You asked for some more minimal dubstep? PHRVA is here to deliver. He started this project in 2023 and only two years later, he’s already toured with Tape B, has played Lightning in a Bottle, and has made his debut on Deadbeats with the single ‘Collected’, with a whole EP to follow later this year.
PHRVA came up listening to the 1985 crew, Deep Dark and Dangerous, but took a little bit of a detour when he started producing more maximalist dubstep for his other projects. In 2023, he decided to go back to where it first started: pop music and 140. And so, a new project was born. One where he flipped his favourite pop tunes, and one where he found a space for creating the sound he grew up with.
In this chat he talks all about how he started creating his flips, how he found his way back to minimal dubstep, and what more there is to come for PHRVA.
You’ve recently released ‘Collected’ on Deadbeats, after only having started this project back in 2023. That’s massive!
It’s been surprising in a good way. I had a lot of music that I was sitting on, and I focused a lot on consistency by putting out flips and original music. The goal was to put something out once every three weeks to keep it moving. I didn’t expect it to do this well this quickly. I’m glad that it’s going well and that I’m starting to get some of these originals out.
Talking about those flips you’re putting out, they’ve been doing really well. When did you notice they were getting popular?
Off the bat I was surprised at some of the reception. The big one was when the Billie Eilish flip came out. That one went way beyond where I thought it would go. And then to think I almost didn’t put that one out! I had given it to a friend to play at a show, and the reaction was fine but it wasn’t that crazy. But then seeing other people play the music was the part that really motivated me to keep going. The same goes for my own music. Because even early on, before I had released any of the music, I was sending it to people and they were playing some of it, and it was getting good crowd reactions. For this type of music, that’s so important. It’s live music at the end of the day, so seeing other artists that I look up to, artists that I’m friends with, being able to play it and get a good reaction, that was a good signal for me to keep doing what I was doing.
For those who don’t know, the flips we’re talking about are songs like ‘Messy’ by Lola Young, or ‘Guess’ by Charli xcx. Where does your interest in mixing 140 and pop music come from?
I listen to pop a lot. I like good songwriting at the end of the day and pop has good songwriting. I wanted to integrate these songs into my sets in a way that felt tasteful and respected the original song, but also brought it into my world of music. I’ve been listening to 140 for ages and I was always aware of the roots of it, but I don’t think it was until 2022 that I started to dive into it a lot further. I was growing a little tired of the abrasive maximalist style, and I got more into the minimalism and simplicity of 140. I really wanted to dive into that and experiment with that for myself. Around 2022 is when I started making music for this project
and then I just didn’t put anything out until August 2023. I gave it a lot of time to simmer and build, making sure that this was something I really wanted to dive into.
When did you make your first flip?
The first one I put out was a flip from ‘Innocence’ by Nero. My manager wanted to put the flip from ‘Siren’ by Sub Focus out, but I didn’t want to start with that one. So on a whim, I made the Nero one. I made that one a couple weeks before we put it out, and then the ‘Siren’ flip was the one that I had been sitting on for about a year at that point. I made that very early on in 2022, when I started experimenting with the project. I still play that tune out over three years later and it still has a good reaction, it’s a staple for sure. I don’t see myself taking that one out of the set anytime soon.
When you think about the future of the Phrva project, is there always going to be a mix of flips and originals?
It’ll always be the two. In my own creative flow, there’ll be times where one month I’m churning out flips, and the other month I’m focused on originals. It takes so long for music to come out these days, so it’s probably going to become a thing where I’m not just putting out one flip, but maybe, okay, here’s three, here’s four. What I’m starting to think about now is, what’s the next outlet for putting these out. I’m only putting out originals for the rest of the year so I don’t know when people are going to get the next flip. It’d be nice
to have a way to put a couple of flips out each time, so we can continue moving on. I don’t want to be like, here’s the tune you’ve been hearing for three years now and you can finally have it. The urgency and the immediacy of it is important to me as well.
Let’s go back to the reason you started this project. Do you remember the moment when you decided to leave that maximalist side of dubstep behind and fully dive into the more minimal side of dubstep?
