Good gracious! Make way for M-PHAZES, a Gold Coast born Melbourne based bombshell of a music producer.
Born Mark Landon, M-Phazes’ sonic passion started with the touch of a button and the simple bang of a kick-drum. “My interest in music stems from really wanting to play the drums,” Landon reveals. “When I was younger, my dad had a little home studio and I loved pressing buttons. The rest is history, really. I used to rap but I’ve put that on the backburner for now because I’ve always wanted to make something for other people. It’s a lot more pleasing creating music with other people, and more challenging, and that’s why I love music production.”
M-Phazes has a three-pronged musical ability: he works within a range of musical styles, can craft the perfect beat, and is able to carve out soulful grooves. He’s also the type that works best when bringing together an assortment of artists and enticing the best of their ability. His new record Good Gracious exemplifies this. “Every track features a different MC. Most of the lyrics on the album, I didn’t have any input into them at all. Each MC wrote their lyrics.”
From the ironically slanted and airplay friendly Where’s Elvis featuring Drapht to the ominous The Freak Show featuring lyrical genius Mantra, there’s something for everyone. M-Phazes recalls how Where’s Elvis came about. “Drapht is a pretty strange guy,” he laughs. “I asked him ‘Are you sure you want to write a track about an Elvis Conspiracy theory?’ when he proposed it, but he was pretty set on it. You can’t really tell how the fuck that guy’s mind works. The Spit Syndicate track Long Winding Road is also a pretty cool track; its back and forth instrumental is interesting.”
Getting ready for the tour in August, M-Phazes anticipates that there might be some bumps along the way. “It’s difficult to tour the album, definitely, as only certain MCs can come to certain shows, depending on availability. It’s also a shame that I couldn’t get more artists on the tour to most of the shows.”
Hiccups aside from touring an album spanning such musical spectrum and artistic ability, M-Phazes admits he’s learnt a lot along the way, including falling in love… with New York. “I think I’d be more efficient at making an album now. Being in New York for two months and learning new producer techniques really contributed to this album. I’m now working on a couple of releases in the US. It’s a lot of stuff, so I’ll be travelling there a lot.”
The man will be here on election night. Be sure to cast your hip-hop vote for the gig party.
M-Phazes plays at Transit Bar on Saturday August 21. Good Gracious is out now through Obese Records.
