A true legend of the DnB scene, Phantasy has been involved in dance music since the acid house explosion of the late ‘80s, and is best known these days for rinsing out proper badboy old skool jungle and DnB sets. Benz caught up with him as he prepares for his set at History of Dance at Koko in London on Saturday 29^th July….

I hear you made quite an impressive blag to gain your first set in a club in London...pray tell?

Hahaha! Where did you hear that? It was actually in Ibiza. What happened was that I was over there in the summer of ‘88 and whilst going to all the clubs out there I was not impressed with the DJs or the music they were playing. So I went into a club called Play 2 and asked the manager if I could play at his club. I told him I was a Top London DJ and he said yes there and then. I then said to him, "I haven’t brought my records with me" and he said that was not a problem as he had every record that was out and pointed to a wall full of records. At the time I had just normal belt drive decks and I could mix on them so when I touched the 1210's for the first time, I took to them like a duck to water. He told me to be there at 5am and I played till 10am when the club finished and knew at that point that this was it... this was what I wanted to do professionally. I came home and started really pushing myself and that’s how it all started at club level.

What made you fall in love with dance music in the first place?

Well, coming from a football background and going all over the with Chelsea, causing havoc, visiting over 80 of the 92 leauge club grounds that there were, the one thing I noticed was the unity everyone had and felt with each other. I was at a party held by Paul Ibiza & Phil Desire called "The Fantastic Ibiza" and at the party were firms from Chelsea, Arsenal, West Ham, Spurs and Millwall...and you know what, there was no trouble. Everyone was there having a great time, enjoying themselves and chatting to each other. This to me was so weird as it was not the norm for these firms to be in one place and there not be any trouble.

The other thing that really struck me was that all different races were together under one roof, sharing one vibe and I was hooked. Aside from that, the music was amazing and it was the combination of everything that made me get hooked. And I'm still hooked. Absolutely love it and there's also a spate of old acid house parties poppin’ up again, which I think is great as it will give the people around now a chance to relive the vibes we felt back then, not knowing where the party was and if it was even going to be on.... Those were great days! Haha.

What are your funniest stories from those heady acid house days?

Man.... Ermmmm! So many.. haha.. I think you will have to read my book for these... as there’s so many different storys that have happened, not just in the acid house days but over my whole career, I don’t think that your web server will be happy with the amount of space being used. Haha.

Did you have any mentors as you were getting into DJing properly? Who helped you along your way?

Yes, defo…that would have to be Carl Cox. An absolute gentleman. A true friend, who really helped me out and believed in me. That’s also probably a reason I still play how I do today because in that era, Carl and Myself used to get two records and create a new record or sound by chopping and matching and I still kinda do that to this day. Just trying to be a bit different. Plus Carl was the original 3 Deck Wizard and I've started doing shows using 4 Decks in the last year or so but again, I’m doing that to try just do something a little different to everyone who seems to be wanting to do the same thing. You gotta try stand out as a DJ and Entertain or what's the point of playing. Also, Mickey Finn was another person who helped me out. He also had faith in what I could do and told promoters about me, which in turn lead to bookings and the combination of both of them helped me get the kick start. I come into this business on my own, not through any crews or anything. I met Carl and Mickey along the way and become really good friends with them. They could see a potential in me and Carl could see the hunger.

Also, I gotta mention me old partner in crime, DJ Gemini (the original), who tried to keep me on my toes, as he was one heavy heavy DJ. I've never let what I do go to my head and with someone like Gemini around, you can't because he would just tell you about yourself! But thankfully he's never had to tell me nothing...come to think of it... it was me telling him... scrap that last bit.. hahahah.. joke...!

Do you still go clubbing much for pleasure or are you in clubs enough when you are DJing?

Great question. To be honest, I get great pleasure going to clubs and I am lucky enough to be out there performing, somewhere in the world every week. I love nothing more than getting to a club, meeting up with people and having a laugh. I hate chatting business in a club as I don't think it's the right place to do it. When I'm abroad, I usually spend the rest of the night after my set chatting to the local ravers, taking pics and signing stuff for them. I also, always bring free CDs of myself to give to the people as I don't think enough is done to show them how much we appreciate them. After all, if it wasn't for them, we wouldn’t be here doing our thing. When I have a night off, I chill with my family as I'm always out doing something and also, with the amount of work there is to do in the day, I need my time to recharge my batteries.

In 2006 – which producers and DJs are exciting you?

Tough question. There are so many that it would be unfair of me to mention any one person or crew above any others. I am always looking for the newest, freshest artists out there and being in the position I am, use that to try get them heard by the general public. Saying that, I get so many demos from DJs, MCs and producers each week that it's impossible to keep up with everyone. I just think we need a healthy influx of new artists coming through to merge with the artists already there, to help keep the scene bubbling and the sound fresh.

