Say Her Name! Interview With J. Phlip

 INTERVIEW 

J. PHLIP CHATS TO US

“Woman is the companion of man, gifted with equal mental capacity.” -- Ghandi

“Think like a queen. A queen is not afraid to fail. Failure is another steppingstone to greatness.” -- Oprah Winfrey

Jessica Phillippe is diehard, born with true grit and skills to pay the bills. Despite her success with the Dirtybird gang, she's still out there in record stores on the regular... digging, uncovering precious gems and weaving them into her dynamic sound.

Ever since the purchase of a cheap set of belt-drive decks and a mixer on her 19th birthday she really hasn't looked back and, after completing her studies in Engineering, the straight-A student jumped headfirst into her true passion, music. She won a DJ competition in 2005, toured the USA and moved from her hometown, Champaign, Illinois, to the birthplace of house music, Chicago. In the Windy City, she endured the struggle that many musicians go through on their pathway to glory but never lost sight of her dream. A move to San Francisco resulted in more hard times, but it wasn't long before her determination and natural talent won through. 

How are you doing and what was the last gig you played?

I’m a little fried from the weekend, hey its Monday!  Claude and I just had our first weekend of our Europe tour.  The last show was in Barcelona at Ker.  Awesome club.  Big vibes! We had way too much fun!

What’s the first thing that comes to mind when you hear South Africa?

Honestly, the first thing I think of is my brother from another mother who hosted us and organized our tour there.  The one and only Dominic Michael Connor aka Plagiarhythm.  Love you Dom!

Can you tell us a bit more about yourself and what attracted you to music specifically house music?

I grew up in a city called Champaign, Illinois.  It’s not Chicago, nor a suburb of Chicago.  And yes we had house music there!  In fact Green Velvet went to university in Champaign!  I started going out to house parties and clubs in Champaign and found myself lost on the dancefloor listening to house music.  We had some really great local house DJ’s and we would get some Chicago DJ’s rolling through quite often as well.

You were on the line up for this years CTEMF 2014.  What about CTEMF stood out for you?

You could really feel that the festival was thrown for the love of the music and creating something that hasn’t been done before in Cape Town.  Also, the crowd was very supportive of the DJ’s and artists that were from South Africa.  It was really cool to see that everyone was just as excited to dance to the locals, as they were to dance to the out of town acts.  The production was good too - the sound and visuals and fireworks!   Really nice and not too overdone.

How was your experience in South Africa? Can you share with us the highlight of your trip?

Gosh, we were totally spoiled by everyone.  Dominic and Sonia took such good care of us.  I actually can’t remember the last time I felt so relaxed.  I know Justin and Ardalan felt the same.  We went wine tasting and olive oil tasting, ate tons of good food, drove around the coast, hung out with Penguins on the beach, climbed up to Cape Point, and of course walked on top of the world on Table Mountain. We saved our party hats for the weekend and raved with some of the other artists and friends.  The whole trip was a highlight!  Once in a lifetime experience!

If you had to pick one place to describe your music what would it be and why?

Earth?  Dance music is way too universal to lock it down to just one place - It’s better to take influence from everywhere you can.

Inspiration is all around us, Where do you draw inspiration from when producing?

I draw inspiration from a lot of the music that I play out in my DJ sets.  It makes sense to want to make music that I can fit in with those tracks and play in my sets.  My friends and label mates really inspire me so much.  I play a lot of their music and when I make a new track I always hope to impress them and hope that they will play it too.  It's cool that we all keep each other going.

We are sure many women view you as a role model. How does this make you feel and what message do you have to all the women wanting to become DJs/Producers?

It’s a bit weird to me that I would be a role model to anyone, but I’m cool with that :)  I just did what felt natural and listened to what my heart told me I was passionate about.  I think the whole point is that it doesn't matter if you are male or female - I would give the same advice to anyone wanting to become a DJ or producer - Do what you love and love what you do and keep on working really really really hard and if someone doesn't believe in you just use it as a drive to prove them wrong.n

It must be very tough being a woman in a male-dominated industry how do you overcome all the stereotypes, hardships and difficulties?

I don’t really find it tough, to be honest.  It can be a tough industry on any artist.  In fact, if I even try to think about the music industry it just does my head in.  I guess I just overcome it by just doing me and trying not to think about it too much.

Who are some producer/musicians you look up to and why?

Matthew Herbert, DJ Koze, Robag Wruhme, Audion, The Other People Place, Justin Martin, Claude VonStroke, Boddika, Neil Landstrumm, Outkast, on and on and on……. I look up to them all for different reasons.  They make quality original music.  Their sound is always experimenting and changing which keeps it from getting stale and tired.  They don’t follow trends or fads in music.  They are true to themselves - which makes them leaders and inventors instead of followers.

With so much good music around, how do you select what to play in your sets? If we were DJs we would be so stuck when it came to that.

Well, I try to factor in the vibe, the club, the city, the time-slot, and the other artists on the lineup with me yet still be true to myself and my sound.  I also have the intention to open people up to some stuff they have probably never heard.

We believe every artist has a message that they are trying to portray to the world through their works. What message are you trying to send out through your music?

I’m not trying to send some deep profound message out to the world.  Its just about letting go for the night.  Weirding out to crazy sounds.  Having fun.  Getting lost on the dancefloor.  Sweating.  Laughing.  Goofing off.  Physically feeling the vibrations of the bass throughout your body.  Bonding with people who you might not normally interact within your day to day life.  My dance music is for bringing people together and having a great time.  It's not about being cool or being seen.  It shouldn't be elitist.  Everyone is the same.  

We are girls and we have an extremely hard time picking out outfits for gigs. How do you select what to wear to your gigs do you have a special item you take with to all your gigs?

Hahaha I feel ya!  When I go shopping, the salespeople always try to pick out clothes for me, and right away I’m like….. NO, I can’t DJ in that!  Personally, I don’t really like to dress too girly when I play. I DJ with a bunch of guys who wear t-shirts, jeans, and sneakers.  You gotta be comfortable. Especially your shoes.  Sometimes I even have to take all my jewelry off because it bothers me.  I wear a lot of black and grey-ish stuff lately, and shoes that match everything.  It just makes it easier to pack for tour because I can mix and match everything.  I can’t own stuff that only goes with one outfit anymore.

Lastly, what does Electronic Music represent for you…

Gosh well, it's like this crazy music that is made by machines and computers.  Sounds coming from these electronic instrument’s people have invented.  I find every aspect of it to fascinating in a way - everything from the nerdy science to the cultures and parties surrounding it.  I guess that is why its what my life is about.

Any last messages for fans?

I am thankful every day that you guys allow me to do what I do.  And don’t forget, not having fun is not an option.  Love you guys.

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