12″ Phildo
12″ Phildo………………
Beginning with the alias P. Rogers at the age of 19, his music was released on Adelaide label Bark Bang as the first of three vinyl pressings. This was, in part, collabatory release with Sidwho (of The Swiss fame) and also featured solo work by Phil. Working with the producers involved with Bark Bang gave Phil invaluable insights into producing music at his young age.
This education continued with long stints of studio work with The Carter Bros and Sidwho on projects such as remixes of bands (including Wolf & Cub, The Swiss, LadyStrangelove) and a two month recording and post production project. The knowledge gained was put to good use in 2008 when Phil collaborated with longtime friend Ben Smith. Under the guise Flowerpot, the duo entered a Remix competition for German minimal label Rrygular, a sub label of the long running Mo’s Ferry. The pair won the comp and their remix of Marek bois (aka Dapayk) was released on vinyl soon after.
All of this interest in electronic music and production stemmed from an early intoduction into night club life. At the age of 17 he was working at the infamous Sugar night club in Adelaide, a haven at the time for cool underground music, where artists like the Australian legend HMC could be found on a regular basis, as well as The Carter Bros, and Sidwho. This was enough inspiration for any impressionable young lad, and it wasn’t long before hordes of records were being purchased and dj gigs were being sourced!
Listening to one of Phil’s sets these days it’s obvious where his first residency was; a small dark after hours night club called Mile High, where he played 4am-9am every Friday with MartinHo and Fission Theory. These late night/early morning sets were a massive influence on his djing as well as his production – sculpting a cavernous, deep, liquid feel about his music, and also a deep understanding of dance floor tracks, and how to move a crowd.
In early 2008 Phil along with his sister opened a night club in the heart of Adelaide’s late night district called Cuckoo Bar. Adelaide’s underground music scene had long since needed a hub for their lesser known artists to flourish and for the established creators and djs to spread their wings, Cuckoo was to be just that. With a strong focus on quality music, through a quality sound system, the club has established itself as one of the top places to hear underground House, Techno, Disco and Minimal. Artists such as Steve Bug, Pepe Bradock, Glimpse, Recloose, Dapayk & Padberg, Tom Clark, and Luca Bacchetti all have played at Cuckoo.
In 2009 Phil started the label Cuckoo Music, an outlet for his own music, as well as the long list of talented local Adelaide artists. The first release was a full length album by the much loved duo The Carter Bros. This was The Carters third full length album and was a hit worldwide, topping the Juno charts for more than a week. Plans for upcoming releases include a two part Various Artist E.P featuring all Adelaide producers, both young and old!
