Who are you?
YOO! We are Phase Records DNB. Founded by myself Gifta but pretty much everyone calls me Gabs. Since its creation, I have more or less run the label completely by myself but as we have grown and got busier, my label resident DJ and producer O/MEGA has stepped up into the role of label manager. He helps me with A&R, has great ideas, helps me out with tasks I don’t always feel like doing but need to be done and comes to networking events with me… it helps that we’re also super close friends too because we lead and work together with genuine love and respect. I, and Phase are lucky are to have him!
What’s your ethos?
Our ethos is to grow and nurture a community of talented and passionate misfits. All of us in Phase have got something a little bit different or quirky about us. Whether that be our sound or personality. We’re close, it’s a family affair! We want to help each other and the people we work with fulfil their potential and have a group of people they can trust, rely on and feel consistently supported by.
Tell Us Your Origin Story…
I lost my job during the COVID-19 pandemic and took it as a sign to just throw myself into music for a bit. The whole drum and bass scene went online and so did I. I created a Facebook page for myself and others to stream DJ sets from. That’s when I met Premonition. We became close very quickly. After some time of running the streaming page and meeting loads of other DJs and producers, they were like to me “Gabs look, you’re good at this. You can find talent and really motivate people, why don’t you make this a label.” After that, it all just snowballed and got crazy and busy. Now, here we are!
Where are you based?
I am based in East London but our label is international. We have resident artists dotted about all over the UK and abroad too. We represent talent and music from Italy, Austria, Japan, New Zealand, Canada, America, South Africa, Czech Republic, The Netherlands and Spain. It’s amazing really! London is definitely a tough cookie to crack but we will go wherever we are wanted!
Do you have a specific sound or vibe?
Our sound and vibe is complex to explain. It’s best described as a theme of darkness. But darkness and dark drum and bass have so many interpretations. Because art and music are subjective right? We want to push this… some people thrive in the dark, some fear it, and some run towards the light at the end of dark tunnels. Equally, some welcome it. I like to believe we are too maximal to be considered a minimal drum and bass label, but too minimal to be a label categorised by purely heavy music. It was during one of our first-ever label nights that we jokingly coined the term ‘Skatamal’ and it kinda just stuck.
Do you have a regular artist roster- who can we see releasing with you?
We do have a regular roster of producers. My residents tend to take priority in our release schedule. That, currently, includes Dapreme, Xyde, Premonition and their solo alias’, Artillery, R3IDY, Charis, Miyamoro, Ekstatic, Vispera and myself. We also have an extended family who release with us regularly because they really embody our sound, vibe and ethos. So that would be Ominous, Inertia, Kevala, Albees, Furious Freaks and Noise Parfumerie. We also have really exciting releases coming from C-DU, Exile and Coppa and a huge remix album on its way too featuring many of our idols!
Tell us about your A&R process…
I’m always looking for new producers. I scout hard on Instagram, Soundcloud and Spotify. I’m always networking online and offline and most of our releases have come off the back of building a relationship first. Usually started by me fan-girling in the DM’s over a track or release I’ve heard from the producer. Laurence (O/MEGA) is really good at A&R too and follows my way of doing things with that. We watch people for a while, we get to know people. We’re picky, but we are open-minded and want to work with driven and passionate people who have something unique about them. Laurence knows what I like, but we’re also super honest with each other and with our producers. We want the best for them, we want them to grow, feel supported and we want the best for our label. We’re quite hands on with the entire process.
What makes you different from other labels?
I do think our community vibe is special and our dedication to growing artists to be well-rounded. We will coach you on absolutely anything and everything. From production to DJing and finding your sound, growing your social media and understanding and navigating the music business world. We also really support artists spreading their wings and finding success outside of our label. I am always looking for opportunities for my people to do things away from the brand because I want to see them fly! Everyone’s goals are different, and we do our best to lead and support with this mind.
What does it take to run a bass music label in 2024?
Resilience, organisation, patience, discipline, consistency, flair, tenacity, determination, the ability to say ‘no’, visibility… I could go on and on about this! It’s hard work, it takes sacrifice. You have to love what you’re doing and do it with absolute conviction.
What have you got coming up we should look out for?
We have our own stage at Hospitality on The Beach this year with Waeys headlining our stage. It’s a huge honour for us as a team and I Have to give thanks to Chris Goss and Hospital Records for their belief in me and our team. Aside from that, keep expecting monthly releases and of course our big remix project to start 2025 as well as the continuation of our Between The Beats podcast!
Follow Phase Records DNB: Instagram/TikTok/Soundcloud
