.Phlip who bought Catz n Dogz to the attention of 

Eats Everything’s iconic dance floor hit “Entrance Song” which was later released on Pets 

Recordings. Not to be outdone by the industry heavyweight she can call friends she does 

have a catalogue of her own of which she can boast a string of releases on tables such as 

Krush Groove, Jackmode Music, Pets Recordings and of course Dirtybird. Her 2008 release 

of rumble rumble still has a prominent feel to it where it wouldn’t sound dated being played 

in an arena tomorrow. 2015 she’s J.Phlip jump back in the studio working on new material 

and continue with a busy booking schedule. This summer Jess returns to the shores for WE 

ARE FSTVL in the South of England where she takes to the stage for a back to back with 

the UK’s Huxley a week before her birthday. We decided to catch up with our Audiation 

cover birthday girl. 

21

Hello J.Phlip thank you very much for 

agreeing to take part in this with 

Audiation Magazine. First things first, 

how did you get your stage name & 

what was the first piece of music you 

listened to today? 

Thank you guyyys! J.Phlip is just a funny 

shortened version of my real name: Jessica 

Phillippe. If I remember correctly it was 

Matthis and Lyle, my co-workers at Barfly in 

Champaign, who thought of it for my first 

gig playing the “Fresh Face Sundays.” That 

was back in ’03. It just stuck I guess. 

Today I put on some Dead Ghosts… they are 

a garage rock band from Vancouver. I really 

enjoy listening to a bit of rock music on the 

weekdays. Especially in the day time, with 

the windows open feeling some fresh air. It’s 

loose, and human, and it feels good to hear 

some vocals. It grounds me and resets me 

from all the electronica and beats that I’m 

surrounded by all weekend. I’ve also been 

rocking the new Grimes, LA Priest, and 

Ho99o9 today. 

Your 1st release with the Dirtybird 

collective ‘Rumble Rumble’ came back 

in 2008, but where did the urge to DJ 

and produce come from? How did you 

get in the game? 

Music has always been a really huge part of 

my life… but the urge to start DJing literally 

started the day my friend Sterling showed 

me how to match two records on a pair of 

technics and how to use a mixer. The urge 

to produce also came along when I started 

meeting more people who made tracks or 

were in bands or emceed or were just 

creating noise and sound on anything 

possible. Just being surrounded by people 

who were doing music in different ways 

peaked my interest in trying it out for 

myself. A guy I dated was really into gear and 

I remember the first time he showed me a 

virus synthesizer, suddenly my love for 

engineering and music collided. I took a 

physics of music class and built a talkbox 

and a ring modulator. Eventually, just nerding 

out turned into trying to actually make 

some songs and all that. It was just a natural 

progression of discovering more ways i 

could explore creatively with sound and 

music and noise. 

How did you get involved with the 

Dirtybird camp and become the 1st 

lady of DB? 

There is a long timeline story of absolutely 

ridiculous stories about how i joined up with 

those guys. Its a loaded question, but I just 

kinda crossed paths with them back in 

04’/05’ and became one of their homies. 

They are amazing people and they were 

really supportive of me. They started letting 

me come DJ some of the parties in SF and 

then signed a track from me and just took 

me under their wing and let me be a part of 

the journey. People always seem to call me 

the 1st lady of dirtybird, I’m not sure why, its 

a silly name. I’m just one of the dudes. I love 

those guys and being a part of dirtybird has 

been the best experience of my entire life. 

Originally from a small town Chapin, 

Illinois. how did it compare moving to 

Berlin? 

Champaign, Illinois lol. And its actually a 

small city, not quite small enough to be 

considered a town. Also, I moved to 

Chicago and San Francisco before moving to 

Berlin so it wasn’t like I hadn’t lived in a big 

city before. The aspect of living in a big city 

was never really challenging because of 

where I grew up. It felt totally normal to 

move into a much larger city after I left 

Champaign, but I really enjoyed and cherish 

the experiences I had in the city where I’m 


from. In Champaign we had to get together 

with people and create our own fun, 

because otherwise the stuff you wanted to 

get into might not be happening. That was 

really cool and you got to know people really 

well because you had and wanted to bond 

together with like-minded folks. Champaign- 

Urbana also has a very diverse demographic. 

I love where I’m from and I love the people 

that I crossed paths with during those times 

of my life. 

Moving to another country was definitely a 

crazy experience though! But you just do it. 

You just figure stuff out. I feel really lucky 

that I had the chance in my life to do 

something like that because it was a huge 

growing experience and all that jazz haha. 

Being a part of this electronic music 

community actually makes moving so much 

easier. Everywhere you go you have friends, 

label mates, friends of friends, DJ pals, 

industry pals, fans/friends… it really is like an 

international community. There’s so many 

cool peeps around. And if you really don’t 

know anyone, you can always just hit the 

parties and try to make some friends. 

You’ve had the chance to do what you 

love and do best in many corners of the 

globe but how did it feel doing our 1st 

solo tour? 

I had every extreme emotion possible during 

that tour. I was really blown away by the 

support and love people showed. I was 

beyond happy that it was successful. I came 

home from gigs with tears of happiness 

sometimes. It was MAD FUN! But there 

were also moments when I had more 

anxiety than ever in my life. It was hard on 

my body physically. Touring like that and 

trying to keep up with work and life felt like 

total madness at times. It’s all just about 

learning and growing and trying to find a 

balance with it all. I just take it as it comes 

and learn everything the hard way because 

I’m just stupid like that. 

How would you describe your style of 

music? 

Music that I think sounds cool between 123 

and 130 bpm that might fit in a particular 

genre or not. 

Who/what would you say have been 

your biggest influences in the style of 

music you create and how you deliver 

music within your DJ sets? 

I phase through different influences and 

era’s but here’s a few that have aways been 

around for me, and a few that are more 

recent: All my friends. All the Dirtybirds. 

Matthew Herbert. The Other People Place. 

Boddika. Caribou. Koze. Jimmy Edgar. Daniel 

Avery. Aus Music. Italojohnson. Arca. 

Audion. Paranoid London. Dexter. Jamie XX. 

