Phonetics

From this month I'll start a new feature presenting every month a belgian dj (interview + mix).



Phonetics (54 Kolaktiv, I&I Relations) Brussels
Contact: virb phonetics myspace dj_phonetics@hotmail.Com
Crew: virb 54 Kolaktiv myspace
Blog: phoneticbrussels.blogspot.com




When did you start getting involved in music?
When I was about 12 years old I bought Fat of the Land (Prodigy), you can say that I got introduced by this record with breakz. My first contact with dj'ing was with hiphop, starting with Run DMC and Nas (It was written), Dr Dre, Beasty Boys. I started scratching and got into turntabelism. I still buy hiphop now (direction Stonesthrow). Trough hiphop I got into drum and bass and jungle. I got more interested in breakz with mc's and then I found 'Are you really from the ends' (Jammer vs. Bigga remixes), my first grime vinyl. I started to listen to Garage or/and Sublow, I bought Ammunition records and souljah releases which I found in Stress da Bass and Doctor Vinyl (record shops in Brussels). On the internet I was looking for garage/sublow with mc's. I heard of dublate.net but I never ordered records through the internet. Because it's easy to discover things in record shops, I prefered to buy my vinyl there. I knew some names form the internet what made it more easy for me to find the records in the stores. That's how I found my first dubstep records. Now my focus lies mainly in dubstep, but I also buy and play a lot of jazz, hiphop, funk, jungle, 4*4, some core, dub, reggae, garage and mainly everything I like.

Describe yourself musicaly
On dubstep parties I play dubstep/grime, I like dubstep in the direction of 2562 but I also like Kromestar or the whole grime thing. On parties where other music gets played my record choice goes from funk, reggae, breakcore, breaks, garage, hiphop, jazz, jungle to minimal. I prefer really long sets where you get the time to build up your set and where you can play everything you like. I find it hard to focus on one genre, but dubstep is an excellent genre to mix other music with. You can play it with reggae/dub but also go more into the direction of minimal or breakz.

What is 54 Kolaktiv?
54 consists out of a group of friends that used to do different
creative things but all seperatly. Last year we decided to group our creativity and thats how 54 Kolaktiv got started. At this moment we don't really have a clear vision of our crew, since our crew is still too young for that. The crew consist out of +/- 20 people. The people who are doing something with music are: Ezzy, Yurin, Mezzdub, Walrus, Rudykarton, Viktor Sagat… Apart from that you got people who are busy doing their thing in graffiti, music, drawing, animation, graphic design, photography, film... Some other names: Peachlover, Soundboi Marla Johnson, Nalish Karkhalash, Pinckers, Tentakelman, Gerardfranz, Paranoiak, Ketaminny Mouse, Billy From Belgium...
In the future you can expect some expositions and parties.
On our first party mostly breakcore got played, but there will be more dubstep in the future. The goal of our parties is not to bring one genre, but a wide variety of different styles.
We got a lot of plans and ideas and we hope to realize them soon!

Can you see a difference between Brussels and other cities? Do you think Brussels has got his own sound
No, for me dubstep has got no strict sound, its a genre with a lot of different influences. The only way to describe dubstep is saying that the beat is ranging between 135 and 145 bpm, but with influences out of techno, grime, 2step, reggae, hiphop...
If Brussels would have it's own sound and style, that would mean, it think, that Brussels producers tried to copy eachother. I like the idea that dubstep still has not a real sound, too bad that more and more new productions are going in the same direction. I hope there never will be subgenres in dubstep. Giving names is dangerous, because that way you exclude other things.

What do you think of the Belgian dubstep scene, what's unique about it?
There is not really something unique about Belgian dubstep, we got a lot of nice parties, good dj's and some good producers. I don't really think there is a lot of difference with let's say the Netherlands, Germany or Finland. Belgium is certainly in the top 5 of countries that are doing good things with dubstep (especially for the size of our country). We
can thank a lot to Bunzer0, who is giving our country a lot of
attention internationally.

