Phonat » news

Cockroaches E.P. – OUT NOW!

simon — Mon, 26 Jul 2010 12:49:59 +0000

Italian-born wunderkind and producer to watch Phonat follows up his critically acclaimed debut album with the Cockroaches EP, a 4 track slice of underground electronica. Eschewing the temptation to cash in on his album’s tastemaker plaudits with a commercial banger, Phonat remains as original and adept as ever, choosing to paint an introspective and edgy audio picture of his Dalston junction bedsit and club culture environment, perfect for murky nights in and sweaty backroom bassbins.

Cockroaches, Spliff Dub, Intimate Confessions and The Microwave FX are the titles and perhaps they say it all. Dubstep, glitch and french house are the main influences – but created in a unique and totally original way, presenting his own take on the atmosphere of London’s underbelly.

Watch out for guest vocal snippets on “Spliff Dub” provided by one of London’s hottest grime MCs, Dizzee Rascal’s protegee – ‘Footsie’ from the Newham Generals.

Phonat is now back in the studio working on new tracks, so expect more surprises from this constantly fresh young artist later in the year on MofoHifi Records.

Phonat – Ghetto Burnin – on Test Drive Unlimited Trailer

phonat — Thu, 13 May 2010 10:07:01 +0000

Check out Phonat’s Ghetto Burnin’ being used to great effect as the music for the “Good Life” Trailer for Test Drive Unlimited 2 computer game. This combined with the track’s use on a TV advert for ’24′ has brought the track to the attention of a lot more people this month! [ buy the track on iTunes ]

Phonat – Set Me Free – Out now on VINYL!!!

simon — Sun, 02 May 2010 14:29:10 +0000

At last Phonat Vinyl is available to buy!!

Side A

1) Set Me Free – Avicii Remix

2) Set Me Free – Extended Mix

Side B

1) Love Hits The Fan

2) It’s For You (N.B – The vinyl is wrongly advertised as B2 being ‘Ho Visto Quadro Verde)

‘Love Hits The Fan’ Out Now!

satu — Tue, 30 Mar 2010 14:40:58 +0000

This time the Italian wonderkid gives his own personal take on the French house sound with a groovy twisted number, characteristically chopping up, glitching and re-pitching many different singers performing the word “love” to create a melody which is simultaneously an abstract deconstruction of pop lyrics, and also a catchy hook in its own right.

On the remix front new French prodigy Bestrack gives the track a career defining makeover taking Phonat’s original concept and extending it into an epic and entrancing journey through a variety of styles.

‘Love Hits The Fan’ is complemented by a visually stunning CGI video which has set the blogs alight in its first week on Youtube. Produced by Rocco Pezzella and the “Savants Collective” – who develop all of Phonat’s artwork and his MTV play-listed video for “Set Me Free” in 2009 – this beautiful promo re-enforces MofoHifi Records’ long standing policy of eschewing traditional routes for video development, instead partnering their acts with independent visual artists who work hand in hand with the musicians to create new and exciting visuals.

Phonat – “Love Hits The Fan” music video

phonat — Fri, 29 Jan 2010 16:54:54 +0000

Download Phonat guest DJ mix on BBC Radio One

phonat — Mon, 25 Jan 2010 16:53:17 +0000

Check out Phonat’s 30 minute guest mix on Annie Nightingale’s legendary BBC Radio One show. Free mix download.
Phonat BBC Radio1 mix 15-01-10 by Phonatmusic

Tracklist:
Daft Punk — Technologic (Death To The Throne remix)
White

Andrea Doria vs. LXR — Freak Me (Phonat freak Remix)
Matryoshka

Cassian — Friday Night (Original Mix)
Bang Gang

Mr. Oizo — Gay Dentists (JFK edit)
Ed Banger

The Prodigy The Prodigy — Invaders Must Die (Yuksek remix)
Take Me To The Hospital

The Kills The Kills — Cheap And Cheerful (SebastiAn remix)
Domino

Nero — Act Like You Know (Dubstep Mix)
Breakbeat Kaos

Excision, Datsik — Calypso (Original Mix)
Rottun

Dizzee Rascal Dizzee Rascal — Dirtee Cash (Phonat remix)
Dirtee Stank

B.y.o.b. — Best Shoes (The Qemists remix)
Loaded

Pendulum Pendulum — Granite (Original Mix)
Warner

Phonat — Bad Boy (Original Mix)
MofoHifi

Phonat Debut Album – Phonat – Out Now!

satu — Tue, 22 Sep 2009 09:03:02 +0000

“It’s been described as an Acid House Bohemian Rhapsody, it takes in 25 styles during it’s course, I like it” – Rob da Bank on BBC Radio 1

“This guy F**ks with all the rules” – Norman Cook

“Learn to Recycle is six minutes of utterly unique music” – IDJ

“Phonat has frequently stunned us with his none-more-innovative productions over the last few years, coming across like a hyperactive Daft Punk on happy pills…… By the end, you’re exhausted, perplexed, flabbergasted, and left with the feeling that all other music is boring, unimaginative, repetitive trash. Wow. 10/10″ – Data Transmission

Unique, innovative, rule breaking, genre-spanning….just a few of the plaudits that have been used to describe the works of Phonat, the seven foot mop-haired Italian who’s been catching the ears and attention of the ever intangible ‘tastemaking set’ over the past few months.

