Bassrush

Within a short amount of time, Graeme Duffy, better recognized by his soul crushing stage name PhaseOne, has made his presence in the scene known and shows no signs of stopping anytime soon. Perfecting his craft through the merging of bass music and hardcore metal into a sound all his own, the young producer is coming with a distinct energy that is impossible to ignore. Starting off 2017 with an exclusive signing to the Disciple Recordings roster, the Australian native is headed to Los Angeles at the end of the week as Bassrush takes over the Belasco Theater alongside heavyhitters like Megalodon, Lumberjvck, Dr. Ozi, and Stabby (details and tickets available here).

Climbing up the Beatport charts with a plethora of solo tracks and massive collabs with heads like Excision, Virtual Riot, Megalodon, and more, PhaseOne has taken the genre conventions of bass music and made it all his own. Having just recently wrapped up his Australian and New Zealand tour, along with his soul crushing Dreamscape EP on Disciple, the man himself stopped by to chat about his recent move to America and what we should be expecting when he steps on deck this weekend. Check the full interview below and be sure to download/stream his hard-hitting Dreamscape EP here.

You just finished up a New Zealand and Australia tour, how did that go?
Yeah, I just finished up the Aussie leg of my Dreamscape tour. It was great! It was good to be able to go home and spend time not only touring but catching up with friends and family from all across the country and sorting my life out before I move to Los Angeles.

It must be hard to choose one, but did you have a favorite stop on the tour?
My show in Sydney at Chinese Laundry was a special one for me. This is the venue in my hometown where I first began DJing back when I started the PhaseOne project supporting all my favorite artists. To headline the venue and pack it out was such an amazing feeling!

You also released an EP on Disciple called Dreamscape that has been doing very well. How have your fans been receiving it?
I’m stoked with how Dreamscape turned out. My fans seem to really dig the whole metal and dubstep crossover that I do. This EP is my heaviest work yet which really allowed me to venture further into that fusion. I’ve had non-metal head fans message me saying they like metal now because of my music and vice versa with people who hadn’t previously enjoyed electronic music.

How have the masses been responding to the EP at shows?
Due to the heavy nature of the four songs, all go down a treat at live shows. “Circle Pit” seems to be the one that has the most hype, though. I think the vocal hook in the build up really gets people going and we all know how much these bass-heads want to mosh and headbang.

We hear you’re moving to L.A. soon as well, tell us a little bit about that!
Yes, I’m super excited to move to L.A.! The majority of my bookings are in America, so it really just made sense to move here for budget’s sake and so I don’t have to travel as much internationally. It also makes sense because most of the people I work with (Disciple and other artists) reside in L.A. I’m mostly keen to eat Mexican food on the daily though. [Laughs]

Sounds like the Bassrush show will be a perfect welcome to your new home!
Absolutely. The Bassrush show is two days after I arrive in the country and I just know it’s going to be a smasher! It’s been a while since I played in L.A. so this will be the best welcoming I can think of!

What should fans be expecting at the show when you step on stage?
Expect it heavy and come prepared to mosh!