Phase Records is swiftly establishing as a key force in the evolution of dark Drum and Bass, demonstrating the genre's capacity for both artistic expression, passion and innovation. Spearheaded by East London DJ and producer Gifta, the label has quickly established itself as a hub for nurturing underground talent. Guided by a philosophy of growth and community, Phase Records operates with a family-oriented ethos that sets it apart. Beyond its musical contributions, Phase Records exemplifies the increasing influence of women in the industry, redefining what leadership in the Drum and Bass scene looks like. Through determination and pioneering spirit and passion serve as a beacon for the next generation, particularly for young women aspiring to carve their own paths in the music world, not only reshaping the landscape but inspiring the new generation of women to pursue these paths, refining what's possible while also inspiring transformative change within the industry.

We caught up with the label owner Gifta to hear all about the label and their future.

Welcome! Thanks for taking the time to chat, to kick things off, can you share the first moment you became immersed in Drum and Bass and what drew you in?

My dad is a big vinyl collector, he has a massive collection. The kind of breaks style, very drum focused, and Jungle records were always favorites of mine, well all the stuff I could handle, he plays a lot of weird obnoxious sounding noise at times but those were really something I appreciated. Didn't really know what it was at the time or had a lot of knowledge nor have anyone around me that was into it as well. It wasn’t until I went to university where I made raver friends that loved Drum and Bass. That was our friendship group, Drum and Bass heads, that is what we loved. A bunch of us lived in a house together so we would go to Fabric every weekend. Eventually one of them got some Dj decks and he was like “You dance really well to Drum and Bass so that must mean you’d be a good DJ.” I had a go on the decks and it was just a hobby that became my entire life.

Lockdown hit, I lost my job, the entire Drum and Bass scene sorta went online and it sorta became all I had. Met loads of people that kind of had a driving force to explore it properly and I kind of became that stick of dynamite in their ears to produce, mix, get better. And one of them was like you know you’re really good at telling people what to do and getting them to listen to you. “Have you ever thought of having a label and pushing for people to do this?” I thought, I don’t know the first thing about having a label, but I listened.

I did it and now here we are in the second year of releasing music about to go to our third. Still learning and making mistakes but I can’t imagine myself or my life without it now. That's it, I’m invested now.

So when did your producing journey begin?

I’ve been producing for about three and a half years now, seriously, I dabbled a little bit before then. I am a musician though, I’ve played drums, and violin to professional standards, I think all of that plus Djing kinda helped. I wasn’t producing when the idea of Phase Records came about but now I am and I’m absolutely obsessed. I’m really trying to champion the sound that I believe the label is pushing, kind of in my own production as well because that’s what I like and that’s what I want to make.

Referring back to your friends motivating you, what initially sparked the idea of Phase Records?

Just my friend Louie and others appreciating me to motivate them saying “We don’t think we’d be going at music production the way we would be if it wasn’t for you.” I had this little online community that was called Elevation, it was a Facebook page for people to go and stream on during lockdown. It eventually evolved to Phase Records when we realized there was already a record label called Elevate, then it was like what should we call it now?

It’s happening, and I’m inspired every single day to keep doing it. I don’t think I could stop even if I tried. I'm so addicted to the label, my team and watching them do amazing things even outside of Phase Records. I care so very much about their trajectory and career. It’s fully an addiction now it’s my new nicotine.

Inspiring, Phase Records was nominated for the best newcomer label in the Drum&BassArena Awards, how did that recognition boost the label?

I remember when we got nominated, in my head I was like, I think we deserve to get nominated but not to win, not this year. It was our first year of releasing music. I think we definitely deserved it this year maybe…but they weren't running this year, I would’ve definitely fancied our chances. I don’t necessarily know what it did for us in terms of recognition, it did something to us mentally, we were like okay, our name is now being spoken in the same breath as incredible people who have amazing music careers. It made us all go, now we want this, we can do this so let's go and earn this every year. Let's make ourselves proud. It did more to us on a personal and a motivational front with a push for discipline. What’s happened this year with Hospitality On The Beach, UKF, how monumentally well all of our releases have done, and the names we’ve worked with. This year has been more about growth as a label people recognize and respect. Last year was a dress rehearsal, this year was the first act.