James Blake. 

What DJ still manages to blow you 

away every time? 

The Librarian. She plays genre’s of music 

that I don’t fux wit but I love getting down to 

it because its always totally different than 

any of the stuff I’m always hearing. And how 

she puts it together is just magic, the 

tempo’s and genre’s she fits into one set are 

insane. As far as house music vibes - at the 

moment I’m really feelin’ Italojohnson. 

This coming May you be playing at 

WeAre FSTVL in the UK, where you be 

going b2b with Huxley. How does it 

differ when going back to back with an 

artist and will you be conferring with 

Huxley preparing in a special sort if 

way? 

I really like playing b2b here n’ there because 

it gets my brain thinking in new 

23

24 


ways with the music. It feels really fresh 

because I can’t do the same mixes that I 

know worked together at other recent 

shows. Or the other person might play a 

track that triggers me to dig up some track I 

totally forgot about. It can be super exciting. 

I feel like Hux and I should just wing it. I know 

our music will work together and so I think 

just total spur of the moment will be the 

best way to do that set! Dig dig dig and 

surprise each other. It’ll be a blast! 

What advice would you give to aspiring 

DJ’s and Producers? 

EDM's Portrayal of 

Women 

Artwork with lots on show or full on 

barbie figures. Flyers with models 

posing. 

The fact is, attractiveness sells. I'm 

sure if we had a half nude woman on 

our cover, our magazine would be 

flying off the shelves regardless to 

what it had to do with music! 

Don’t get too caught up in what everybody 

else is doing, or whats the hype, or who’s 

“blowing up”. With social media and all the 

blogs and magazines and stuff like Boiler 

Room, it’s really easy to get your head 

caught up in all that, and it can be a 

complete mind-fuck, especially if you’re 

trying to make this your full time job. You’re 

going to watch a lot of people blow up 

before you, people you might know and 

people you don’t know and people you think 

suck and people you think are dope. None of 

this matters, what matters is you and what 

you do. Try to stay positive even when 

things are tough. Everybody has a different 

path, and nobody else’s path is blocking your 

road. It took me a really long time to figure 

this out. 

If you wasn’t a DJ what would you be 

doing? 

Pool hustler. 

Catch J Phlip doing her thang this 

month at WE ARE FSTVL 

Interview by Cessle 

Why do we not have loads of rugged 

hot males on all these imagery? 

The industry is very male dominated, 

and women do have trouble to get 

their voices heard in the business 

world. We need to shout louder! 

We need to prove to all men out there 

that we have the ability to be equally 

as professional and successful as 

men. 

I do agree with the fact that some 

sounds do have that soft / sexy sound 

that can inspire imagery of women, 

maybe rough bass could be a new 

market for rugged male artwork .. It 

should reflect the track 

One thing that is for sure, this issue 

needs to be looked into more, it's 

probably less of a big deal as we grow 

more modern, women are making 

more of a stand, but we still need to 

keep working on this. 

25

Three Kings High - Hail 

Three Kings High have been bubbling under the surface for the last couple of 

years, releasing tracks here and there and taking their live set to as many 

towns and cities across the UK as possible. Now, however they release their 

first full length feature “HAIL”. At 12 tracks deep it is proof that the Kings 

are able to deliver more than just singles and EP’s, and this is a true 

reflection of the sound that fans have been hearing at their shows. 

Included in the record is “Nothing Left To Lose”, originally released in 

September 2014, this track garnered radio play and reviews, and the Kings 

have now included an extended album version. Also included are live show 

favourites such as “Frienemy” and “Blood Is Blue”, which bring the high 

tempo, Sleaze-Rock to the album, whilst “Excuses, Excuses” and “All The 

Best” show their maturity and diversity in song writing, allowing a change of 

pace whilst keeping up the vibe of the record. 

Three Kings High are an amalgamation of Bristol’s diverse influences with 

big riff heavy guitars, anthemic choruses and indie sensibilities. Through this 

record, the Kings have made every effort to translate their live shows into a 

studio recording, ensuring the energy and impact is immediately felt. It is 

this live sound that has allowed the Kings to play Punk nights in London, as 

well as Soul venues in Newcastle, and have the crowds become fans of a 

band outside their normal comfort zone. 

Catchy lyrics and edgy riffs 

accompanying rhythmic beats with 

a little funkiness. 


TOUR DATES: 

Sat 7th March: London - The Garage 

Fri 27th March: London - The Finsbury 

Sat 28th March: Sheffield - The Washington 

Fri 3rd April: Liverpool - Lomax 

Fri 10th April: Ipswich - Cult Café 

Sat 11th April: Bristol - Mothers Ruin 

Fri 17th April: Burnham - Royal Clarence 

Sat 18th April: Cardiff - The Full Moon 

Fri 24th April: Bournemouth - Winchester 

Sat 2nd May: Bristol - Mr Wolfs 

Sun 3rd May: Canterbury, City Sound Project 

Sat 16th May: Newcastle - Head of Steam 

27

DGTL Festival 2015 

Amsterdam is said in many circles to be the 

European central hub of dance music. A city 

with a population of around 780’000 

people which each and every year plays 

host to in excess of 300 festivals. Being an 

individual who is no stranger to art of 

chasing a passion to its very end, as I have 

an addictive personality. It was too hard to 

pass up the opportunity and miss out my 

first trip to Amsterdam and European 

festival experience. The lure of names such 

as Jamie Jones, Noir, Ten Walls, Sydney 

Charles, Dusky, Boddika & Art Department 

were enough to cause me to suddenly 

rearrange plans, feeding my addiction to 

bass driven groves. Amsterdam is no more 

than a 40 minute flight journey across the 

English channel, so the choice of flying solo 

and meet friends out there was easily made. 

