Phil Asher:restless soul productions One of the unsung heroes of British House, but by no means an underachiever. He is undoubtedly one of the UKs most proficient deejays/producers and has been indispensable to the progressive musical landscape over the past decade. As a well respected producer, Phil has completed well in excess of 100 of his own productions, as well as innumerable remixes, all of which receiving high critical acclaim. From his first gig at Londons first House club Delirium in 1991 (slipping on a record when Noel Watson went to the toilet) to more recent gigs at, Off Centre at 333, and Soul Heaven at Ministry of Sound in London and Angels of Love in Italy, Phil has played the length and breadth of the UK, as well as much of Europe. Italy, Germany, Switzerland, Portugal, France, Brazil, the Cÿte D'azur, Japan, Dubai, Croatia, Canada, The States, New- Zealand and Australia will all bare testaments to Phil's prowess behind the turntables. Surrounded by music and records from an early age; his Dad worked in a record chain-store, bringing home all the latest releases to a young and eager Phil, who, unbeknownst to his Father, would take them to school and sell them to his friends. Says Phil "...when anything came out, my Dad would bring it back to me: I had the first Specials record, the first Electric Light Orchestra record... He'd also bring me little boxes of returns and stuff. We'd sell them at school fairs. All the other kids would be doing Bob the Apple, and we'd be getting these twenty seven year old punks coming up from the Kings Road for Clash box sets at twenty quid a go. We knew what was going on... This entrepreneurial spirit saw Phil going on to work in Quaff Records and Vinyl Solution, two of Londons finest record stores, instrumental in pushing quality House and Garage to London. When asked, Phil is always reluctant to say what it is he actually plays: 'At our club on a Friday night (The Notting Hill Arts Club with Patrick Forge), I play Jazz, Latin, Classics, Disco and hip hop and Funk; Saturday nights are cutting edge house music. I play music from every category as long as its good quality timeless music with big productions...' Along with Luke McCarthy, Phil is the founding member of the restless soul Production Team, which also incorporates producers Modaji, (Laws of Motion Records) Taxi Driver, (Estereo Records), and Roy Marsh, Aaron Ross and Felix Hopkins (also his trusty engineer). He also produces under various aliases, which include Basic Soul and Electric Soul with ex-partner Luke McCarthy, Woolph, Phoojun alongside Nathan Haines, Focus and 12-bit Rephugees with Mark de Clive-Lowe. As well as working under various guises he is also recognised as being one of the pioneering forces in the West London (Broken beat) movement. Phil has been an instrumental part to the scene, from being a founding member of the CO-OP club alongside Dego, I.G Culture and Demus to representing and promoting the West London sound worldwide. He is one of those hardworking soul soldiers trying to unite the love for soulful music, breaking down musical frontiers and releasing an eclectic output of quality music. His first album production was for New Zealands jazz hero Nathan Haines. The production of ‰Sound Travels really showed Phils true skills. The album contained reggae, house, broken beats, and straight up jazz. It gained huge support from all over the world as well as brilliant reviews. Three years down the track and the collaboration continues.Nathan Haines second albumÓSquire for HireÓ has recently been released. Again you can hear the distinct yet eclectic sound of Phils writing and production skills. In 2002 French label Versatile approached him to produce an album. The label bosses used the exact words of, ²you can do whatever you wantÓ. He did just that and the result is ²Sweet and SourÓ a bittersweet journey into the eclectic preferences of Phil Asher. The Co-op anthem ²Having your FunÓ rocked the dancefloors on all music genres. The most recent project for Phil has been producing the incredibly vocally talented Vanessa Freeman. With her work from the two Nathan Haines albums it is no surprise that this collaboration has taken place. This latest album shows another side to Phils producing talent. Its neo-soul with a twist. Shades will be released summer 2004. Phil is now fully back into Writing & Production modes,and welcomes any decent proposals. Phil has just finished remixing a new Bah Samba song ²let the drums singÓ Geofrey Williams ²somewhere on a beachÓ NO Tenshun ²AmaranteÓ and Champion Soul ²Holding OnÓ. As well restless soul are about to launch there record label and website in the next month or two. The first release on the label will be Phil Ashers ²Namby it AintÓ As quoted by journalist Jan Peeters, ÓBut Phil Asher isnt through yet. With an admirable sense of energy and spontaneity hell encounter anything that crosses his many paths and turn it into a musical piece of art. Phil Asher truly isôa master at work.Ó (Plastiks 58) |
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