Dub Phizix in Cape Town! YAY! For those of you who do not know, Dub Phizix’s beats are a stable in the world of drum n bass but his track Marka skyrocketed him even further onto the international scene. This week Dub Phizix’s playing in Cape Town! BCTC caught up with him to learn a bit more about his work.
BCTC: What came first? Was creating music for television such as MTV and BBC a symbiotic relationship or were you already producing hits before being commissioned for television?
DP: Yeah it’s all related. Although the music I was making for tv was completely different from the music I’m making now and I certainly wasn’t making hits. In fact I’m still not, you should see my bank balance.
I’ve always made music and I ran a studio where I was engineering and producing for people for years so I was used to making all kinds of styles. When the opportunity came to work on the adverts it was an easy decision. Eventually I was doing much more of my own music so I don’t really have the time to pitch for commissions anymore but it was a cool thing to do and I had some interesting ones. The maddest being “Do a cover of ‘Merry Christmas Everybody’ by Shakin Stevens in the style of Girls Aloud. I didn’t get that job.
BCTC: What was your initial goal when you started producing? Was your goal to create music that reached the tiny corners of South Africa or were you just in it for the passion?
DP: I kind of see those two things as the same to be honest. I’m not one of these guys who just makes music solely for himself. Music is an emotional thing. I need to feel some emotion when I make it which means I then want to other people to feel the same thing, thats the passion.
I’ve always been like that though, so yeah I reckon my goal was to come to places like South Africa, even if I never thought it directly. There are mad places I thought I’d never be such as Bombay or Liverpool.
BCTC: What’s the greatest misconception about producing or something that people don’t know/realise about writing drum n bass music?
DP: People think we make loads of money. We don’t.
BCTC: How long did it take you to produce Marka and what did you think when you started formulating the track? Did you know that it was a hit?
DP: About 20 minutes. Total fluke.
BCTC: When I first heard Marka I thought it was mumbo jumbo until greater drum n bass experts than myself looked down on me 😉 Do you know all Skeptical’s lyrics in Marka or have you resided to the mysterious wisdom that it is?
DP: It’s actually Strategy on the vocals but you’re right it’s total nonsense. And Skeptical would have written much better bars.
Apologies on my part for that typo! #InterviewFail
BCTC: Your latest single Im A Creator featuring Skittles has an epic video. How much do you have to do with video conception? (Do you get to pick a story line?)
DP: That one was probably the one I had the least amount of input in. It was done by a guy called Maxim Sullivan and his company Born Yesterday. The others I had a lot to do with. ‘Marka’ was Strategy’s idea and me and him developed it and arrange it all. Tom Doran shot it though and he was really important in making it look how it does. ‘Never Been’ was actually shot by Skittles. We did it in a day and it was edited the next day. It was intended to look a bit shit and bootleg but even that takes as much planning. As much as I enjoy doing videos, I couldn’t do it full time – it’s long.
BCTC: Have you visited South Africa before?
DP: This is my 4th time as I have family over here. I love this country.
BCTC: Where’s the strangest place that you’ve ever heard your own music?
DP: Liverpool
BCTC: What are you expecting from the SA Drum n Bass audience?
DP: I’m not sure, to be honest, as I’ve never been to a night here but I’m hearing good reports so I’m hoping it’s a bit rowdy.
BCTC: Have you heard anything about drum n bass work here, contributors such as Counterstrike or Barcode Recordings?
DP: Yeah of course. Love both of those. It’s not really the drum and bass I make now but I’m really into it. I’ve got loads of early barcode in my vinyl collection.
BCTC: Do you continue to produce when you’re away from the UK or do you just focus on having a good holiday?
DP: I actually find it hard to write on the laptop so I’m not as busy as I’d like when I’m away but I do try. It’s never a holiday tho haha
BCTC: Are there any touristy things that you’d like to do during your time here so that the readers can start offering you cheap rates? 😉
DP: Yeah loads of drugs ;]
Catch Dub Phizix this Thursday night at It Came From The Jungle. Here’s the Facebook event with all the details. Can’t wait! Let’s “Go Ape”!