With my copy of the set times which had 

kindly given to me within the press release 

I’d already decided beforehand that I would 

arrive early to check out some of the 

smaller European acts on show. I’m a firm 

believer that the opening set is one of the 

most important sets within music 

programming. It plays a key part in getting a 

party off to a good start and setting it at 

the right tone. It’s how many of the scenes 

top DJ’s learnt their craft so I was pretty 

eager to get a listen to illenoise who did not 

disappoint. Amsterdam is well known for 

it’s tourism attractions with their relaxed 

law on cannabis usage, so upon arrival in the 

Dutch capital it was a quick stop in a café 

before I embarked on my journey. After all 

you are allowed entry with up to 7g of 

cannabis and it would be a 10 minute ferry 

ride to NDSM Docklands where DGTL 

Festival 2015 was being held. 

The grounds of the NDSM Docklands is 

situated in a clever and ideal place for 

events a it is away from general housing and 

there is space to congregate 18’000 

people. When you draw thoughts to a 

festival in the UK your first thoughts, 

regardless of weather would be that of 

grass and mud and a handful of idiots. Mind 

you a handful of the right type of idiots is 

always great My DGTL experience? Nothing 

of the sort. it was a full on concrete 

experience. Very little grass in site. The only 

festival I know of where I can say it’s safe 

enough to wear white shoes. As for the vibe 

itself, it felt as if each and everybody had 

come all for the same reason, just to enjoy 

the music and meet new people. It could 

just be the weed helping to create that 

relaxed ambience or just the European way, 

but who cares it only added to the 

experience and made it greater. Both days 

of the 2 day festival were sold out with 

17’500 attending on the Saturday and a 

further 15’000 attendees on the Sunday. 

Over 60 acts across 6 indoor stages, one of 

which was a plastic greenhouse with visuals 

of the whole affair catered by Okinawa 69, 

Heleen Blanken and Dirty Brown Visuals. 

CESSLE: I’m the muppet in the blue hooded 

jacket, clearly enjoying myself. 


This is something that I’m choosing to point 

out because to put it plain and simply, the 

visuals were on point, along with the quality 

of sound. There was one moment, stood up 

on balcony that surrounded dance floor of 

the Digital stage, where during Hot Since 

82’s set that as the beat dropped the stage 

was canvassed with blue and orange lights 

as the crowd erupted in awe. Even those 

toward the back end of the stages felt 

close enough to feel the density of the bass 

lines. It is a sight that is still vivid within my 

mind today and at that is credit to the team 

behind it all. This was a theme echoed 

throughout the venue, across the whole 

weekend. Even when there was a moment 

on the Saturday that the gremlins decided 

to appear during Dusky’s set and disrupt 

Dusky’s set and disrupt the sound, the 

problem was quickly dealt with 

disheartening nobody. And the way in which 

the system was seemed to have been 

cranked up, you could hear the tin shelter of 

the arena rattling from outside. It only 

made you wanna go in side and hear the b- 

lines sing. 

ELIAS MAZIAN 

on a real 3hr journey, churning out quality 

track after track. The guys invited me up to 

hear Breach play another set sponsored by 

Red Bull. It was at this point that I realised 

that this was to happen in the crane that 

could be seen from the other side of the 

dock. After climbing these spiral stairs I 

found myself in a room with a capacity of 

no more than 70 people with a DJ playing 

booth but pure grooves. Sometimes it can 

feel so much more when special when a DJ 

is pushing all the right buttons for you at 

that time and you have no idea who they 

are. The quality of the music prompted me 

to find out who he was. This DJ’s name? 

ELIAS MAZIAN. Thanks to the beauty of BE- 

AT.TV I’ve been able to watch the set back, 

reliving the experience. I’m the muppet in 

the blue hooded jacket, clearly enjoying 

myself. Not to be out done Breach was to 

follow Elias and take to the stage and we 

were delivered a set that was different to 

which he had played in the Stereo arena. 

Ben played grooves which only fitted the 

whole atmosphere with the sky still bright 

outside. We were treated to one of them 

sets where it gets special and Breach takes 

to the microphone and exercising his vocal 

chords causing the attendee’s to sing back. 

I chose to bring my weekend to an end by 

listening to Noir’s Closing set and for me 

that was the right choice. We all have a 

selection of tracks that we absolutely love 

and when you’ve been enjoying a set the the 

whole way through and the last 2 tracks is 

one of those. The nails been hit bang on the 

head and your ready to go home. That track 

it was for me? Moderat - Bad Kingdom ( DJ 

Koze Remix). 

The weekend allowed me to hear a lot of 

top quality music, not once did I mange to 

feel bored of what I was hearing. My own 

personal highlight that stand strongest in 

my mind is the party in the crane. That was 

an experience. Breach and Cinnaman had 

just gone back to back taking festival goers 

I guess I’ll be seeing you next year DGTL! 

Article by Cessle 

30 


How to lose fans fast 

Changing your brand 

name & outlets several 

times over a short 

period portrays the 

image that you lack clear 

and structured business 

ideals. 

Audiation 

31

32 

I caught Up with Freejak to talk 

about his incredible year so far, his 

collaborations with Mr Belt & Wezol 

/ Wideboys.. and I ask him what its 

like getting massive support from 

the biggest DJs & artists in the 

industry. 

How long have you been producing 

and DJing, and could you tell us 

what DAW you use and your fav 

bits of software you couldn’t live 

without? 

I signed to major label Big Life Records in 

1996 alongside artists such as Lisa 

Stansfield, De La Soul, Blue Pearl and 

Gala, where I was the in-house remixer, 

producer and engineer where I built the 

foundation of my production skills. I 

started the ‘Freejak’ work in 2007, when 

I signed to Italian label Oxyd. Since then, I 

like to think I have been honing the sound 

that has recently got me noticed by the 

industry. The remixes and bootlegs that I 

have been releasing over the past 18 

months all feature that sound. 

I have been DJing for as long as I have been a 

producer as it is a great way to test the 

tracks in a club, to see the reaction I get 

from the crowd when on a big sound 

system. It is also a great way to get 

inspiration for new tracks, to see what the 

music in the clubs is lacking, then going 

back to the studio the next day to try and 

improve my sound. 