You chose the perfect moment to make the switch from maximalist dubstep to minimal 140, because there’s quite a big movement going on in the US doing exactly that.
I feel like I lucked out because I happened to start putting music out right as the trend was happening. I don’t want to be a trend hopper on this, and I don’t want to do it just because it’s what’s hot, it did just happen to work out that way thankfully. There is definitely a trend of that right now. A lot of my friends who were making more heavy maximal stuff are also getting a bit tired of it. Maybe it’s oversaturation. That’s the type of music that’s been at the forefront out here for so long now, so we’re all like, let’s do something a little different, let’s switch it up.
You were saying before how you only started this project in 2023. What were the goals for this project, and what have you reached so far?
I want to keep continuing what I’m doing. I don’t think the flips are going to go anywhere. I’m always looking to integrate the music that I like and that I’m listening to into the sets that I’m playing. At the same time, I do want to focus more on originals and building that out a little bit more. I want to start expanding the Phrva sound, what does that sound like, what’s the scope of that? I’ve only put out five originals at this point, even though I’ve previewed a lot. I had a mix last year where I previewed a lot of originals, and there’s another one out now as well. I’m testing a lot of stuff out and trying things out, and I think the scope is going to expand. I want to dive further into what I’m already doing, but then I also want to take it and grow.
It’s funny, because looking back, I’ve been listening to minimal dubstep for years. The one moment I really remember was when I was watching an Of The Trees set. I was struck by how it had this, for lack of a better word, unique vibe to it. The music felt groovier, more danceable, and it still had this darker tonality to it that I really liked. I remember thinking, maybe I’ll try to make something like that today. I ended up diving down the rabbit hole from there. I had already been listening to the 1985 crew, Deep Dark and Dangerous, all that stuff, so I started going from there.
There was some online talk about you having an EP ready. Is there any truth in this?
Yeah, I leaked that during my Lightning in a Bottle-set. The first thing I said on the mic was, this is some brand new stuff for my EP. And then it hit me… that information was not public yet. The EP is going to be coming out with Deadbeats later this year. We have another single coming out in the middle of September and then the EP will come out sometime after that. ‘Collected’ is the first single from the project, and I would say it’s mostly around that same style. There are a couple more grime-ish songs on there. The next single is one with PAV4N, so that’s a little bit grittier, it’s not as bouncy. There are going to be some solo originals in there and there’s also a melodic cut in there, a little more atmospheric. I’m excited about that one as well as it’s new territory. I’m experimenting and taking it all in. The title track of the EP is definitely the most in your face thing that I’ve done so far but I think it still feels like a 100% Phrva, so I’m stoked about all of this.
How did you come to work with Deadbeats?
It’s been a goal for a long time, I really respect how they work in the scene. The fact that they’re not just putting out an artist’s music and dipping, but they’re putting on artist’s music and they’re helping them to grow the project. They’re helping to put them on shows, they’re helping to get them out there. The taste making aspect of it is there for sure. ‘Collected’ was the first song that caught their ear and when we knew that they were interested in that, we wanted to turn it into a full project and see what they thought about it. That ended up working out, thankfully.
You were saying how this is your newest project. Have you done other things in the scene before this?
I don’t want to go too into it, but I’ve had other projects, yes. This is just the newest endeavor and it’s what I’m fully focused on and most excited about right now.
Is that why you’re wearing a mask on stage?
Pretty much, but it’s also about the vibe. When I knew I was going to put out this music, I waited, and I built it from the ground up. I had 10 or 12 originals sitting around, and I think only one of them has come out. The biggest thing for me was, if I’m going to do this, I want it to succeed on its own merits. I don’t want to have it succeed because “this is so-and-so’s new project.” It’s very affirming. Not only is this what I want to do, but it is really connecting with people as well.
Any last things you want to mention?
Touring is going to start in October for me, and I’m gonna be at Infrasound next month as well, which I’m excited about. I’ve heard a lot of good things about it. I’ll be going on tour with Deathpact for a couple dates, and with Tape B as well. We’re still confirming everything but there’s also going to be a small run of shows for the EP which will be fun.
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