Super thankful we were nominated and proud of the way we all took the nomination seriously and that we carried that energy into this year.

Historically in a male dominated scene, how do you maneuver being a female and what role do you see yourself in encouraging, empowering other women in the industry?

It is what it is.

Have you faced any challenges?

I definitely have down days but I’m surrounded in my close circle and my personal life by amazing men who love me and remind me of that all the time. I’m incredibly lucky to be in that position. Quite a lot of my record label is boy focused, have a lot of girls but lots of boys and they treat me like an absolute queen. Whenever it’s hard, whenever there is a comment, and whenever I’m bashed about, whatever it is, my appearance, my ability or saying she only got this or that because I’m a girl. Of course that happens to me, that happens to all of us and that's wrong, that's shit but I’m very fortunate and lucky whenever something like that happens, I have a group of guys that will remind me that I’m a bad b.

I want to show other girls that they belong in Drum and Bass, not just as Djs, not just as producers but as business women. We can do it well, and we can do it bloody well. More girls running labels please!

Are there parts of the industry where you feel like women's voices are still unheard?

Yeah, definitely. There's always been for more minorities to come through and do something and be noticed. Absolutely. I think age is something that we overlook a lot when it comes to diversity, especially on the topic of women. I think younger women will have a much easier time coming through and breaking through than perhaps an older woman. I think that's something that we need to talk about as a society, not just in Drum and Bass. I feel like it's definitely growing and evolving but the work is not done for sure.

How do you manage your personal life and the label?

No days off. It takes a lot of sacrifice. I’m better at it now I think at balance. A lot better now than I used to be but I work everyday. Work life balance doesn’t exist. I currently don’t have a job outside music so this is all I do but even with that I’m always doing something for the label or producing. Switching off is not an easy thing to do but I’ve suffered from burnout before in a very debilitating way. I’m definitely more aware that I do need down time but I have amazing friends even ones that don’t do music and I think that's very important. I’m incredibly close to my mom, she keeps my feet very firmly on the ground. She didn’t really know what Drum and Bass was until I started. I will be working next year though, I’m training to teach primary school and I believe it’ll be very good for me. It’ll give me fulfillment away from music which I haven’t felt in my adult life. Another amazing thing I’m looking forward to and hopefully it’ll be good for the label.

If you’re not good your artist self can’t be good even if it sparks creativity. You have to look after yourself.

How do you stay authentic in your vision while navigating expectations and assumptions?

I’m very specific in what I like in terms of Drum and Bass, people and artists to manage, it may not seem like it because my label is a bunch of misfits, they’re all different in a lot of terms even music although it all falls under that “Skatimal” branch. I won’t give up on the vision. The only expectations I care about are my own. All that matters is the music and the scene. I'm always reminding myself of that and hopefully it’ll keep my vision, morals and actions authentic to me

Who are some of your early inspirations in Drum and Bass and who is inspiring you now?

Maybe when I was first getting into it properly - Enei, Chase & Status, Break, Calyx & TeeBee, and Benny L. I still really like all of them but there's such a new wave of artists that always come about. Really been inspired by Waeys, SMG, and VISLA this year. The second I discovered T>I a few years ago, he's been so instrumental in the way I approach my DJ sets and music.

There's people that I think really like their energy as well. Turno is doing some great stuff about mental health, and he's such a positive person on social media, and I think that's amazing. Simula, I love what he's brought to jump up, I think it's incredibly refreshing. But also I like how honest and raw he can be on social media, too. I have a lot of respect and time for that. Yeah. And then my artists inspire me all the time. Hannah, Ekstatic. Her drive, her talent, her ambition. She's amazing. Vispera, just as a friend, is a huge inspiration. Xyde for his production, Ominous. Yeah, I think I had to really sum it up. He really inspires me. Today, day-to-day would be my resident artists of Phase Records, 100%.

I’m inspired by so many, there's a plethora of amazing music!

I like everything, too. This is the problem. I think this is where “Skatimal” for me is the middle ground of a lot of the sub-genres. It's just that dark place that sits in the middle of all of them. And when I push “Skatimal”, it means I can push all Drum and Bass within a specific mood, frame and space. And I think that's where that obsession of using that word and we say it a lot. I feel like only really Phase Records people really know what that means.

A hybrid sound of darkness.

