Like any typical day, I’d either nip around Phil’s in the morning for the obligatory coffee and doob before heading off to studio around the corner or more times, the afternoons. Helen was a mean cook so it was really difficult to resist popping over lunchtimes & sometimes eves as well when I got bored or needed a break from the Bruk to tuck right in to dishes I’d happy pay good coin for anywhere else.
This particular morning was special though because Phil was keen to show me how to record new sounds with his portable mic he’d recently got from while gigging in Japan. We’d both recently purchased our MPC 3000’s and he’s already sussed most of it out by now, miles ahead of me.
We spent the next 30 minutes in his basement recording us banging different parts of the sofa for a bass drum sound. Hitting the doors and cupboards to get different hit sounds and the windows too. Helen came downstairs a couple times wondering if we'd both gone mental and lost it haha
“Got an idea Polly, let’s go upstairs in the kitchen…”
Phil’s code word for get the kettle on son was Polly so I happily followed him upstairs looking fwd to a lil tea break brunch.
Flicked the kettle on, got three cups out and then started tapping them with teaspoons. We recorded them too. And also me shaking a bag of brown sugar and him shaking Helens rice tin, Hel's rolling her eyes and shaking her head.
Over coffee, he turned to me and said, bro, I’m going to be a dad too now mate… Hels is pregnant. Three months behind you san.
Great I said, so you’re not a Jaffa then, well done mate then back downstairs we went to now start programming some beats and roll another doobie.
30 mins so or later we had the bones down so he saved them on to a zip disk for me before I headed back to studio. On the way out the door Phil suddenly stopped me and said you know what you call it… Call it “Shaping fluid” You know, like in conception of our kids and birth of new music… He also waffled on about something else about fluidity but I was too stoned by now to even begin to remember, plus the itus was beginning to kick in.
Shapin' Fluid was the end result. The title track to my debut album he had also helped me sign to R&S records offshoot Apollo via his old friend Jim Ingle a little while later too.
Really going to miss those days. Missing him loads already.
💛🧡#phlashforever #phlashliveson ☕️🥢🥗🎤💾