The Mix
Talk us through the track selection of the mix.
"A mixture of different styles, genres and eras all with the right element of soul and delivered at chill factor 10... Some wise words from Charlie Chaplin about not fighting for the man... Some Welsh cosmic psych, music sprinkled with glitter, a hint of Italian pop, a few label exclusives including a cover of Mos Def in a folk style plus a Ron Basejam remix. Add to that some deep, bassline glitch and tripped our electronic bliss and you have the perfect Summer soundtrack, you just need to add the right amount of Sunshine..."
For what environment is the mix intended?
"Flat on your back, shades on, and sun beating down..."
Where and how was the mix recorded?
"I used a mixing program on my Mac... I like the music to flow naturally, start to finish, natural tempo... These tracks are made to be listened to, it's all about selection and blend rather than mixing..."
What are the musical influences that have allowed you to arrive at this mix?
"BIG QUESTION! Blimey that is a tough one... I am open to all music, in-fact I think there are only two types of music, music you LIKE and music you DON'T LIKE... I try not to get restricted... That's like going into an amazing restaurant and just having eggs... I suppose nearly 30 odd years of being an avid collector of music has played a contributing factor and being fortunate enough to travel the world playing gigs and being able to experience different cultures and their musical output has helped, plus I have a few musical buddies, including Mark Broadbent from We Love... who put me onto different sounds, it is a never ending journey of discovery..."
The Plug
What is keeping you busy at the moment?
"My NuNorthern Soul label and the day job, Sentric Music and Digital... Currently working a release by Norwegian artist Ragz Nordest and I have some killer remixes from Ron Basejam aka Jim Baron from Crazy P, who I went to school with and was instrumental in the early NuNorthern Soul parties... Crazy P played live at our first birthday many moons ago..."
Talk us through the history of NuNorthern Soul, briefly if you can!
"Ah ha, well what started as a Sunday wind down session in a boozer in Chester in the mid 90's has grown into a label, series of events and regular podcast... As I have matured so has my music and this is reflective in the NuNorthern Soul output..."
Where will you be this summer? We'll catch you at We Love... at some point, is that right?
"Yes the summer is looking quite sexy, Ibiza for We Love on Sunday 30th, doing my more uptempo eclectic and Disco vibes for 'After Dark', then heading to The Garden Festival in Croatia for July 7th... Bali in August, Bestival and Number 6 festival back in the UK in September..."
The label is a relatively new string to the NuNorthern Soul bow, how are things on that front?
"All good, getting lots of love from the right areas, plays from the likes of Gilles Peterson, Rob Da Bank, Craig Charles etc on BBC Radio... Vinyl being sold across the globe, lots of love in Japan which is nice as I plan to visit next year..."
Finally, you have a weekend off. What do you do? Where do you go?
"Maybe a bit of walking and sampling the odd ale on the way, or a quick bunk over to some rave hot spot for a couple of days of dance-floor antics and vinyl hunting... ying and yang mate, ying and yang..."
Tracklist
1. Osunlade 'The Realm of Difference' and 'The Great Dictator Speech' by Charlie Chaplin
2. Niwl Y Nefoedd from Y Record Goch
3. Mister Lies 'False Astronomy'
4. Miriam Makeba 'I'mm You'mm We'mm'
5. Ragz Nordset 'You Started It All - Ron Basejam Re-work' (NuNorthern Soul records)
6. Dali Lawr from Y Record Goch
7. Rhye 'The Fall'
8. BJ Smith 'Umi Says' (NuNorthern Soul records)
9. Dexter Story 'Underway (Love Is)
10. Lucio Battisiti 'Amarsi Un Po (Ole Smokey's Love Is All We Need edit)
11. Pachanga Boys 'Time'
Biography
Phat Phil Cooper is a music lover plain and simple... From label owner to international DJ, radio show presenter, artist manager and event promoter, Phat Phil lives and breaths music... From fourth division to premier league is how Phil likes to describe his breakthrough onto the mid 90's house music scene. Plucked from relative obscurity, DJing at Chester's “Sweet” House music night in the North West of England to warm up DJ to the underground stars at Cream, Liverpool by Darren Hughes, promoter and visionary extraordinaire! All this happened in 1995 and the summer of 1996 saw Phil land the first of his many years' residencies for Cream at Amnesia, Ibiza. Here Phil was allowed to flex his broad musical styles ranging from hip hop to deep house in his marathon 8 hour sets. Many people think Jade Jagger bought hip hop to Ibiza but DJ magazine recognised Phat Phil's hip hop credentials in '96 and awarded him Best Hip Hop set of the Year – Phat Phil Cooper, Cream, Amnesia, Ibiza – FACT!
As Phil moved from the UK to Ibiza to set up a record promo pool, NuNorthern Soul went with him, transferring it from an English style bar to the legendary Ibiza Base Bar was easy as people wanted to hear different beats and NuNorthern Soul provided them with exactly that. Quickly it was obvious that this idea would work well anywhere with sun, so as The Base Bar extended their business and opened Es Vive Hotel, Phil was asked to host the pool side session every Wednesday and Sunday. The Sunday sessions soon turned into pre Space sessions with the cooler, music-loving crowd rocking up for Sunday sustenance in the form of a full Sunday roast before heading down to We Love at Space. Quick to spot the synergy that NuNorthern Soul had, in stepped Mr Darren Hughes (again) and his music director, and business partner, Mark Broadbent and took the NuNorthern Soul vibe to the new roof terrace at Space every Sunday, kicking up a fuss with African and Latin beats, funk, disco, soul, hip hop and broken beat.
Phil eventually moved back to Liverpool, UK and set up the Sick Trumpet label, several 7” and 12” and a full artist album projects under his belt he set about also setting up KAT records, an edits based 12” label, releasing reedits of classic, hard to find disco and boogie tracks with a view to keeping history alive and providing modern diggers with a new source of material. Greg Wilson, Rahaan and Al Kent are some of the contributors so far.