Exactly. And it's really cute, a lot of more people are starting to say it now, and it's catching on. It's more about darkness, the many ways, shapes and forms darkness can be perceived, heard, and portrayed. Fundamentally, Drum and Bass is dark. It has a certain darkness to it, and certainly all of the subgenres, I think, possess, just like people, a dark side. A dark side doesn't necessarily have to be a bad one. You need the dark to have the light. It’s like yin and yang, right? And I think that's where “Skatimal” really brings those things together. I mean, Simula is a great example of the way he's brought darkness into jump up. A lot of minimal producers bring in deepness and really dark themes into like liquid, for example, or people like Screamarts who bring such a raw darkness sometimes into like neurofunk sounds, or some Camo & Krooked, like No Tomorrow, while that has a hugely euphoric drop, it's dark. The orchestra bit at the end, it's dark and it's beautiful.

How do you discover and nurture a new artist while staying connected to your ethos?

Constantly looking, and listening. Obviously, we have a very thriving demo box, which I've discovered a lot of people through there. I discover a lot of people through other people telling me to listen to this person. My artists are very good now at knowing what I would like. If you send me a tune, as long as I'm not busy, I'm going to listen to it. In terms of staying connected to the family, I don't think they would let me go if I could bloody try. If I tell them I need a break, they're still on the case. We've got a thriving group chat. Sometimes it's quiet there, sometimes it's booming.

How do you as a team go about signing tracks?

I'll always have final say. We have obviously the demo folder in our emails. Unless I've approached you personally, which I've done that quite a few times, I've approached artists personally and said, I like you. This is what I'm about. I would love to release with you. What have you got in the tank right now? Sometimes that works, sometimes that doesn't. But I've done that with Hexa, I've done that with Parallel, I did that with Xyde, I did that with Ominous, I did that with Dapreme. I found one of his songs on SoundCloud, messaged him and was like, Let's talk. Now he's one of the most important figure heads in my label. Charlotte was a friend, we went to Let It Roll together. She wasn't a part of Phase then through that, she started showing me her music more. But now, if I'm not approaching you or getting to know you personally, if we get something cool on the demo email, I put it into the A&R chat, which is me, Dapreme and Xyde, and we talk about it. Sometimes we argue about it. Sometimes they offer really excellent advice or things that I didn't spot and vice versa, maybe mix-down issues or whatever.

Our main thing is the creative aspect. If we like the creative aspect, the technical we can work on, but the creative aspect and the narrative of this tune itself is the most important thing to us. We can give you feedback on your mix-down, and we can get that right. But if it's not there, creatively or if it's not a fit, if it's not “Skatimal”, it's just not going to work for us. So, yeah, it's a mixture between me going out hunting for it or just letting people come to us and seeing what fits.

It’s difficult when you have so many demos that's already scheduled out until the end of next year.

It's hard sometimes, isn't it? Yeah, it's a blessing and a curse. I also think if a label wants to work with you and you believe in what that label can do for you, and if you believe that your music to a certain degree is somewhat timeless, who cares if you got to wait a year? Think about it like... So Step Back by Mefjus, I first heard that a year and a half before it came out. People do have dubs for a long time. Dub culture is important. Playtime is essential. Building hype is really important. And I think sometimes people might be throwing away opportunities to really form a nice and good and long-standing relationship with a label because they're rushing to put stuff out now. I'm not saying that that's the right or wrong way to do things, but I think that don't let dub culture die. It's so important. The T>I remix that you guys are premiering, we've been playing that now for over a year, and it's still not out yet. It's out next month. But it's been such a great dub to have. Do you know what I mean?

What inspired you to start the Between the beats podcast?

Well, we already had a podcast. One of our residents was doing it, but it was more like just a mix doing mixing. There's so much that goes on in the Drum and Bass scene, and we're all people between the beats, right? We're all individuals. And there seems to be sometimes, I think, a gap in the person and the producer or the artist. And I wanted to bridge that a little bit. I wanted to find out more about people I really admired within the scene and their backstories, and their motivations, their hopes and fears for the future, more about them as people. What do they do outside of Drum and bass? A lot of us have full-time jobs. I wanted to uncover people, discover their stories, And also shine light, I think, on people who maybe you wouldn't know, like mastering engineers, label managers, that thing. My first episode was a bit of a call out and a nod to what I wanted to do. I led it with openness, rawness, honesty, and talked a lot about who I was and my own demons that I'd had in the past.