I've used many DAWs, starting off with 

Sequencer 1 on an Atari 520ST. Moving on 

in my career I have used many others such 

as Notator, Cuebase, Pro Tools but have 

found myself most comfortable with Logic 

Pro. I don’t think what DAW you use is 

crucial to creating great music. Great 

music doesn’t come from a great DAW, 

great music comes from an individual’s 

great ideas. 

I couldn’t live without my Waves plugins; 

especially the L1 Limiter and the SSL 

Channel Strip & Compressor. Also love 

Dada Life’s Sausage Fattener and Waves 

Factory’s Track Spacer. 

I first heard "Don’t Wanna Love U" on 

Oliver Heldens radio show, It must be 

great having such big artists playing 

your stuff regularly. Have you been 

approached by any big labels wanting 

to sign "Don't Wanna Love U" up? As 

I’m sure given the right promotion it 

could get in the radio and iTunes main 

pop chart. 

Obviously it is great to hear your music 

supported by some of the biggest names in 

the scene at the moment. I was introduced 

to Oliver through Mr. Belt & Wezol, while 

we were working together on our 

forthcoming collaboration on Spinnin’ 

Records, and am hugely greatful for his 

support. 

I'm very lucky to have been approached by 

many labels looking to sign it, including 

Universal (AATW), CR2 and OneLove as 

well as many independent labels. Off the 

back of ‘Don’t Wanna Love U’ and other 

records of mine such as ‘Street Level’ I 

have had offers to sign me as an artist from 

big players such as Spinnin, BMG and 

Universal to name a few. Well, that is very 

kind of you to say it could get that popular, 

we shall keep our fingers crossed! 


Would you describe 2014 as being a 

breakout year for you where 

everything fell into place? 

I think 2014 has been a good year, making 

the right inroads into the industry, getting 

the lid off the box, but I don’t think I have 

shown what the full Freejak package is yet! 

Hopefully the momentum I started to 

generate in 2014 will continue and 2015 will 

be an even bigger year. 

with so many genres of different styles of 

house and dance music out there these 

days, how would you describe your 

particular brand of House? And where do 

you find you inspirations from? 

I don’t normally like categorising my music, 

it has influences from garage, bassline and 

good old fashioned house. What I like to do 

with my bootlegs is take a song that is well 

known and loved, and then give it a little 

something more. With my own productions, 

I draw inspiration from everything, you can’t 

predict what inspires you! 

FREEJAK'S DJ PLAYLIST 

1. Curbi - Discharge 

2. Mr Belt & Wezol - Finally 

3. Oliver Heldens - Melody 

4. Antonio Giacca - Real 

Love 

5. Martin Solveig & GTA - 

Intoxicated (RYLS Remix) 

6. Chocolate Puma - Step 

Back (Low Steppa Remix) 

7. Hard Drive - Deep Inside 

(Low Steppa Remix) 

33

What tips or advice would you give 

to aspiring young musicians and 

producers just starting out? 

Don’t have a Plan B, stick to your Plan A and 

don’t take no for an answer! Being polite is a 

key trait to own, nobody actually owes you 

anything. All the people that listen to your 

demos are doing you a favour. So be polite 

to them and they will more likely take the 

time out of their day to give your stuff a 

listen. You will also hear ‘NO’ a lot. Just don’t 

let it set you back, treat it as two separate 

letters - N O - meaning ‘Next One’, just keep 

plugging away and stick you Plan A! 

Do You think Dance music has become 

over-saturated with artists easily 

being able to get their tracks released 

on digital labels and Beatport, or do 

you see it as healthy competition? 

There are two sides to the coin, on one 

hand you have so many different channels 

to get your music heard with the likes of 

Beatport and Soundcloud, however getting 

the influential people in the industry to hear 

your music has become harder than ever. I 

don’t see it as a competition, writing music 

should be for fun, for your enjoyment with 

the hope that your music is heard by others. 

If music was a competition, then the prize 

would be taking part! 

And finally, do you have any upcoming 

gigs or DJ residences at the moment 

where we can catch you and can you 

tell us whats next up for Freejak in 

2015.. Any exciting news regarding 

new releases or remixes? 

I have been working on many tracks 

recently. A collaboration with Mr Belt and 

Wezol will be released on Spinnin Records 

soon. Mistajam has been pioneering the 

remix of ‘Down’ by Wideawake ft Tanya 

Lacey on his Radio 1 shows, which is also on 

his Speakerboxx Records. I have just finished 

a remix of ‘Are You With Me’ by Lost 

Frequencies which is forthcoming on 

Universal/AATW. And I have also just been in 

the studio with the Wideboys working on a 

track titled ‘Holding On’ as well as the remix 

I have done for their record ‘Move and 

Groove’. 

So lots of tracks being released soon and I 

have some studio time scheduled in over 

Spring ahead of the summer season which 

holds quite a few big gigs for me, but they 

haven’t been announced yet so you will have 

to watch out for the announcements on my 

social media! 

www.freejak.com 

Interview by Rokuro 

34 


San Fermin - Jackrabbit 

Consequently, 'Jackrabbit' is the second album from the Brooklyn - based 

Alternative Rock Band, San Fermin. Songwriter and composer Ellis-Lundwig 

Leone creates bashful killer pop tunes for a dreamy day. Song's like 'Emily', 

'Jackrabbit' and 'Parasite' display obscure beauty, highlighting the power of 

meaningful yet playful lyrics with the band's mysterious compositions. 

San Fermin find's a special sound with the record they've soon to release, after 

days - if not weeks locked up in a rehearsal space, this will be a defiant record 

for their careers, an album full of melancholy and poignant track's. 

Ellis Ludwig-Leone like many of his bandmates are classically trained in 

classical music composition from Yale. With both album's, the group's selftitled 

2013 debut, providing unmistakable technical skill, San Ferrin's new 

record, the un-locking key of San Fermin is an indie-rock band, emerging to the 

scene with catchy hooks and a inventive creative vision. 