Is there any Belgian dj or producer who you really like at this moment?
Bunzer0 is the dj with the most skills and the biggest amount of fresh stuff. I've already seen him play a lot of times, but he still keeps on surprising me. I haven't yet got the chance to see Flow and Fhex play live, but I like their mixes a lot. Grimelock are one of the only crews who keep promoting the grime sound, which is a good thing. There are not really bad dubstep dj's in this country, but I haven't found another Pinch, N-Type, or Joe Nice here. But like I said before, if you put this in context of our little country, we're doing really well!
Dj vanno is together with bunzero the guy who made me listen and know about dubstep... Together there are technicly and slection wise the two best djs... Many people forget vanno as a dubstep dj but he was the first to present us a dubstep party... (mutant hiphop).

You think it is easy to break through as a Belgian dj/producer?
It's always a difficult job to break trough as a dj, unless you got involved from the beginning and spend all of your time in it. That is what Bunzer0 did and now he can thank his international fame to it. If some of our producers get some releases, I think they are going to get booked in the next couple of years.

How do you see the scene evolve in the folowing years?
I hope the scene will keep on innovating itself, there are already too much things that sound too much alike. I hope on hearing more halfstep with 4x4 influences. I miss the basses that you can feel instead of hearing them. People sometime sneed to quit the wobwob a bit and go on with some meditation or 4*4 business or just find a perfect balance between the two. I sometimes miss the bass like on I (loefah remix) where you cant hear the bass but just feel the bass. No wopwop, just a good kick in the belly. But for now there are still a lot of good things that get released to keep me going further into this genre.

How do you see your own sound evolving?
At this moment my sound is still really basic, I haven't really got a lot of time to put time in producing, because of dj'ing and school.

What do you see as an important moment in your dj carreer?
My 5 hour set in the Tavernier was one of the best experiences I got in the last years. Going from funk to 90's, breakz, garage and dubstep.
Subfm b2b with Bunzer0 was a lot of fun, because I never expected to play with him. Playing in Portugal this summer was a great experience. Especially Kubik was great, because of the amazing location. Met a lot of nice people overthere. (Again thanks to Conspira, Mushug, Joel, Sofia,…)

How do you describe the mix you presented here?
I describe it as a chilled mix to listen at home or in the car. Changing from dub to vinyl, to dub because I only got one cdplayer (if I got another I would have played more dubs). You can't compare this mix to something what I would play on a party. If you are curious about that you should come and see me play. Hermutt Lobby, track 4, is a Belgium name you should keep an eye on, they are a promising crew out of Verviers (Liege), making electronic beats.

Where and when can we expect to see you on the line up?
12/10: 't Schabernak Brussels with Grimelock, Ezzy, Yurin...
27/10: Clash of the Cultures @ ICC, Ghent with Bogdan Raczynsky, Ital Tek, Mate, Limewax...
2/11: 54 Labelnight @ JH neerpede

Download Mix
1 //////// Misk - Gebel (dub)
2 //////// Henry & Louis - Answer (Pinch remix)
3 //////// Dutty Dubz - Asian trip (Genetik.Krew remix) (dub)
4 //////// Herrmutt lobby - Achi Carpender (Official release from Belgium)
5 //////// Downliners Sekt - Benz (dub)
6 //////// Gravious - Fall
7 //////// Grimelock - Glow (dub)
8 //////// Scuba - Braille diving
9 //////// Telepopmusik - Smile (Kojak Remix) (dub)
10 ////// Digital Mystikz - I wait
11 ////// Ka vs. Enei - Opium (dub)
12 ////// Scuba - Respirator
12 ////// Toxin - Speakeasy (dub)
13 ////// Benga - Unkown (dubstars 009)
14 ////// Parson ft. Smoke - Babylon compressed (dub)
15 ////// Shed - Marque (Made up remix)