The Irish up and comer brings us on a two hour journey of eclectic builds and bassline infused d&b, house and tech anthems.
Upon listening to the latest musical offering “The Instigator EP” from Irish artist, DJ & producer Niall Prescott aka Rhythms Of Prescott, you would assume that the artist has solely rooted his years into all things house and its surrounding stylings. This is far from the truth. Niall’s deep understanding of all kinds of club and overall music demonstrates his versatility which has given him an uplifting edge as a producer. This comes to light when you see him DJ and begin to see the influences reflected in his music. Its like a drawn out map through sound. This is exactly what comes to mind when you listen to his Phonica mix. Just marking over two hours the mix starts off with some eclectic sounds solemnly and fluidly progressing into drum & bass influences before taking us to some dark bassline filled territories in the realms of techy club and house sounds. A solid closing mix for the series in 2024. We had a little chat with Niall about his latest mix, his Phonica AM release and what he has coming up in the new year.
Hey Niall, thanks for joining us! Can you tell us about your mix and what the idea behind it was?
Thanks for the opportunity! I fancied recording something that could offer a shade of the variety of music I like, a little adventure through that. I could say this mix is closer to the areas of genres I’m experimenting with in the studio with at the moment, drum n’ bass inspirations, half tempo stuff, weird electro soundscapes, ambeintish moods, sounds to feel good to me, and a good dose of random records that put a smile on my face + some 90s tech house thrown in for good measure. It’s something you can listen to on a car journey or somewhere without it being structured or 4 x 4, I like so many styles of music and wanted to gather a variety in this one that made sense in the moment, also whatever I managed to fit in my record bag.
Can you tell us a bit about how you usually approach recording a mix or a set?
Most of the sets I have recorded in the past have been whilst playing out, as matching that moment to myself usually doesn’t seem to cut it for me. If I want to record a club set I’ll do it in the club, but something more eclectic, artistically driven – maybe in the living room, with some friends playing records with some nice sunlight cutting through on a beautiful autumn evening will give me the inspiration to record such a mix. Just don’t be scared of the red light.
What are your preferred methods for finding new music—do you still enjoy digging around in dusty crates, or do you prefer to buy online?
For sure the most enjoyable methods for me is digging in stores, places new that I discover that I don’t know of, and charity stores, all these yield random boxes of musical opportunities. There’s so much stuff out there, gotta keep digging to discover new and old. The Internet of things always has me curious, noting names, labels, etc – eventually, I cave and do order online. I have to say, I do enjoy arriving home and realizing I forgot I ordered that random record one late night that just got delivered all the way from Brazil. I think sometimes the love of the record outweighs the shipping costs, bad habits or not.
What are five records you couldn’t live without?
What has been one of your most memorable sets over your career?
I played Home Again festival in Berlin this summer, 6 hours at RSO – that was quite the highlight. However, playing at my favorite place in town, LPX always is a memorable one. Such enjoyable gigs here and every time is different.
Your most recent release with Phonica AM “The Instigator EP” just dropped! What was the inspiration behind that?
I made these tracks around 2018, it was quite a shift in my life at that point and certainly had a very particular impact. Sometimes the best art comes out in the moments of letting go, I sure had this feeling doing these.
What do you have up your sleeve for 2024/5?
For the end of this year, on 3.12.24 I will release my album projects – two albums with all sorts of random music, so you can find them on streaming spaces, and whatnot. I have a couple of EPs signed already, which I am chuffed about, labels I admire and never would of dreamt releasing on. Beyond that, who knows – I have closed a chapter of my music and am opening a new one.
Rhythms Of Prescott – The Instigator EP is out now through Phonica AM. You can order HERE