Article by Matt Daniel 

35

Tony Portelli 

The M.I.RAW Recordings label was not 

something I was going to do for any longer 

than 1 year, It launched in Jan 2007, but 

previous to that, the M.I.RAW concept all 

started back in 2004/5 via a chance meeting 

with an old friend, she was someone who 

years earlier I came across at an after party 

above the Vivienne Westwood shop and 

said something of relevance in a flippant 

way - the hugely talented British actress 

and lovely Jaime Murray - I was at UCH 

hospital just off Tottenham Court Road, W1 

with a friend on the off chance and she was 

sitting a few seats along in the waiting area. 

I asked her if she remembered me, but she 

didn't at first (it had been 10 years!) then 

she remembered. I thought nothing more of 

it, but half an hour later on leaving she saw 

me parked outside and asked 'what you up 

to now?' and I replied, 'not much, I no longer 

have my 4 Liberty Record label but I am 

studying law' - she replied with her spell 

binding look 'come on Tony, get creative' - it 

was actually a surreal moment now looking 

back, after those words I couldn't get rid of 

my friend and home quick enough - I was 

living in a studio apartment at the time 

where ironically Alfred Hitchcock started 

out (no comparisons btw) - I knew exactly 

what I wanted to do, so I just started typing 

away at what was a cv - into a book which 

was later titled 'The Music Industry Raw - 

Pirates, Clubs, House and Garage' - the 

'Raw' part of the title was Dj Spoony's idea. I 

allowed him to read an early segment to see 

if what I was doing looked like anything, and 

after asking me was I writing a book, the 

first word that he came back with as a 

description was that is 'Raw'- which is how 

the whole book / label brand came about - 

But I very oddly decided to not edit it as I 

thought I would just throw it out there, I 

doubt anyone would even notice it was my 

thinking at the time, and the plan was let's 

see where it took us in the first year, and 

remove it from existence... But even now I 

get messages across social media, people 

who have just come across it. which is a 

blessing - that again is the power of 

communication and the net. 

With regards to my love affair with tech; we 

at 4Liberty had back in 2000/2002 started 

a forum namely ukgarageworldwide.com 

but after the label closure with it went that 

web site. I would say it was around mid 

2005 when Matt Jam Lamont phoned me 

and made me aware of this website called 

Myspace, to be honest the whole music 

industry game I felt was done for me at that 

point, I had an amazing run with first my club 

nights, which originally came about after a 

good friend Claire (Buck) Date from my area 

Somers Town said that promoting my own 

event would be a great way for me to get 

into music, as a 19 year old - I dived straight 

into the idea and hired a venue the following 

day in London's west end. From that and 

those circles I find myself soon after in 

places like Versaces House at a party in 

Miami in 1991 - I then met my next girlfriend 

in 1992 at Lime Lights Shaftesbury Avenue, 

she literally educated me in contracts and 

how record labels, clubs, and radio are run - 

we then spent a few weeks in December 92 

and 1st week in Jan 1993 in New York where 

our 4Liberty Records label was born, which 

now looking back the achievements were 

way beyond what I could ever have 

imagined, coming from a council estate 

working class non u.k born parentage 

background, with very limited education. 

So fast forward, the whole idea for M.I.RAW 

Recordings label was a positive knock on 

effect and pure and simple to try and 

relaunch UKG, I said if I couldn't do it in 


one year I will call time on the label, but then 

as these things do I came across the very 

vibrant and exciting Bassline genre, then the 

UK Funky genre started to blow up and one 

signing led to another (that positive knock 

on effect) and here we are today. I have 

been very fortunate to have and still am 

working with some of the best there has 

ever been - both music and tech equally 

important - the old music industry and a 

new music industry running side by side. 

BitTorrent - made with and for the 

web's creative community. 

I came across BitTorrent Bundles via 

following Matt Mason on twitter, Matt 

works for the BitTorrent company out of 

San Francisco, USA & he was previously at 

RWD Magazine (founding editor-in-chief, 

and he also wrote The Pirate's Dilemma 

(2008). I had previously been in a deal with 

EMI but decided to leave after 3 years - it's 

an honor to have worked with such an iconic 

company but leaving felt like the right thing 

to do at that point - I was also asked if I 

would like my label to go via Warner Ada, 

which I declined. At the time it just felt like 

the old industry was lost when it came to 

technology and it seemed they were 

struggling to see my vision as did radio who 

were watering down British Black / multi 

cultural music, but these guys at BitTorrent 

were technology, so it really did just make 

sense. I decided to give the BitTorrent 

Bundles brand one of my projects which was 

a few years old, I entitled the release 'The 

Best Of UKG EP' which was originally a 3 part 

EP entitled UKG 2012 EP 1,2,3 and the 

results were actually very very good, 

considering I did no online promo - it just 

seemed to take on a life of its own within 

their seeding system, I then decided to 

upload another in the Kayla L'ayton The 

Remixes EP - again this was impressive, but 

the big question was once the paygates go 

up would the service be as successful as the 

free download? Well, this is where we are at 

now - the great thing about our community 

(be it online or in the field) is I have seen 

some of my contacts from our promo list 

go on to use and are now using that service 

with great results, which is a great thing - 

the net is there for all, when these things 

happen naturally that really does make me 

happy - I have those, I did that / made that 

happen smurk. And radio in the past few 

months seems to be heading towards 

where I saw music, which is a great thing - 

you have to acknowledge / respect radio 

pd's when they get on the right path and 

even more so when they drop you an 

apology email :) 

The Developing Music Industry 

I like the new industry, we recently saw Jay Z 

and a whole host of artists come together 

with a new streaming site, Tidal, which I 

expect will develop into much more with 

time - and of-course the live aspect is 

thriving. Most music fans I speak with always 

comment on how excited they are to see 

their favorite artists live. In our dance 

community I am constantly seeing festival 

campaigns for dance music, in-fact I am 

constantly saluting friends of mine who 

have made / or are making that transition, it 

really is impressive and a breath of fresh air - 

we all seemed to come 

37

from the all important 80's / 90's pirate 

radio, club, young vibrant scene, but 

constantly looking above and beyond how 

far can we push the boundaries. 

