M-Phazes On Breaking Out Of The Rap World & Settling Into The Spotlight

As listeners (or dare I say consumers) of music, it’s so easy to take for granted the composition now stimulating our brains. The headphones go in and the tram ride melts away, Sam Cooke accompanies your Saturday morning pancakes (trust me) and your favourite rapper can so eloquently detail the heartbreak you can’t voice.

So, when I mention Dr Dre, for example, what’s the first thing you think of? A rapper, the infamous headphones... or the producer? What I’m getting at is: unless you’re a musician yourself, it’s hard to comprehend the amount of work that goes into the production of a single track. A producer is the unsung hero, if you will, that puts together the spotlight itself, for a rapper to stand in.

I wanted to investigate this ‘spotlight’, and Mark Landon, AKA M-Phazes, is Australia’s lighthouse when it comes to production. He’s won a Grammy for production on Eminem’s The Marshall Mathers LP 2, he won an ARIA for album Good Gracious (Best Urban Album) and has worked with Kimbra, Illy, Lupe Fiasco, Talib Kweli, and the list goes on (how’s that for a rap sheet?).

Landon doesn’t paint himself in the corner of just hip hop, however; he’s making waves in genres more than your standard boom bap. So, how does one shift from working with Aussie MCs back then to someone like Ruel now?

"I think my work just spoke for itself and the word spread," M-Phazes tells pRhymeTime. "In Australia, it was just a small music community so it wasn’t hard to get my name out there, especially once I moved to Melbourne. Internationally, it was all via the net, sending tracks out to rappers, networking with other producers and just building relationships.

"I was pretty much exclusively a rap producer up until maybe 2012. I worked with Kimbra and that kind of set me on a path to work outside of hip hop. So, I did make a conscious effort to do that but it happened very gradually so was pretty organic in that sense."

I feel like I’ve already name-dropped like I’m doing roll call; it makes you wonder how a producer so spoiled for choice goes about picking feature artists.

"Usually, they are friends who I have worked with or have a relationship with, but I always admire their work," he explains. "I like to work with inspiring people who challenge me." 

Whether you actively think about it or you’re that aforementioned headphones-on-the-tram listener, there’s been a huge shift in not only how we listen to music, but also how it’s presented to us. Streaming is huge, I don’t even have a CD player anymore and humans have the attention span of... wait, what was I saying?

"As a producer, I don’t have too much say on how the artist I’m producing releases their music," M-Phazes says. "If it’s for my release, I guess there’s less focus on a whole album and more on individual songs, since most people just throw the songs they like into a playlist anyway. I do get briefs from labels asking for the production of a song to fit into a certain Spotify playlist's 'sound' sometimes. I still find that a scary thought. Just think: labels somewhere already know what you like, before you like it... Get out of my head!"

So, does it feel like the Australian industry differs to that of the US, for example? Do Australia’s DJs/producers get recognised on a global platform?

"I think Oz is finally catching up, with acts like Peking Duk, What So Not, Slumberjack, Flume and Wave Racer among many others," he concedes. "DJs and producers are starting to become the stars of the show and Australia has a big spotlight on it thanks to those artists."

It would seem that the days of downloading 'free instrumentals' from YouTube are really gone. Landon makes his craft sound so simple, yet I'm sure the aspiring producers would agree that it's far from it. Is there some wisdom you can drop on us to figure out how the fuck FL Studio (formerly FruityLoops) works?

"There will always be trials and tribulations; you cannot avoid them," he muses. "Get a good manager, and always have a lawyer read your contracts. If you seriously want to make music production your living, I suggest surrounding yourself with people who aren't just going to pat you on the back and say everything is 'dope'. That doesn't help you grow. Get around people who are gonna be critical and people who you can learn from!"

M-Phazes is currently on tour playing across the country. We’ve already covered a few names of his affiliates but, as for his own releases, he says he's still "testing the waters" with what works in the live arena.

"I just play music I'm digging: lots of Australian stuff, some of my own songs, remixes, mash-ups I’ve made, and I try to keep things really diverse," he explains.

The productivity of Australian musicians really is something to respect. Artists are writing and releasing songs while on national tours, at times playing multiple shows a day, negating all those times we think "there’s not enough hours in the day." Landon has released two tracks of late (Messiah and Golden Years), earning brilliant reception, and just yesterday was on triple j’s Like A Version with his young protege, Ruel. In many ways, it feels like the producers are about to get the attention they deserve and take over the scene, a hunch reinforced by M-Phazes' packed plate over the next little while.

"I’m working on a bunch of projects: Kyle — from LA — Peking Duk, Illy and a young man by the name of Ruel, who is going to be the best voice out of Australia, mark my words!" he enthuses.

When M-Phazes says, "Mark my words," you can basically go get it tattooed. Go check him out on tour and tell me I'm wrong. I dare ya.