Feed Your Stereo: Phil Kieran Recorded Live in Austria

Raised in Belfast and coming of musical age in the burgeoning world of UK electronica living through the beginning of dance music’s hold on the nation, Phil Kieran was born into a time of possibility and the unknown. Not strictly belonging to any genre or one form of electronic music he’s released on labels as varied as DJ Hell’s International Deejay Gigolos and Svan Vath’s Cocoon dynasty. Sometimes you can hear dub reverb kicking out above ethereal pauses or others it’s the foot stomping grooves, sounds and effects that illuminate whatever beat Phil Kieran chooses to play with. The resulting effect of this amalgamation of sounds is an encapsulating sonic experience; just click onto this live set he recorded earlier this year to get a taste of what he’ll bringing to The Nothing Special in Room Two next Saturday. Hi Phil - thanks for speaking to us today - please can you introduce yourself to our blog readers? Hello my name is Phil Kieran. Who were your early influences in electronic music - when did you first get turned onto it? I look back and just remember a time of Screamadelica, Andrew Weatherall, David Holmes, Black Dog, Autechre, Warp Records, The Orb, Orbital, R&S, Aphex Twin, Carl Craig and Basic Channel. You were born and raised in Belfast it’s a mad place for the people who love music - how does it compare to you for other cities? Belfast is really healthy for music in all forms from guitar to techno and everything in between, it seems to be just getting better. I am feeling quite optimistic about the place, no moaning from me. What’s the club scene like too? There’s really strict licensing I heard parties finish at 3am no later? Yeah it’s tough in that respect, but when I first went to nights in art college it finished at 1am - that was just weird. Even with 3 am kick out people just pile out and go to a party somewhere, it’s not like everybody goes to bed - healthy living is one thing we could improve on. You’ve used your label to release local talent is that right? How’s it been received and what’s the music been like? Actually its kind of the opposite, apart from my collaborations with green velvet, all the releases have been my material and I’ve got remixes from other international artists, I see it as a platform for my own sound. Max Cooper is the closet to a Belfast artist, but he has lived in England most of his adult life now. What do you have in the pipeline for the label now? i have a huge package for release on December 6th, it’s all the best releases on the label and I’ve got some great artists like Jamie Jones, Marc Houle, Patrick Lyndsey, Xhin, Max Cooper, Hrdvsion, Green Velvet, Jesper Dahlback, Egbert and of course myself, I feel really proud of it and I’m hoping it will do well. Your own body of work is varied - from tech edged techno to synth ridden electro -International Deejay Gigolos, Cocoon and Electric Deluxe - why do you think your production has this breadth? I’m working with a band from Swansea called ‘White Noise Sound’ it’s like psychadelic rock, I’ve also just finished my new album which is all songs that I’m doing vocals on. In answer to your question - I just like to feel challenged - if it ever feels like a job then it’s time to move on. Too many guys out there are making a career out of churning out generic dance music with no originality. I think most of them are just trying to score gigs. It doesn’t move music on if we all just make the same shit all the time. I just get bored really easily and need new challenges. There’s so much that’s happened with you in your 10 year career - what have been the moments that stand out for you? My first couple of years releasing records was very exciting, it felt great. Starting ‘Alloy Mental’ was a real journey, learning how to record a band, play live and go on tour with a band, it has its ups and downs but was a big learning experience. A recent moment that stands out was finding out Martin Gore from Depeche Mode was into my music. I’m told he was able to pick one artist himself for a remix and he chose me! When you hear something like that, suddenly it just gives you a huge boost, it really meant something to me. Which tracks stand out for you to looking back from now to your first release - if you were going to introduce someone to your production which would you choose to start with? Actually, my very first release I’m still quite proud of. It was on a Dublin label, one of the tracks was called ‘Hermaphrodite Invader’ - stick that in yer pipe and smoke it! Present day, I would point people in the direction of my first album on Cocoon, until I get this next album out which is a totally different direction. I think it explains how I feel about music for now. Phil Kieran - Hermaphrodite Invader Do you prefer to play live do you still DJ? Or has it always been about playing live for you? To be honest I hated the idea of doing on of these Ableton live sets with a labpot and controller, but after doing the live visual shows I got a real taste for the programme. I think it works really well with techno, I can just stream different tracks in and out and with some great effects - I always feel like I’m trying something new. It’s just different to DJing. But then sometimes I just like a bag of CD’s, have a few beers and feel like it’s a party I spend so much of my life with my face in a computer screen sometimes it’s nice to just enjoy the music and not get bogged down with all the technicalities. It’s good to let a track breathe sometimes and not fuck around with it too much. Phil Kieran - Dirt What’s next for you - any plans in stone for 2012 yet? I’m just starting to nail down some South American tours, European gigs and my big thing for 2012 is to get my new album out. It’s going to surprise people as it’s all verse chorus style song writing with myself and a few friends singing on it - I feel really excited about it.