Melbourne hip hop artist Phil Gektor has just dropped his latest solo album.
'Real Heads Don't Listen' proves to be somewhat of a satirical comment on mainstream society and commercialisation from the Crate Cartel member. The album features an assortment of 15 tracks which voice his extreme reluctance to submit to society's expectations, even confessing his drunk-driving ‘adventures'.
Great moniker... are you a Phil Spector fan? Favourite Spector produced track?
I'm not an avid fan of his discography but his sound is iconic. Obviously he’s talented, but a combination of his own shortcomings and personal tragedy consistently resulted in disasters. I like the album ‘River Deep — Mountain High’ with Tina and Ike [Turner] who was also talented but maligned.
You have your new album, ‘Real Heads Don’t Listen’, out now; are you having a dig at ‘real heads’?
Yes. And myself. The album title is deep. It works on every level of existence.
You’ve said this release is like a “time capsule”. So how does the LP showcase music in the middle of 2014?
It's a time capsule in that I've gotten old but I haven’t really changed in the entire second half of my lifespan. This is music I should have made in 1998 but I just wasn't good enough and didn't have the tools; it took me a while to get there.
There’s a real old school punk attitude to your recordings... you don’t mind throwing society’s expectations in people’s faces via your music?
I just CBF with the expectations. Why does society have to be on everybody's case all the time dude?
The album is entirely self-produced... a labour of love over many, many sleepless nights?
It was a lot of work but I love it. I love making albums, the art, the videos. We have a self-sufficient little unit with Crate Cartel and it's real fun doing it now.
What do you enjoy the most about producing your own records?
I love it all. The records, the samplers, mics, rhymebooks. It’s my thing. Samples... it’s great to hear a producer going deep with their digging.
Where do you source the majority of your samples?
I get all my samples off vinyl, so record shops mainly but more recently I've bought some records of the internet. Any genre, but I won’t pay for expensive records. There’s millions of cheap ones to get through first.
As a performer, how would you describe your stage presence?
I am a sexual livewire!
What do you bring to the Aussie hip hop scene that others don’t?
I don’t think my music is really related to the Australian scene at all. So many of those dudes sound the same. I think I sound pretty different from all that.
What can audiences expect from your shows in the near future? What’s your stage set-up?
We’re working on putting together a performance of the album in its entirety. The stage set-up will be two turntables and a microphone. We want as much work to go into the performance as what went into the album.
If you could collaborate with anyone, dead or alive, who would it be and why?
I would do a full album with Screwball in their 2000 form. R.I.P. K.L. HooHaaa!
When marijuana is legalised in Australia — what’s the first thing you do?
I would put a stick in with every album we sell because music goes better with dope.
Crate Cartel... what’s fresh from the crew?
Everybody in the crew has projects in the works currently, so expect more music from all members.
The next step for Phil Gektor once you finish this interview...
He will retreat from the public eye... only to remerge when they least expect it. Boo!
‘Real Heads Don’t Listen’ is available now.