I would like to think the online element of 

communities can bring a day when radio is 

not so pressured to support the major 

labels, it would be great if the independent 

labels received an equal amount of daytime 

support or even more for them to achieve 

additional awareness / cross over potential 

on a world scale, independents like my label 

and those who run by producer / dj's - It 

rarely does happen but not as much as I 

wish and campaign for. For us to live in a 

time when viral is much more frequent and 

actual sales are dominating and streaming is 

an added bonus for the consumer, then we 

would have achieved something great for all 

music makers with the net. But I do 

maintain music and art is not initially about 

selling, that comes later - the order of 

things become magical when music is 

enjoyed, and an interaction happens, it 

really does - the net hasn't quite delivered 

what vinyl did, and still does. It will be 

interesting to see if things will change when 

the BBC makes the changes recently 

discussed with regards to licence fees and 

how the service will pay for itself, maybe 

the pendulum will swing towards 

independents at that point, if not before? 

Just a thought, but maybe George or Ben at 

Radio 1 are implementing the answers to 

the questions as we speak? 

"Crying Over You" 

The new signing Tommy Masters / Victoria 

Shapiro single is a perfect piece of summer 

feel good festival / holiday resort club dance 

music. When it was sent through to me by 

the producer, I knew straight away it just 

had to be on my label, in fact we have these 

moments when you come to the 

conclusion that music chooses you and this 

is one of those moments, I actually said to 

the producer, if he had sent that to me last 

year I would have declined - It really does 

feel like a record that if you are not hooked 

right away it will grow on you. A single like 

this will fit perfectly in the sets of those 

commercial djs, and who knows maybe in 

time urban djs will grow to love it also which 

is pretty much the opposite to how music I 

have signed down the years work - but hey, 

rules are there to be broken ;) 

We are organizing the music video as I speak 

with you - we have lined up some real cool 

things, but i'm not going to mention too 

much, all i'm going to say is, keep your eyes 

peeled for something very sexy and cool. 

Industry Advice 

Music is the most amazing thing, it really is - 

I recently mentioned on twitter how lucky I 

am to have grown within the music 

industry, there are times when we can get 

frustrated, but with great things it can take 

time, you can not force music it really is a 

case of go with your gut feeling and follow 

your instinct. If you love music you will find 

a way, I did. One thing I would say, never ever 

fear failure. They say the biggest failure is 

not trying at all, this is so true. Everyone is 

in the same boat looking for the next big 

single / album act, I have always been 

blessed to have been involved at the very 

early stages, ahead of the game on pretty 

much every occasion since I can remember. 

Only problem I have found on the odd 

occasion is a producer at that moment who 

can act and deliver on that instinct and then 

we look towards the next stage, is club / 

radio supporting what your vision of music 

at that moment is. These big moments 

really could be you who are making your 

first single or the guy whose been in the 

industry for decades inspired by 


surroundings etc. 

With regards to online technology, use the 

tools that are available. they are pretty 

much all free but what I would say is try and 

make the net work for you rather than the 

other way around, you can get drawn in .. 

most of us love what we do, so music, art, 

fashion, football etc is our life, but try not 

to work every hour god sends on the same 

area, take a break, and also enjoy what you 

are doing. I sometimes look back and ask 

myself, 'did I really do that?' Always try to 

remember, the key to success is happiness 

- so make sure everything you do makes 

you happy :) 

The Future of M.I.RAW Recordings 

We have scheduled a new EP from 

Yllavation in the month of May, I really am 

looking forward to hearing this, I expect this 

is going to be a fusion of two genres - 

something that should bring something 

new. Ylla is someone I have been working 

with for a few years now, he really is one of 

these musicians who loves electronic music 

and has pretty much delivered time and 

time again for me, i'm sure he won't mind 

me saying this, when I speak to him you just 

feel his soul coming across with every word Tommy Masters featuring 

he speaks about music, and that is Interview Victoria by Shapiro - Crying Over 

important to me as my love for music runs 

You 

through my veins also. 

Aside from that the level of music that is 

being sent through is more now then it has 

been over the past 5 years, but I prefer to 

pick and choose these days rather than 

years gone by. 

Crazy Fact 

I suppose the one thing that stands out that 

hasn't been mentioned before from myself 

is my great grandad from Malta's name is 

George Portelli - and that is also the name 

of Britney Spears' great grandad from the 

same place and time! Let's not read into 

that too much as the name is quite popular 

in Malta. Ironically our paths did cross in 

2000 at the Capital Radio awards many 

years before I saw the article on the subject 

in the Times, which now looking back is 

kinda weird! 

twitter.com/MiRawRecordings 

facebook.com/MiRawRecordings 

soundcloud.com/tnyportelli 

The sweet vocals paired with a 

bumpy summery track 

portraying love's anguish. 

OUT NOW 

BitTorrent 

exclusive 

39

Kyle Lettman (feat. Scorcher) - Moving Too 

Fast (Solo Suspex Remix) 

R&B singer, Kyle Lettman is back and sampling ‘Moving 

Too Fast’ – Artful Dodger’s 2000 hit. Kyle layers the 

infectious, bass-driven beat with his smooth vocals 

and teams up with Scorcher, who lays down bars on 

the final verse blurring the fine lines between rap and 

R&B. 

It's always a hard task reworking an utter 

gem into a new sound without completely 

detroying it. Wow! This Solo Suspex remix 

of the new take is so good. Fresh lyrics, a 

vibrant modernisation, keeping the original 

style of sweetness. This has got to be one of 

the best reworks I've heard of all time, kept 

simple no fuss, just good music. 


Bonkaz - We Run The Block 

Approaching the music sphere with an advanced mentality, fused with a suave, 

original sound he knows how to maintain, let us introduce you to the man who 

runs the block… Bonkaz. 

Immediately the rapper stands out having made the bold move to challenge the 

status quo, redefining digital boundaries, by making the decision to keep new 

single ‘We Run The Block’ off the internet for as long as possible. Instead, live 

performances and exclusive radio and club play have lead #WeRunTheBlock to 

go viral across social media as fans frantically quest to locate the audio. 