Annie Mac, Annie Nightingale, Andy George, Rob da Bank and Pete Tong have all been championing the producer since last year, when singles ‘Incredible Sound’, ‘Ghetto Burning’ and ‘Learn To Recycle’ marked him as one to watch for 2009 and beyond. Now readying the release of his eponymous debut album, Phonat has created a panoply of chopped up riffs swirled around murky basslines, a world where guitar-driven dancefloor fillers meet bleep-filled fantasies for fun, friendship and possibly more.

Originally from Florence, Italy, Phonat (aka Michele Balduzzi) was first spotted by MofoHifi Records on MySpace and they were so impressed with the 21 year old that the loving label bosses persuaded him to leave his parents’ idyllic country farm in Florence and move to a bed sit in Canning Town. Armed only with a five-year-old computer and an electric guitar Phonat dutifully relocated to London in late 2007 and the rest, as they say, is history.

Drawing on every vein of dance music, from hip hop to house, garage to breaks Phonat’s expert use of a vocal hook is also evident, most noticeably on the Yolanda vocalled ‘Ghetto Burning’ and next single ‘Set Me Free’ – where classic 80s style rock vocals sit atop a stacatto-synthed stomper.

Phonat may have arrived on the scene late last year, but with DJ bookings and remix requests coming in from across the world and his album ready to hit the streets, 2009 is set to be an busy year for the big Italian.

‘Phonat’ by Phonat is released on MofoHifi Records on September 21^st. ‘Set Me Free EP’, featuring remixes from Avicci, Louis La Roche and High Rankin was out August 24^th.

Tracklisting

A Warm Welcome
Get Down My Dirty Street
Set Me Free
Ghetto Burnin’
Love Hits The Fan
Ho Visto Un Quadro Verde
It’s For You
Learn To Recycle
The Big Deal
Zombie Army
Bad Boy
London

Available at all major sellers.

Phonat Album Review – Front Magazine

satu — Tue, 01 Sep 2009 12:12:50 +0000

Our favourite review so far – Not for the faint hearted though!!

Phonat Remix of Sharooz ‘Adrenalize’

satu — Tue, 01 Sep 2009 11:15:39 +0000

Massive new club anthem on MofoHifi Records, with groundbreaking remix from Phonat.
London based electro producer Sharooz was first introduced to the dance world by MofoHifi in 2006 with his debut release “Hell Yeah!” which received over twenty BBC Radio One plays and featured on numerous high profile compilations.
Three-years on and his star is still rising. Sharooz’s productions can now boast a clutch of leading taste-maker fans including 2 Many DJs, Moby, Mylo, Erol Alkan, Boys Noize, and Kissy Sell Out; an appeal which hasn’t gone unnoticed by club promoters, securing him DJ bookings in Serbia, Switzerland, Russia, Spain, Denmark, Sweden, USA and France. After topping many of the main dance download charts earlier this year with “Get Off”, Sharooz is back with his third release on MofoHifi – “Adrenalize”.
Adrenalize is a tough, big room crowd pleaser combining his trademark simple biting basslines and epic builds, with a triumphant piano break that has been raising the roof in Ibiza over the past few weeks.
Early support for the track comes from Fake Blood, Steve Aoki, Meat Katie, Grum, Dada Life, The Young Punx and many others and it looks set to be one of the underground dance records of the year.
On remix duties, MofoHifi artist Phonat, building up to the release of his forthcoming debut album ‘Phonat’, delivers a radical and innovative remix that creates a sound fusing the worlds of Dubstep and French house. Never one to deliver a predictable sound, the seven-foot Italian has been inspired by the increasing integration of the Dubstep scene into mainstream Ibiza clubs such as “Reclaim the Dancefloor” to create a Dubstep influenced groove that can be easily dropped by house DJs in their steps without changing tempo.

Phonat – Set Me Free (Remixes)

satu — Thu, 20 Aug 2009 11:17:59 +0000

Italian producer Phonat has been catching the ears of a fair few tastemakers with his last few single and EP releases. Add the likes of Annie Mac, Annie Nightingale, Andy George and Pete Tong to the list above and you can see why the lofty Italian has been marked out as one to watch this year.

Now, ahead of his eponymous debut album due out in September, Phonat releases ‘Set Me Free’ a staccato-synthed stomper of a track, where classic 80’s rock vocals provide the support. A standout from the forthcoming album, Phonat hasn’t skimped on remixers with the first coming courtesy of Avicii, the latest ‘made’ man in the Swedish House Mafia. Proving his pedigree Avicii chops vocals and swirls synths to create a hands in the air Balearic bomb, early copies of which are already becoming staples in the record boxes of the more discerning DJ.

Bleeps and basslines are the order of the day on High Rankin’s re-rub as the dubstep dandy leads listeners to the dancefloor, albeit down a slightly murkier back route, before Louis La Roche’s Reconstruction adds a tougher, twisted edge to complete the package

With previous singles ‘Incredible Sound’, ‘Ghetto Burning’ and ‘Learn To Recycle’ Phonat (aka Michele Balduzzi) has showcased his ability to draw on every vein of dance music, from hip hop to house, garage to breaks and left fans eager to hear more. Now with DJ bookings and remix requests coming in from across the world and his album ready to hit the streets, 2009 is set to be a busy year for the big Italian. Not bad for a man who arrived in London from Florence little over a year ago with just a guitar and a five-year-old computer.