Look at Funki (Freedom 2 Dance promoter)...he is of the same mindset, by helping really talented DJs get through a door that seems like it's always closed. I look for the same kinda thing but I need them to be producing tracks that can be picked up by the bigger DJs, which will in turn lead to them getting their tracks played out, which leads to them performing at Clubs.

You are laying down a 2000 – present day Drum ‘n’ Bass set at History of Dance on July 29th...how do you feel DnB has changed over the last 6 years?

It's always changing. I think that there are so many styles which can be all played under one roof now and the common factor in all of the tracks are that they are dancefloor orientated. It don’t matter if the tune is hard, mellow, ragga or has an MC chatting in it.... The common factor is that the tunes have big drops and they make the crowd go mad and jump up in the clubs…

For me, I like to entertain. That's the most important thing for me. I'm not at the club to impress another DJ or MC. I'm there to cater for the crowd. I will leave all that other stuff to everyone else. I do my sets with passion, with heart and always with the crowd in my thoughts.

Who else on the line-up should we look out for?

Let me go through them all...

Rob Blake..What can we say about the marathon man? He has one of the vastest selection of records around. This guy is an amazing DJ and that’s why you always see him on Funki's parties. He can play any style you want and usually does chuck in every style of music in one set. Great DJ.......

Squirrel...Me ol' mucka. haha. You know you are gonna get a fat set of Old Skool meets New Skool breaks from this guy. Such a nice person who has been around for years and is still always happy.......

The Rat Pack.. Words can't describe the respect I have for these two guys. They have been around for ever and are still as great and entertaining as they were back in the day. The original DJ, MC team, they are complete favorites with the crowd and with the artists alike. I’ve been abroad with them on many occasions doing gigs and one thing you must know, if you are away with them, don't expect to sleep for the whole time they are there with you. The original party animals who have time for everyone. I’ve never seen them get pissed off with anyone even when they are stressed out or tired. Proper Geezers!....

Nicky Black Market.. One of my best mates in the scene alongside DJ Hype. Nicky is a top guy, always has a smile on his face and he plays wicked sets. Our families are friends as well so anything more I say about him, people might think I'm being biased…haha....

Kenny Ken. He is gonna give you a true jungle set. One of the straight talkers of our scene. He will always be honest with you and what you see is what you get. A real gent and one of the DJs who was around in the very beginning of the acid house era, who is still mashing it up today.

Slipmatt... A legend in the Old Skool scene, who again can play many different styles of music. I've known him for years and he used to have long hair like mine, then he got it cut off....now he tells me, that I should get mine cut off.. haha. Thing is Matt, you got one of those chisel jawlines... so your shaved head looks kool...if I got mine shaved I would look like a football... hahaha...anyway, ‘nuff of that. You know you are gonna get the big anthems off him but with a twist. He has a whole set of tracks with different mixes that no one else has. Now that's what I mean when I talk about doing something to make yourself stand out.

Sense... I’ve only met him through playing at Funki’s parties but he is living proof of what playing for Moondance or any of Funki’s parties can do for you. A really nice guy, who plays wicked sets and has quickly grasped the idea of how to play to a crowd. Expect some big dancefloor smashers from him...

Snypa... He's been around for many years now and although I don't know much about him the one thing I do know is that he plays records that others might be a bit worried about playing. Last time I heard him at Moondance, he was playing tunes that were anthems but were records that no else had played that night...but be sure they would be searching for some of them for future sets. I like DJs who dig deep in their creates and are not afraid to be daring.

Obviously the vibe at club events has generally changed somewhat since the early days of rave culture...do you think History of Dance still has that atmosphere?

Yes defo! And I'm not just saying that. Get down there if you don't believe me. These nights are all about vibes. That's why the line ups are so widespread. All the different styles under one roof. It’s all about building the crowd up to a frenzy. The one thing about all EHM events is that you always get a really great vibe. Everyone goes there with one thing in mind... to have a great night and party like it’s on sale for £9.99...and it usually is on sale..... Because HoD don't take the piss out of the ravers by trying to charge them silly money to get in. They keep it moderate and have built up a serious fan base off the back of it. Don't get me wrong....everywhere I go I see places with great vibes but there’s something special about these parties. I know people who are into all sorts of different music, house, breaks, hip hop etc, who will go out to one of these nights.... so for me I think it brings the different music cultures together....

What was the last tune that made the hairs on the back of your neck stand up?

The one I'm humming now.... hahaha. Dunno...that's a hard one.... erm.... without wanting to sound like I'm promoting myself but the new track Shodan and Myself have done with YT called “England Story”. That tune gave me some serious vibes... when I first heard the vocal I knew that we could do something big with it and thank God, it's really blowing up…so much so, that there’s now an album being made off the back of it, which will have Artists like, Roni Size (Firefox), Shy FX, Bassline Smith, Top Cat, UK Apache, Skibadee, Ragga Twins and Navigator to name just a few....the first project in Drum ‘n’ Bass that is actually pulling people together from different crews......

Interview by Benz

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