This Saturday sees HeatUK return to KOKO for a celebration of one of the world's most popular hard dance DJ - Phil Reynolds! The man in question will be launching his debut album 'The Digital Revoltuion' with a stunning live PA as well as a 6 hour set, featuring back-to-back stints with Andy and these other close friends and colleagues of his. We spoke to Technikal, Ian, Steve and Kev to find out how they got to know Phil in the first place...

How and when did you first meet Phil?

Kev: I’ve been ravin’ to Phil’s sets since the early Frantic events at Camden Palace. He was always the DJ that I looked forward to rockin’ out to back then as the music he played captured exactly what I looked for in a good set. Technically he was always on the ball and used to rule the crowd each time he played. We met when I went up and introduced myself one time after he had played. I started mailing Phil my earlier releases on Dynamix and he picked up on a few of them which I was well chuffed about of course. After that I slowly started becoming more established in the hard dance scene so we decided to collaborate on a track. That’s when ‘Pounding Senses’ was born ?

Technikal: I first met Phil at the very first ever Hard Dance Awards ceremony in 2004, at the AKA Bar. In fact I met a lot of the hard dance ‘A Listers’ that night and remember being hugely starstruck by the whole shebang! We properly met a year or so later somewhere, I can’t remember exactly where but our paths used to cross an awful lot.

Steve: If my memory serves me correctly I think we first met at Provacation.....I think we were both pretty hammered and talked eachother’s ears off for ages!
Ian: It was back in 1995 as part of our weekly clubbing routine - Gallery on Friday night, Grays on Saturday morning, Strawberry Sundae on Saturday night, SunnySideUp on Sunday lunchtime and Sunflowers on Sunday night. Neither of us was DJing back then - we both used to dance on the steps down to the dancefloor at Turnmills being proper trainspotters when Steve Lee was playing the final set of the night!

Why do you think people love him as a DJ so much?

Kev: I think Phil has always played for the crowd and given a dance floor what it’s looking for at the right moment. On top of that he takes the time to hang around after he’s on and speak to people which always counts for a lot in the long run.

Technikal: People love Phil because he manages to seamlessly combine handsome good looks, a fantastic dress sense, and a wholesome personality; alongside playing some of the most rocking UK hard trance in existence. Some might say I even try to model myself on him. Not bad for an old timer!

Steve: He has an ability to read and deliver exactly what the crowd wants consistently, as well as having great stage presence and he isn't afraid to experiment and push new sounds forward to keep the scene fresh.

Ian: He’s never once worries about trying to “educate” the crowd or “take them on a journey” – he’s never gone up his own arse in terms of DJing. He knows exactly what people want to hear when they are off their chops in the middle of the dancefloor and he never fails to deliver - people see him as one of their own.

Which of Phil’s tracks has been your favourite of the years?

Kev: I’d say ‘Back To Front’ with Nick Sentience on Nukleuz. I still play it even now.

Technikal: I’m certainly digging all of his new material which is set to be released on his album ‘The Digital Revolution’, but if I want to go all misty eyed (or eared!) you can do no wrong with ‘(Instru)Mental’. It’s such a fantastic record that hasn’t aged a day, and completely sums up Phil’s style in 7 minutes flat. I’ve also got a fond likeness for his collaborations with James Lawson; ‘Rock ‘n’ Roll’ on Impact and ‘Filthy Criminals’ on Nukleuz. Seminal hard trance!

Steve: ‘Instru(mental)’!

Ian: ‘Instru(mental)’!

Tell us about your time spent together producing in the studio (please ignore if you haven’t made any tracks with him)...

Kev: We worked hard at ‘Pounding Senses’ Phil was very keen on capturing the right bass pattern and drive while I worked long and hard at getting the right main lead. The hard work paid off as our combination created a track that still causes damage now.

Technikal: Me and Phil work really well together in the studio, in such a way that whenever we do a track it really does sound like the product of both of our brains! Big riffs, soaring energy and ‘that’ London sound – which has been apparent in all three of our productions (‘Wanna Go For A Ride’, ‘Open Your Mind’, and ‘Third Strike’). I think the reason we click when it comes to writing music is we are both very much after the same kind of reaction and sound from a track.

Steve: We did quite a lot of remixes together from around 2001-2004. He's a very talented producer with lots of ideas and is also hands on, so he didn't just sit there and tell me what he liked and let me do all the work. We shared a lot of the engineering programming between us which worked really well.

Have you got any amusing stories about Mr. Reynolds that you could carefully edit and share with us? Go on!

Kev: To be honest, I haven’t had a chance to party with Phil yet…. Maybe there will be an after party after the heat event?>? I hope so!

Technikal: Plenty, although most of the funniest involve a Heat boat cruise to Germany – and I think it’s best for all parties involved if I leave it at that!

Ian: I’ve got loads but I’ve been sworn to secrecy! Will a photo do?

What’s coming up for you this summer?

Kev: Lots and lots and then some more! We have some good gigs for our Nu Energy Collective LIVE PA that we’ve worked hard at getting loads of fresh ideas into recently. I will launch 3 new websites: www.hardbeatstore.com is about to launch and will be the best and most upfront online store for hard dance and hardcore music in all formats. www.nuenergycollective.com will be the new mother site representing my artists, labels and DJ’s. www.nuenergyusa.com will focus on distributing hard dance and hardcore music to stores in the USA! Mine and Phil’s new ‘Elevate’ The Next level CD is out now also – we spent a long time on it and it’s a great hard dance album.

Technikal: This summer is chock chocka block busy! I’ve just launched my own label ‘Technikal Recordings’ and the first release came out on the 1st of July. Keeping me busy in the studio are forthcoming collaborations with Phil York, Steve Hill, Matt Lee (Gammer) and Matt Gardner. DJ wise I’ve got Global Gathering coming up, the PlanetLove Festival in Ireland, Tidy Weekender 12, and of course HeatUK: Evolution!
Ian: I’ve got some really cool gigs coming up at events I love to play including the legendary Friendz Boat Party and Knowwhere at Heaven. I’ll also be playing at Peach later in the year which I’m really excited about. Aside from that I’ll be busy in the studio working on a number of remixes and some new original stuff as well, including something a little different from usual.

And finally, what hot new tunes have you got that you’re looking forward to dropping in that majestic main room at KOKO?

Kev: Too many to mention but I have to say that MDA and Spherical’s new material is superb as is SQ’s and Hoopz. I’ll be dropping tracks from all these artists.

Techinkal: Me, Phil and Trevor McLachlan have finished our first 3-way collaboration with ‘Third Strike’, which is pretty much the sum of its parts. A big riffed hard trancer with heaps of 2007 cleverness! I’m sure we’ll be dropping our new collaboration ‘Open Your Mind’ as well. Solo wise, I’ve done a new vocal hard trancer with Stace – it’s called ‘Sacrifice’ and you can buy it here
(http://www.trackitdown.net/recordlabel/104944.html) . See you at the front!

Steve: Got some new forthcoming Impact releases in the bag, in particular a track called ‘Persevere’ by Nathan McClymont. Not sure if we'll be playing more of a classics set yet though

Ian: I’ve got a whole bagful of stuff that I’m itching to play including some hot out of the studio exclusives!

Check out full details of HeatUK: The Evolution of Phil Reynolds here:
http://www.dontstayin.com/uk/london/koko/2007/jul/14/event-128517

Steve Blake photo courtesy of http://www.dafyddowen.com/