With news Dirtybirds number one lady J.Phlip is heading to Australia for a stint of club shows through May we thought there was no better time than to pick her brains on some rather topical stuff.

In it came a great response about the pure DJ, something Oneman was talking about over on Thump and how there weren’t many of “them” left.

As a DJ and producer, J.Phlip who has released barely any new records or remixes yet is still an in-demand curator based not on charts or sales.

She explains;

There was this huge moment when producers definitely took over the game, where I felt that you had to be a producer to make it. And then many of them turned out to be lacklustre if not downright terrible DJ’s and got away with it. But I think the value of the DJ has really started to come back. The young fans I’ve been meeting these days are paying attention. I read when they rant on Facebook about horrible DJ sets by artists who have some cool or hype records.

I think I’m a prime example. I have had the best year of my career without releasing hardly any new tracks. The kids are buying the tickets to these shows, they want to get lost in the set and party party party, and they are listening, and they are learning to appreciate a great DJ. Oneman is right but I think we will see more and more pure DJ’s getting recognition again. I also don’t think you can’t be a great DJ, selector, and producer all at the same time. Some people are just that talented!

The rest of the interview was equally as great, read it below before checking out J.Phlip during her Australian tour.

Perth, Friday, 8 May 2015 – Ambar
Sydney, Saturday, 9 May 2015 – Chinese Laundry (Tickets from $17.50)
Wollongong, Saturday, 9 May 2015 – The Grand
Brisbane, Friday, 15 May 2015 – TBC Club
Mooloolaba, Saturday, 16 May 2015 – The Helm

SR: You seem to be a bit of a vinyl lover, what’s the prize jewel of your collection?

 

JP: The Other People Place – Lifestyles of a Laptop Cafe

SR: Who is the dad/mum/sister/brother/cat/dog/weird cousin of the Dirtybird family?

 

JP: Claude is dad. Aundy (Claude’s wife) is mum. Stacey, our label manager, is sister. Justin Martin, Eats Everything, Christian Martin, and Worthy are the brothers. Voitek is the dog and Greg is the cat (and they are actually Catz n’ Dogz lol) Kill Frenzy is the weird cousin.

SR: Should DJs be entertainers or curators?

 

JP: For me to pay attention they must be curators, but they can also be entertainers. But only the latter doesn’t really work for me because it’s about the music, right?

SR: What are your thoughts on the underground versus mainstream debate? Do they need each other? Can something always be underground?

 

JP: Personally I don’t really care about these sorts of things anymore. It’s about the music for me and I actually find playing at both sorts of events to be quite fun. My heart is more in underground music and underground type parties, but I don’t discriminate, I just want to have a fun party and see people dancing and getting lost in the music. There is so much overlap with the music these days, and dance music has gotten so big lately that I don’t really know how to analyse this stuff anymore. I think the popularity of mainstream and underground dance music go hand in hand but I don’t think that they necessarily need each other.

SR: Is there any particular country really changing how we view dance music for better or worse?

 

JP: I don’t think the majority of people really know what’s going on in other countries. For instance, some DJ’s are hugely famous in one part of the world and practically unknown in another part. Personally, I can’t think of a particular country and go “oh they are totally disgracing dance music” or “they are paving the way for the future of dance music”. I think some of the most interesting music in the world comes from Iceland. that is one of the few countries that I think stands out as being very musically unique, but not necessarily in the dance music realm.

SR: Where do you see dance music in the next 5 years? Sounds? Crowds? Culture?

 

JP: It changes SO FAST! I see many cycles… resurgence’s of old sounds… and refreshed versions of old sounds. Who knows where it could be in 5 years. Sometimes I’m afraid that it is losing its culture. People these days think dj’s are rock stars – they want to take pictures with us and video us from the crowd – this whole thing is really weird to me. That’s not how I felt when I first got into this music, and that isn’t how anyone I knew felt about it. I really hope it doesn’t get worse because that really isn’t what it’s about for me.

Grab a ticket to J.Phlip at Chinese Laundry!