EDJ) Explain how you first became interested in working with Drum and Bass music and where you draw inspiration from, in regards to production.

Phetsta) I was first introduced to DnB during my last year of high school in 2000. I was really big on the metal thing but found myself drawn to the cross over electronic/rock stuff like Nine Inch Nails & Fear Factory more and more. I was studying in a specialised art / graphics / television production course that my high school offered, editting video alot. A mate of mine saw me chopping beats up using the audio tracks in Adobe Premier, had a bit of a laugh to himself and said to come over to his house after school sometime to check out some music production software.
     He showed me Fruityloops version 1 & Cubase VST, I was hooked instantly. He also burned me a bunch of tracks like Ed Rush & Optical - Locuste, it totally blew me away. Bad Company - Inside the Machine sealed the deal for me. It didnt leave my CD player for about 2 years. That album and all of Dom & Roland and Konflicts stuff from around the same time made me think "this is what I want to do". I produced my first DnB track in 2001.
     My inspirations come from all over the place, and as time goes by I think my influences are coming more and more from outside of DnB. In a single day on my ipod youll find me listening to anything from Deadmau5 to D Train, Timbaland to Arch Enemy, Chip Tunes to Noisia, Vangelis to Eric Prydz. Anything with interesting ideas or production.

EDJ) How would you describe the Drum and Bass scene in Australia from a local's perspective?

Phetsta) Without realising it I think that being so isolated from the rest of the world has shaped my sound alot. Whatever style of track we produce Id say that myself, Shockone & Rregula all have a strong underlying melodic vibe going.

     One thing I must say is that the crowds in Australia (especially Perth) really vibe off the more musically driven dancefloor DnB. Also the kids here get into the entire spectrum of Drum n Bass, and this forces you to always play diverse as well as produce very different stuff, instead of locking into the one style. I guess i try to unite deeper musical stuff with  newschool production, keeping it heavy enough for the dancefloor but with enough of a broad appeal to attract listeners who don't usuall listen to Drum n Bass.

EDJ) Describe your relationships with Shock One and Rregula and how you got Grant McCulloch to join your team?

Phetsta) Myself and Rregula linked up years ago around 2003, at the time we were both big on stuff like Stakka & Skynet, Konflict, BSE, everything that DSC14 had been putting out. It was mostly out of a mutual interest in that kind of music and a mutual love of metal that we started working together. It ended out going really well and we just kept at it for the next few years. We decided to call ourselves Bad Robot as a piss take on the rest of the neurofunk scene, and also some of the terrible producer alias's about the place. I can honestly say the 2 - 3 years working full on as Bad Robot were some of the most fun Ive ever had. We put a whole bunch of tracks out with labels like Habit, Renegade Recs & BSE. Bad Robot kind of ran its course and I had to focus on my new Technique contract. I think a few months after our last proper single I locked down full time for about 6 months to work on The Congo EP & Booty Call remix.

     In mid 2007 we started writing. We got together to write our first tune. In the studio we instantly clicked and we had the basis for the track Cyclones. Grant McCulloch was the lead singer of a prominent rock band named Heavy Weight Champ and a mate of Karls. He'd worked previously with Karl on the track Follow You on Viper, so we thought we would bring him in for this one too. That's where the whole partnership with Karl started. It's an interesting collab in that we are both signed to different labels, so through that we kind of bring our sounds together to form what we see as a really strong collaboration, while still maintaining our individual identities as artists. We actually just returned home to Australia from London where we were based for two months touring together. Our track "The Sun" won the Perth Dance Music Award the first weekend we were home, quite a nice way to be welcomed back.

EDJ) Are there any plans in the works for another Bad Robot release in the future?

Phetsta) Yeah there are, Rregula has been churning out solo tracks for the past few years including a bunch of collabs with Dementia from Germany. His own label is on the way, without giving away too much there will be some new Bad Robot stuff on it, and Bassline is interested in a few new bits for Technique as well. It will be interesting to see where it takes us.

EDJ) How did you and Bassline Smith first hook up, and how would YOU describe the "main man" behind Technique Recordings?

Phetsta) In 2004 I linked up wth Djon who had some stuff out with Technique, and ended out remixing one of his tracks. He actually passed this on to Simon who released it on WAR. He asked if I had anything else that was unsigned so I sent him a track called The Bloodening. The next thing you know some contracts were in the mail and Andy C was rewinding it. That's how it all started, I was blown away because I was a huge fan of Simon's stuff, especially The Oddysey which I still play out. I dont think Ive ever told Simon but one of my intial goals for the future was to eventually get a track released on Technique. Well, it kind of happened first and I dont see myself going elsewhere any time soon.