Produced by the biggest hit-makers of the moment, The Heavytrackerz, “We 

Run The Block” is a fiery, Grime influenced track that is already receiving 

exceptional support from the likes of Huw Stephens, Charlie Sloth, Mistajam 

and DJ Target on Radio 1 plus heavy rotation from specialist BBC 1Xtra DJ’s Sian 

Anderson, Semtex and DJ Cameo. 

As a young name in the scene that is attracting a lot of attention, Bonkaz has 

become one of the ambassadors for the ‘new generation’ and is constantly 

labelled as one of the pioneers of this new wave. Due to his forward thinking and 

love for the craft, he has become one of the most promising prospects within 

the UK scene and the future holds big things for the rapper, which has recently 

been affirmed by becoming the first artist, (alongside 4 producers), signed to 

the Sony imprint label ‘Pitched Up’, founded by DJ Target and Danny Weed. 

This oozes lively, feisty, 

punchy attitude which is what 

UK Rap is all about, just doing 

what you love. 

41

Menno de Jong - Abhyasa 

Menno de Jong is on a roll this year with a brand new release on 

the In Trance We Trust imprint after his latest tune with 

Aneym ‘Your Heaven’. With ‘Abhyasa’ you will have something 

special coming from your speaker set. It’s a full force trance 

release with a galvanizing rhythm and an upbeat floating sound. 

And did we mention the moment near the end in which Menno 

pulls out all the stops for a bouncing finale. Very cool stuff! 

A strong pulsating beat, subtle 

hints of softness and then comes 

the drop! Gritty hard-hitting 

sounds leading into an entrancing 

atmosphere. 

42 


1 YEAR AT AWJR 

It has been a year since I officially began working at 

AWJ Recordings as the Promotions Manager & Label 

Assistant. AWJ Recordings is an Electronic Dance 

label based in Mauritius, presenting various artists 

from accross the globe. This has been an interesting 

learning experience for me to hone my marketing 

skills and learn more about the International 

industry. I would like to thank label boss Awad for 

taking me on and I shall look forward to the 

developments and the next few years. 

