What were you early music influences? What was the very 1st record you bought?
I was influenced by the Electro sound of the mid 80's which then lead into hip hop,  but I was into the more commercial side of Hip Hop back then.   Public Enemy, Run DMC, etc.   My first record was bought for my birthday by my friend Gus.  It was Baggy Trousers by Madness.   Little did I know it would be the first of many thousand.

How long have you been DJing now?
16 years, which is quite a feat considering how hard it is out there.

How did it all start for you? When did you get your first set of decks?
It all started when I was 14 and had a pair of belt drive decks.  Then when I was 17 I went to Ibiza and after hearing some real crap DJs playing I went into a club called Playa 2 and told the guy in there I was a top London DJ.  He said ok.  You start tonight at 5am.  I was soooooo buzzing.  I though,  bloody hell,  this is wicked. That night I went into the club and I always remember touching a proper paid of Technics 1200's for the first time and thinking,  "Wow, these are so much better than my crap decks at home", then I did some back 2 back mix with a track called "This is SKA" and the crowd went mad (even though it was only a small crowd).   I got home and borrowed the money to buy some Technics and I was away.

How did you get your name "Phantasy"?
The name came from the first massive rave party I played at on september 30th 1989.  There was over 10,000 people there and the rave was called Phantasy.   The guys running the party were all arrested for holding an illegal rave.  I went for a meeting with them and asked them if I could use the names as my DJ name as the event meant so much to me.  They said yes and asked me to put DJ in front of it.  From that day DJ Phantasy was born.

What do you think are your best qualities as a DJ?
How long you got have you got for this one.  Ha ha.  Only joking.  I always look to play for the crowd.  I have had my years of educating the crowds and now I am in my entertainment phase.   I just want to see people jumping about going mad at tunes they love rather than them just standing in my corner nodding heads.  (Even though I do that myself, haha).    But I pride myself in the fact that I play every set with the same enthusiasm even if there are 100 people in the crowd or 40,000.

There have been a lot changes in music over the last 20 years, from acid house/hardcore/jungle/d'n'b/nu skool/etc. What do you enjoy playing the most and why?
Upfront Drum n Bass.  The reason is because its my main love.   The vines are just incredible and also this is the only real UK music in the world.   Music we started and own and have taken all over the world.   One thing though, what does piss me off is.   Mickey Finn, Top Buzz & myself were the first DJ's to be playing the Drum N Bass sound, which back then was known as Jungle Techno. 

Listen to the old tapes for proof,  and yet people want to put me in this hardcore / old skool bracket.  One thing I want to say is,  I played rave music when everyone was playing it. Grooverider,  Fabio, Carl Cox etc etc.  But how come Groove does not have the same attachment to his name.  You play what music is around you.  When the scene went dark.   That was all there was to play, so you played it.  But my favourite other era has to be the 88-89 stuff.  That was a ground breakin era of music which gave a lot of the guys who are working in our industry their path in this business.  If it weren't for those days there, who knows what many of the Top Jacks would be doing now???!!!

How big is your vinyl collection?
It used to be about 12,000 but I've sold around 4000 now.  Mostly crap that I didn't want.  When there was news of me selling my old records there was some posts saying how was I going to play old skool sets, etc etc.   Now come on... do you really think I would let the classics go??  Of course not.   Just stuff I had doubles of or things that I felt I could no longer use.   So now its about 8000 which is not a lot for the years I have been in the music but over the years I have given away some records to my friends that were DJing,  but could not afford to keep buying the tunes.... so just tried to help them out....

What's you favourite all time tune?
Smurf by Tyrone Brunson & Givin All My Love by Gwen Mcrae are my two fav all time tracks.   If you aint heard them five them a listen now... & if you find them on Kazz, send em over (haha).  No piracy is against the law and I do not condone it.

What tune of the moment can’t you help tapping your foot to?
Cant think... there's a few.  But don't know the names of them.   I'm proper rubbish with names of tunes.

And what to you is the worst tune ever, that if you heard it again it'd make you want to bang you head off the wall?
General Levy - Wicked, Wicked Junglist massive.  I didn't like it when it came out and was one of the only people who refused to play it and I must ass, at my own cost because I probably lost a few bookings by refusing to play tracks like that.   But anyway,  the rest of the DNB scene decided to not play it no more when Levy went on TV and told the world he started Drum N Bass.

First event you played?
Biology was the first.  Swiftly followed by Phantasy and then I went on to become a resident for Energy.