Then my first guest was Kenny, who heads up In The Lab Recordings. Now, I think I've just done episode nine with Pythius. Every conversation I've learned so much has made me... I've always left the conversations really motivated, inspired, and hopefully that's doing the same to others. And every single guest, I think, has enjoyed it. And I hope it's been a breath of fresh air for them to do that. There's not enough press in Drum and Bass. There's not enough conversation, and that's a result of us being babies still in terms of music genre and quite underground, but we need more of it. I like doing it.

With the oversaturation of Drum and Bass in your area, how do you go about playing gigs and doing a label night? It’s very competitive out there.

Yes, stupidly competitive. I mean, first of all, we're all competing against the massive brands, which is normal. I'm not saying that's a good or a bad thing. It's the way things are. We're also competing against the fact nobody has any money anyway. We're competing against venues closing down, so less places to do it. And the fact that it's not a cheap thing to do. It's categorically not easy, not something we always gain from. It's a loss. It's a financial loss. And we haven't done our own nights now since I've been out of full-time work because I categorically can't afford to do it. We've been very lucky to work with Hospital Records who gave us the opportunity to go and play Croatia. Malware Audio in Austria who took us out to Austria. Off The Block, who helped collaborate who've asked for us to play up in Manchester, Overview Music, who believed in us enough to go and do Brighton. And hopefully, those relationships won't end. Phase Records events will come back. They will come back. They will come back next year. I need to have a salary again because you have to think about yourself like you do. And record labels aren't cheap to one anyway at no businesses. You have to detach yourself from the end result. Of course, I've got big dreams and huge goals. But stepping back from that for a second and just saying, I love the music so much that whatever role I have in it, whether this keeps going bigger and bigger, whether it plateaus, whether it flat lines, whether I'm nobody in three months, if you can detach yourself from the possibility of what might be or might be, and still work hard, still aim for the stars, still shoot for the moon, still do everything you can to make it happen. But if you can just say to yourself, the music is all that matters, then I just feel like the competition won't matter. The oversaturation will not matter.

Absolutely. I love that.

It's going to sound really weird. I don't pay attention to it. I don't. Yes, I care about chart positions. Of course, I do. It means we're doing a good job, but I know full well that we're not always in control of how well something does. And that's not necessarily because of bad performance. It's because there might be 40 other releases that week from artists so much bigger than us with huge marketing teams behind them. How are we supposed to compete with that? We are in competition with the people we were yesterday. That's it.

You just have to let the music speak for itself. There’s so many artists, Djs, and labels in the scene absolutely crushing it yet not being recognized by these larger entities.

I know some DJs that are absolutely incredible at what they do, and they definitely don't get booked enough. Equally, I know some producers that are extremely talented, but that talent isn't converting to Spotify streams or Instagram followers or bookings. You have to roll with the punches, man. We can sit here and discuss why is that the case? Is the music to this? Is it like that? Is it budgets? Is it whatever it is? It is what it is and we keep going again.

How did Mitosis Vol. 1 come together?

I took a chance. Now, here we are with our most ambitious and best piece of work to date. I'm feeling incredibly blessed and lucky that these incredible artists wanted to do this and work with me. I'm very happy for my team getting remixes from some of their idols. It's going to be wicked.

How did the relationship with Hospital Records come about?

I was their mentee. I won the business development mentorship the year before. They were teaching me on all aspects from finance, legal, marketing, and doing promo. My advice to anybody trying to do things with these bigger brands is keep working, detach, and again, detach from the end result, keep focusing on you, being positive, bringing that good energy, being authentic, and keep working hard.

What's on the horizon for Phase this upcoming year?

A lot of great music. Working with more artists. Debut EP from MIYAMORO, which we're very excited about. She's going to absolutely blow it out of the water. More UKF premieres. More takeovers, hopefully and continuing to do what we're doing. More development of our sound, more improvement, and hopefully, some of our residents continuing to do amazing things with the community and team by their side.

Well that's a wrap from me thank you so much for hopping on the call, i really appreciate your time.

It was such a pleasure. Enjoy the rest of your day, and cheers!

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