www.AWJRecordings.com 

43

FESTIVAL GUIDE 

Tomorrowland Brasil 

30 April - 3 May 2015 

Sao Paulo, Brazil 

MAYDAY Dortmund 

30 April - 1 May 2015 

Dortmund, Germany 

Geheime Liefde 

2 May 2015 

Utrecht, Netherlands 

Mumbai Color Festival 

5 May 2015 


Marvellous Island 

8 - 10 May 2015 

Paris, France 

Nuits Sonores 

13 - 17 May 2015 

Lyon, France 

Papillions de Nuit 

22 - 24 May 2015 

Saint-Laurent-de-Cuves, 

France 

Pfingst Open Air 

22 - 24 May 2015 

Straubing, Germany 

Pacha Festival 

23 May 2015 

Amsterdam, Netherlands 

Common People 

23 - 24 May 2015 

Southamptom, United 

Kingdom 

Primavera Sound 

28 - 30 May 2015 

Barcelona, Spain 

Der Ring - Grune Holle 

Rock 

29 - 31 May 2015 

Nurburg, Germany 

Wychwood Festival 

29 - 31 May 2015 

Cheltenham, United 

Kingdom 

Rockavaria 

29 - 31 May 2015 

Munich, 

Germanycrowdcro 

Electronic Beats Festival 

Cologne 

29 May 2015 

Cologne, Germany 

Pacha Festival 

23 May 2015 


Common People 

23 - 24 May 2015 

Southamptom, United 

Kingdom 

Primavera Sound 

28 - 30 May 2015 


Der Ring - Grune Holle 

Rock 

29 - 31 May 2015 

Nurburg, Germany 

Wychwood Festival 

29 - 31 May 2015 

Cheltenham, United 

Kingdom 

Rockavaria 

29 - 31 May 2015 

Munich, 

Germanycrowdcro 

Electronic Beats 

Festival Cologne 

29 May 2015 

Cologne, Germany 

We Are FSTVL 

30 - 31 May 2015 

Upminster, United 

Kingdom 

We Love Green 

30 - 31 May 2015 

Paris, France 

Loveland 909 

31 May 2015 


Spring Break Island 

2 - 7 June 2015 

Novalia, Croatia 

Distortian 

3 - 7 June 2015 

Copenhagen, Denmark 

44 


Zrce Spring Break 

4 - 7 June 2015 

Island of Pag, Croatia 

NOS Primavera Sound 

4 - 6 June 2015 

Porto, Portugal 

Rock In Vienna 

4 - 6 June 2015 

Vienna, Austria 

Rock For People 

4 - 6 June 2015 

Hradec Kralove, Czech 

Republic 

The Governors Ball 

Music Festival 

5 - 7 June 2015 

New York, United States 

MORE Festival 

5 - 8 June 2015 

Venice, Italy 

World Club Dome 

5 - 7 June 2015 

Frankfurt, Germany 

World of Pleasure 

6 June 


Parklife Festival 

6 - 7 June 2015 

Manchester, United 

Kingdom 

Field Day 

6 - 7 June 2015 

London, United Kingdom 

Isle of Wight Festival 

11 - 14 June 2015 

Isle of Wight, United 

Kingdom 

Bergenfest 

11 - 14 June 2015 

Bergen, Norway 

Download Festival 

12 - 14 June 2015 

Derby, United Kingdom 

NorthSide 

12 - 14 June 2015 

Aarthus, Denmark 

Sonar Barcelona 

18 - 20 June 2015 


Southside Festival 

19 - 21 June 2015 

Tuttlingen, Germany 

Best Kept Secret 

19 - 21 June 2015 

Hlivarenbeek, 

Netherlands 

Azkena Rock Festival 

19 - 20 June 2015 

Vitoria-Gastelz, Spain 

Hellfest Open Air 

19 - 21 June 2015 

Clisson, France 

Secret Solstice 

19 0 21 June 2015 

Reyjavik, Iceland 

Hurrican Festival 

19 - 21 June 2015 

Scheeßel, Germany 

INmusic Festival 

22 - 24 June 2015 

Zagreb, Croatia 

Rock Werchter 

25 - 28 June 2015 

Werchter, Belgium 

Bravalla 

25 - 27 June 2015 

Norrkoping, Sweden 

OpenAir St. Gallen 

25 - 28 June 2015 

St. Galen, Switzerland 

Tuska Open Air 

26 - 28 June 2015 

Helsinki, Finland 

Garorock 

26 - 28 June 2015 

Marmande, France 

Tinderbox 

26 - 28 June 2015 

Odense SV, Denmark 

Holi Fusion Nijmegen 

27 June 2015 

Nijmegen, Netherlands 

Awakenings Festival 

27 - 28 June 2015 

Spaarnwoude, 

Netherlands 

Roskilde Festival 

27 June - 4 July 2015 

Roskilde, Denmark 

45

Hideout Festival 

28 June - 3 July 2015 

Novalja, Croatia 

Blissfields 

2 - 4 July 

Winchester, United 

Kingdom 

Vida Festival 

2 - 5 July 


Rock For People Europe 

3 - 5 July 

Pllsen, Czech Republic 

Main Square Festival 

3 - 5 July 

Arras, France 

Beauregard Festival 

3 - 5 July 

Normandy, France 

Les Eurockeenes 

3 - 5 July 

Belfort, France 

World Trance Festival 

Open Air 

3 - 5 July 

Le Garric, France 

Couleur Cafe 

3 - 5 July 

Brussels, Belgium 

Wireless Festival 

3 - 5 July 


sunscape 

3 - 5 July 

Gozo, Malta 

Calvi On The Rocks 

3 - 8 July 

Calvi, Corsica, France 

Sensation 

4 July 


Love Family Park 

4 July 

Mainz, Germany 

Calling Festival 

4 July 


Armada Day & Night 

Festival 

6 - 9 July 


NOS Alive 

9 - 11 July 

Lisbon, Portagal 

Bilbao BBK Live 

9 - 11 July 

Bilbao, Spain 

EXIT Festival 

9 - 12 July 

Novi Sad, Serbia 

Bazant Pohoda 

9 - 12 July 

Trencin, Slovakia 

Balaton Sound 

9 - 12 July 

Zamardi, Hungary 

Electrobeach Music 

Festival 

10 - 12 July 

La Barcares, France 

Ultra Europe 

10 - 12 July 

Spllt, Croatia 

NASS Festival 

10 - 12 July 

Shepton Mallet, United 

Kingdom 

Electric Daisy Carnival 

11 July 

Milton Keynes, United 

Kingdom 

Extreme Outdoor 

11 July 

Elndhoven, Netherlands 

18 Hours Festival 

11 - 12 July 

Zaahdam, Netherlands 

Kappa FuturFestival 

11 - 12 July 

Turin, Italy 

Fresh Island Festival 

15 - 17 July 

Pag Island, Croatia 

Sea Dance 

15 - 18 July 

Budva, Montenegro 

Dour Festival 

15 - 19 July 

Dour, Belgium 

46 


Latitude 

16 - 19 July 

Southwold, United 

Kingdom 

Colours Of Ostrava 

16 - 19 July 

Ostrava, Czech Republic 

Lovebox 

17 - 18 July 


Melt! Festival 

17 - 19 July 

Grafenhalnlchen, 

Germany 

Groove Parade: 

Monegros Desert 

17 - 19 July 

Fraga, Spain 

TIKTAK Eclectic Music 

Festival 

18 July 


Sea You Festival 

18 - 19 July 

Frelburg, Germany 

90 Festival 

18 - 19 July 

Blelsko-Blala, Poland 

Croatia Rocks Festival 

19 - 23 July 


Vasto Siren Festival 

23 - 26 July 

Vasto, Italy 

The Bay Festival 

23 - 27 July 

Solenzara, Corsica, 

France 

Check The Rhyme 

24 - 25 July 

Nice, France 

Tomorrowland 

24 - 26 July 

Boom, Belgium 

MADE 

25 July 

Birmingham, United 

Kingdom 

Amsterdam Live On 

Stage 

25 July 


Barrakud 

29 July - 2 August 

Corfu, Greece 

Camp Bestival 


East Lulworth, United 

Kingdom 

Solar Weekend 


Roermond, Netherlands 

Untold Festival 


Cluj-Napoca, Romaniaa 

Let It Roll Open Air 

Festival 


Milovice, Czech Republic 

Standon Calling 


Standon, United Kingdom 

Nature One 


Kastellaun, Germany 

DANCE 

THE 

NIGHT 

AWAY 

47

HOT 6 with J.Phlip 

This year we have already had some interesting takes on our 

Audiation HOT 6 with Just Her, Max Chapman & Claude Von 

Stroke already gratuitously taking part. As we come into the 

month of May, the weather has begun to slowly warm up and 

2015 is really beginning to season. Along with the sun 

festival season get into full swing with We Are FSTVL fast 

approaching at the end of the month we decided to catch up 

with our Gemini born cover star Dirtybird Stalwart J.Phlip for 

her take on the Audiation Hot 6. 


1st record you ever bought? 

Atmosphere - Overcast 

Favourite track you have made? 

Say My Name or my remix of Robosonic “The Sweetness" 

Favourite kit for making music? 

Roland SH-101 and Roland TB-303 and Sequential Circuits Pro-One 

Your Dream Line up (self included) 

Whoever’s playing with me at the Dirtybird Campout in October. 

If you had to DJ a 3hr set of a different Genre what would it be? 

3 hours is a long set to play hip-hop, and I totally suck at playing hip-hop, 

but that’s the other genre I wish I could play. Hip-hop is so fun! 

One sentence that defines house and techno music? 

This is tuff…. Kick drum based music at that tempo that just makes 

people (or me at least) have to move their bodies and dance. 

49

On the cover: 

J.Phlip 

Issue AM013 

50 


@AudiationMag 

AudiationMagazine 

info@AudiationMagazine.com 

www.AudiationMagazine.com 

With love 

Mizz Ruby, Rokuro, Cessle, Sarah, Malachi & Andy xx

Audiation 

AM013 Copyright 2015 © Audiation Magazine Ltd

AM013

Create successful ePaper yourself

Delete template?

Save as template?