My musical influence and inspiration came from my grandad. He was a music teacher and played the piano in the war. I used to listen to him playing and being around him gave me the confidence to play too. I was lucky. I can hear a tune and play it instinctively.
He used to give me lessons but I got really bored of the sheet music like Spanish Eyes, I just wasn’t interested. But the confidence bred in me by my grandad meant I could use music to my advantage.
I’ve always loved electronic music. I had DJ decks when I was younger and used to frequent nightclubs like The Hacienda in Manchester and Gatecrasher in Sheffield. I’ve collected loads of vinyl over the years.
My world changed when one of my mates, Tom, joined a successful studio in Sheffield called Goldenscan. People will remember Sunrise as their massive track. In 1998 I went to his house. He had bought an Access Virus B synthesiser and started playing various tunes we used to hear in the clubs. But when he played them it was incredible. I can feel goose bumps on my arms thinking about it now. I thought, I have got to get into that.
I bought my first synthesiser, an Access Virus C in 2004 when I got made redundant from a job. People thought I was crazy at the time for spending heavily, but it really worked out.
The studio started when a few of us got together about 12 years ago. I had some equipment and joined forces with some other guys and started to make some good music. We luckily moved to The Laundry Rooms in Sheffield, met some amazing contacts and In-Phase Studio became our home from home.
Dave Hogg is my studio partner. We have DJs and bands that come in but mainly we create music – tunes and vocals. Synfoly is the trance music name we are working under and Frakah is another.
We have a lot of fun doing it. Recent news from our studio is very positive. In the last couple of years we have had successful releases which received amazing support from DJs. Dark Light on Entrance Records, Wait For You and Paradox on Ternary Records and Attila Remix – Rise of the Empire also on Ternary Records were very popular tracks. Check out I-Tunes.
Flying High Sine FM 102.6 FM DJ, George Jopling, also gives us amazing coverage, playing us sometimes twice a month on his weekly show. We have had 11 plays in the last 8 months.
For the Frakah alias we have had plays on Radio 1, coming third in a competition on Huw Stephens show, God of the Pods, with a track called Split Confusion. From that we signed a publishing deal with Fabric London. We also had a track featured on the cover of DJ Mag for their Miami Music edition called Alive.
My IT knowledge and this type of music seem to really support each other. Dave studied music at university and my IT skills plus our combined creativity really make it work. This is my absolute passion and I continue to get a real buzz out of it.