     Myself and Simon get along really well. He respects the way that I work and is open to exchanging ideas. Over the last year or two he's been a great help and is always a good set of ears to run a new tune by, hes been an invaluable mentor. On the touring side of things he's really come through for me as well, setting up huge shows for me. Hes a very up front guy and is always gets straight to the point.

EDJ) Who are some other artists that you have always wanted to work with and why?

Phetsta) I'd love to work with Drumsound & Bassline, we were actually supposed to link up when I was in London but had some scheduling conflicts. Itll definitely happen though. Some others Id like to work with would be Brookes Brothers and Matrix. Myself and Shock One have said it so many times with Brookes Brothers but again, scheduling wasnt ideal this time around. We started a collab with Metrik a few months ago which is really cool, and myself and Tom are keen to swap remixes, but I cant say too much else about that at present apart from "stay tuned in 2009".

EDJ) Do you like to think of yourself more as a producer, or a DJ?..and why?

Phetsta) I'm alw ays a producer first but I love touring and DJing. It's a constant cycle for me, sitting in the studio writing a track and vibing off how much I think people will dig it. Flash forward to being out on tour, crowds of thousands in some exotic location almost sending themselves into cardiac arrest to the very tune I was working on. You just can't beat that feeling. It's what keeps me going and wanting to get back into the studio to feed that energy back into something new. I've invested alot of time in honing my skills as a DJ over the last 2 - 3 years and I'm happy to say that I think I'm up to a good standard, playing across 3 CDJ's for most sets.

EDJ) What kind of hardware; programs; and plug-ins do you like for producing your tracks?..also, how long "on average" do you spend working on a track before considering it complete?

Phetsta) My entire studio is software based, im running a 3ghz Quad Core PC, a single (yes single) Mackie HR 824 Mk II monitor and  a TC Electronics Konnekt 24D audio interface. My main DAW is Fruity Studio 7, my main synth plugins are NI Massive, Z3ta, Arturia Minimoog & Filterscape. For processing I use the Sonnox Plugins for EQ & Compression, Camelphat, NI Guitar Rig for overdrive effects. For reverbs and delays I turn to Waves and Ohm plugins. I use dB Audioware's compressor for side chaining and on the master I'm running the Izotope Ozone 3.

     Generally, I will lay down my drum tracks and basic sounds over a few days, write a track over a few more and then spend 2 - 3 weeks on the mixdown. This can be done over longer periods of time, I'll generally get the basis of a track laid down then come back to it a week later and hit the mixdown over a few sessions that will last 3-4 days, only really stopping to sleep and eat. On average I'd say I complete a track in about 2-4 weeks.

EDJ) What "classics" do you find yourself throwing in your record bag for parties?

Phetsta) Digital - Deadline, Konflict - New World Order, Mo Fire (Andy C & Fresh Remix), Bassline Smith & Drumsound - The Oddysey.

EDJ) Tell a little bit about your life before DnB music...jobs, hobbies, etc.

Phetsta) I guess I'll give a brief history of my life so to speak. I was born in New Zealand in a tiny ass town of about 5000 people. I relocated to Perth, Australia in 1997. As far as hobbies go outside of DnB I was always into art, this was my main calling before I discovered music. Music was never really a consideration because I can't play any instruments of any kind, so discovering computer production opened so many doors for me. As far as jobs go I used to make Kebabs at the beach I used to live by, this was when I was about 18. I've also worked on and off in a mailing factory for a few years and sometimes ran a weekly DnB night when the promoters felt like having a night off. I'm a fairly decent cook, I am currently single and I enjoy walks on the beach and commitment.

EDJ) What advice would you offer to a talented and driven artist trying to establish themselves in this business?

Phetsta) Be patient, be very patient. Don't put out an inferior product because you want some instant gratification and praise. Instead take your time, hone your skills and be realistic. Constantly critique your production, set the bar high. Production takes time to learn, years in fact, so be prepared to make sacrifices.

EDJ) Do you have any plans of touring in the US anytime in the foreseeable future?

Phetsta) At the moment nothing is planned, Europe is definitely the place to be for it. I was in The States several years ago, TX and NC were really good. It's unfortunate and really suprising to find there weren't any large sized venues for DnB like there were in Europe. If I can string together enough gigs in USA (which seems to be easier said than done) I will definitely try to make it across late 2009 / early 2010. If Bush could manage to somehow run the entire country for eight years on half the usual amount of brain cells it takes for a chimp to perform very basic motor skills, then surely I can get something sorted.