Best event you played?
I'm not just saying this cause it's Fantazia website Q&A but Matchams in Bournemouth has to be the best event I played at.  Even though I only played for about 25 minutes due to the bloody traffic jams out there that night, but it was amazing.  I was just so buzzing that night and when I went on stage and the MC introduced me,  the lighting guys lit up the whole venue and I swear,  all I could see was a sea of people going back as far as the eye could see. Every hair on my body stood up and I thought....."Fucking Hell....this is crazy".  I played Hippodrome as my first tune and the place went Mad.  I had some dickhead trying to mess up my set by jumpin about on the stage a bit, knowing it would jog the Decks (You know who you are!!!), but I didn't let it phase me....  I just enjoyed the moment and remain professional.... So if you hear the decks jumping on the recording,  you now know why...

Best DJing experience?
Way to many to mention but the one I just explained was & also this one time I done a club in Middlesborough & whilst I was playing my last tune,   I turned to the MC & said "this is one of the liveliest crowds I've ever played to/  They are well up for it.  The MC Then made me stop the music and told the crowd.  "Phantasy has just told me you are the best crowd he has ever played to" with which there was a might roar and everyone just started scrambling for the decks.  Ravers were jumping over the decks, the mixer and everything.  It was amazing.... Serious!   It took me well over an hour to get out of the club cause of signing autographs & shaking hands & getting pics taken.. I remember on the way home thinking... Now that's what this job is all about.

Interaction with the crowd.  Cause without them we are nothing.
Your worst DJing experience, the one that makes you cringe?

Only thing I can think of apart from the usual dodgy DJ set ups is I was playing in  Cambridge many years ago and my set was at 2am.  So I got to the club at 1.30 and was chatting to some people.  At 1.55am I went to the decks and as I was getting my tunes out I see this girl DJ going on the decks.  So I turned to her and said.  "Hi, I'm supposed to be playing now" to which she replied, no I am supposed to be on now.   So I said to her,  "Look I gotta go to another gig after this set & I'm supposed to be playing now.  Can you got & get the promoter & find out what's happening."  So she took her headphones out and went off to find the promoter.  So I put mine in and started my set.  Anyways, during my 2nd track the promoter,  Stuart came up to me & said "Phantasy, what are you doing.  Your not on for another hour" to which I replied.  No you told me my set was 2am.  He then turn to me and said "Yes that's correct.  Your set is 2am.  The clocks have just gone back and its now 5 past 1."  

I nearly died of embarrassment.   So I took my headphones out & apologised to and said to her.

Funniest thing that happened at an event?
Loads of things have happened but most of them being one of those, you had to be there kinda things.

Favourite promoter?
I like all of them.  I like honest ones.    I am not in to bullshit.  Say it as it is, cause I do.  You can say it without being rude.

DJ's/MC's you rated then and now?
Carl Cox was the man & probably still is... Serious.

If you had a time machine what year would you go back to and why?
1989. Summer of Love. Was an amazing year & if I knew all I knew now...damn.  Things would be dangerous but in a good way.  But then the music would have evolved quicker as I would of skipped the rubbish years & just went with the good years....  I mean Music wise.

Quick Fire :

D’n’B or Hardcore
Drum N Bass

Cosy Club or Warehouse?
Warehouse

Mad P or Robbie Dee?
Both. Can't choose. They are both friends.

Fast Food or Fancy restaurant?
Fancy restaurant

Ibiza or Bahamas?
Ibiza. Best island in the world

North or South?
East or West

Superman or Batman?
Batman, the costumes more cool

Money or Morals?
You need both, sorry.

Blondes or Brunettes?
Brunettes for sure

Ferrari or Porsche?
Ferrari

What do you do to chill out away from the music?
Family & watch TV & of course going to see the best team in the world, Chelsea.

You've brought quite of few of your own tunes out, which is your favourite?
Erm..    They were all good for their time but more recently the stuff I'm doing with UK Apache is going down really well and is great when we do live showcases performing them.

Who have you enjoyed working with the most?
I'm one of a few people who has worked with load of artists.  Each of them bring their own unique thing to the table, so each era has brought different enjoyments.  I wouldn't work with anyone if I didn't feel that we could achieve something.  Would be a waste of both of out times.

What have you been up to recently?
Studio, playing out all over the world, doing the live Showcase with UK Apache.  I'm always looking for new artists for Easy.  Just been generally busy which is good.  I can't complain.

The future of Phantasy, upcoming events?
Got loads coming up.  There's no point putting dates down as you might read this way after the dates have gone. But watch out for me in your town soon.  If you don't see me, then go give your local promoter a kick up the backside.  The may be commission in it for ya.  Haha,  only joking.

How would you like to be remembered?
A Great DJ

Interview conducted by Bex
(Copyright Fantazia 2005)
 

DJ Phantasy's links to Fantazia

DJ Phantasy played at a number of Fantazia events including:

Fantazia Summertime
Fantazia New Year 93 (Australia)

Copies of his sets can be bought here