Vinyl Life

We now tune into NYC's fresh four-some Vinyl Life, comprised of Butcha, Phaze Future, DJ Ohzee, and Richie Roxx. Interview with Butcha (A.K.A. Phil Moffa), photos courtesy of sullivansnaps.com.

How did you all meet, and begin making music together?
Me and Ohzee have been friends since age 12 and DJ partners since 1997. Phaze, Rich, and I went to college together at the Conservatory of Music at SUNY Purchase. We have BFA’s in Studio Composition and Production. I am actually on board there as a faculty member for five years now teaching Production Master Classes.

How long have you been making music, individually and as Vinyl Life?
As kids, me and Ohzee were into rhyming and always wanted to DJ. We both finally got decks at the age of 18 after being inspired by house music DJ’s in NYC. Richie Roxx has been playing keys and every other instrument in bands since he was 13. Phaze has rocked the mic since his youth, notorious for winning battles in his hometown of Harlem. As a team, Ohzee and The Butcha had our first two releases in 2003 after being into production for about four years. We brought Richie Roxx in to play keys on our next three remixes. We added Phaze as vocalist in 2005 and our first Vinyl Life project “Flashlight” was released on Ultra’s You Records. There are also many projects connected to Vinyl Life – Phaze is half of duo Smash Mechanics where I am mix engineer and Richie Roxx is also Nite Club and his debut album is coming out in Japan this year.

Who are some of the bands that have influenced you?
Our tastes are very deep and varied but there is much common ground. We all love old school house, techno, disco, and rap. To start naming all the DJ’s and artists in there would take a long time. Kraftwerk, Daft Punk, Afrika Bambaataa, and Moroder are some of the electronic legends we often pay tribute to. Dub mixers like King Tubby and Scientist have influenced the way we mixdown on the console. Our favorite hero is the Hardest Working Man in Show Business: Godfather James Brown. Pure legend.

Tell us more about your DJing background, and how that led to you making music?
Our very first brushes with DJing as kids were alongside legendary DJ Stockbizzy. He was the first person to show us anything. Ohzee and I have been hanging out in clubs since we were 17 and that led to us getting our own turntables a year later. I also had a brief stint on college radio where my name “The Butcha” was created. We felt that making tracks was the next step and I began studying music in college. That’s where I met Rich and Phaze who had already been into music their whole lives. Since then we’ve played at Sound Factory, Crobar, Pacha, Exit and all the major clubs that have come and gone in NYC over the years. We’ve played at every hole in the wall too.

Describe your music for us.
“These beats that break that bass that make you shake right out your soul"

Tell us more about the process you use to start assembling or creating a track, and the role each member plays?
There are many possibilities but it usually goes like this: Butcha starts by designing drum sounds and then sequencing a beat and bassline. Then, in no particular order, Roxx will lay down the keys, Phaze writes the vocals, and Ohzee makes loops. It’s then a collaboration of arrangement and each song has its own way of speaking to us. We like to let what comes naturally dictate the process – that’s when the truest music comes out. One of our newer ways of writing is done in our Brooklyn rehearsal space. Through jamming and recording we come up with ideas. It’s very Anthem. This is how we came up with our newest track “Etch a Sketch”.

What equipment do you use?
In the studio, our drum machine museum includes: 909, 808, SP1200, Linn Drum and Jomox MBase. The brain of sequences and samples is the MPC 1000. Synthesizers are mostly analog and include the Future Retro Revolution, Studio Electronics SE1 and ATC, Roland Juno 106, MKS 50, and JP8000, Access Virus B, Sequential Circuits Sixtrak and Novation KS5. We use lots of analog filters like the Moog Lowpass, Sherman Filterbank II and Electro Harmonix Q-Tron. We’re hardware addicts. All of these instruments are routed into a 16 channel board. I press play on the Revolution and it starts the clocks on the other pieces. The board is then played in a dub style while I work the levels, mutes, effects sends and parameters on the synths. This is recorded as a stereo pair into Pro Tools for editing. We no longer record and mixdown to multi-track. We prefer to capture a performance.
On stage my setup is streamlined to the Revolution, MPC, Pioneer EFX1000 and the mixing board with everyone’s input. Ohzee uses a Pioneer CDJ and EFX setup, Richie Roxx plays the JP8000 and KS5, and Phaze is on the mic run thru a Korg Kaoss Pad.

Tell us more about what role our products play in your music? And what you like about the Revolution.
The Revolution is the heartbeat of our studio. It sends midi clock and din sync to the 808, 909, and MPC. What I like about the Revolution first is its sound. Beautiful, warm, and dirty analog bass. With the filter down it is the perfect deep bass module and with the filter opening it is just like the 303 and beyond. We usually use the square wave setting and the overdrive engaged. The circular sequencer and graphic layout is inspiring. The large pattern memory and remix function are key features too.

What made you choose the Revolution over just using the TB-303?
When I first read about the Revolution in a magazine, I was thinking about doing a live PA and it seemed like the perfect tool for the job. It sends both din sync and midi. Sequencing on the Revolution is a lot easier. Considering that it is brand new, it will last me a lot longer than the 303. The price is also better.

How frequently are you performing live? And any places you play on a regular basis, even DJing?
We’re playing live as a group about twice a month and DJ weekly. It’s always changing. Check our website and myspace for info on shows.

What musical direction do you see the band going in the next couple years?
I hope to see Vinyl Life grow creatively through production techniques and musical knowledge. I have been studying piano and percussion and Rich has been learning more studio chops. It’s great to be able to communicate where there were once barriers. I think that many musicians, including ourselves, begin with a strong influence of their heroes whether it is conscious or not. As you grow, you shed some of your more obvious connections to your idols and develope your own sound. I think that as Vinyl Life finds our voice, we will create some very unique music and a killer live show. I believe our best work is way ahead of us.

Any words of wisdom for upcoming musicians and DJ's?
Evolve. Dedication to growing means immersion in your art. Take time to listen to music of the masters and the modern stuff. Experiment in the studio. Nothing will give you a unique sound more than doing things that take time and at first seem trivial. Get buried under a pile of cables and you will hit the surface with something new. Jam and record it. When you add your most experimental work to your refined and polished, that’s when the magic happens. As far as the business and marketing side of things goes, we’re just beginning to focus on that. I think it’s all about making contacts, identifying your ideal fan base, and getting your music, videos, and live show out there for the world to experience.

Discography:
Sound Is In Your System - Vinyl Life [Vinyl Life Music] 2007
Music Is The Answer - Colonel Abrams (Vinyl Life Remix and Dub) [...Records] 2007
Bridge And Tunnel - The New Yorker (Vinyl Life Remix) [COMPLEX COLLECTIVE] August 2007
Still Vibration - Vinyl Life [Rexhouse Music] January 2007
Rhythm Rock You - Vinyl Life [Rexhouse Music] July 2006
Good Life - Vinyl Life [Rexhouse Music] March 2006
My House Is Your House – Chris The Greek (Vinyl Life Analog Remix) [DJG Productions] January 2006
First Time – Offer Nissim featuring Maya (DJ Ohzee and the Butcha Remix) [Star 69] December 2005
Flashlight – Vinyl Life [You Records] July 2005

For more information, please visit the following links.
www.vinyllife.com
www.myspace.com/vinyllife
www.vinyllifemusic.blogspot.com