Phil Kieran has been in the upper echelons
of the electronic music game for more than a decade, but is
only now releasing his debut album under his own name.
Known for rocking clubs and releasing a string of killer
twelves, Belfast-based Phil has hooked up with German powerhouse
Cocoon in recent times. Sven Väth’s label is now
about to release Shh, a groundbreaking piece of work that
will undoubtedly gain Phil plaudits across the board.
Shh seems to not only reference every sound Phil has ever
loved in music, but is formulated in a completely fresh and
futuristic way. Listen carefully and you can detect elements
of dub reggae, old hardcore like LFO, hip-hop, early 90s electronica
such as Autechre/Black Dog and other Warp staples, as well
as the futuristic techno that Phil excels in.
For the album Phil went back to old sound lab recordings
dating back to the 1950s and 60s. Utilising some of these
sounds in the initial construction, he built up tracks using
a combination of old samples sourced from original and weird
places and some live new instrumentation as well. There are
live drums, some electric/acoustic/bass guitar and live keyboard
playing as well as some choice guest vocalists.
“I tried to use all my knowledge from when I first
got into music to try and make an album that captures everything
I’ve ever loved about music,” Phil says.
Phil has synthesized his myriad of influences into one radically
beautiful whole: blissed-out vocal samples, space age electro,
cavernous bleeps, fizzy technoid 4/4 beats, glistening glitches,
crackers crackles, early R&S sounds, warm keys, acerbic
bassline undertows, dense echoes, Orbital cinematics and randy
robotics all feature, but really this is an album far greater
than the sum of its parts. It’s very much a home or
car listening album, perfect for post-club play, although
plenty of the individual tracks contain discerning dancefloor
dynamics too.
Cutting his clubbing teeth at Shine in Belfast, Phil now
has over 100 dancefloor releases to his name on quality labels
like Skint, Soma and NovaMute, and is widely respected throughout
the industry among the technoscenti. He’s also recently
broken into movie scoring, creating the soundtrack for recent
Steven Soderbergh film The Girlfriend Experience with fellow
Irish compatriot David Holmes.
To exorcise some demons a few years ago he created a live
techno punk band Alloy Mental, variously melding Joy Division
basslines onto pummeling punky T.Raumschmiere-style technoid
power-drivers. He also has an impeccable DJ rep that’s
won him placings in DJ magazine’s global Top 100 DJs
poll, and a guarantee to promoters that he’ll inevitably
rock the joint to its foundations.
But now Phil has just entered the next phase in his career.
Shh won’t be a secret for long: it’s almost certain
to take its place amongst not only the albums of the year,
but as one of the landmark releases of the last two decades.
