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| Chaos Theory`s podcast, Facebook, and Soundcloud |
Hi there! My real name is Phelim Young, I'm 27 and I come from a little coastal village in the north of Ireland called Annalong. I'm currently studying a HND in Music Production, which I'm then planning to take to a higher level qualification, as I would like to work in the audio industry in some shape or form to make a full time living.
Your interest in Hardcore music had to start somewhere, do you remember how you got into contact with it?
Well, I guess I initially came into contact with Hardcore music back when I was quite young in the early 90's, and I remember my brother listening to some early Nightmare in Rotterdam cd's, along with all the happy hardcore that was happening back then. Then, when I was around 17, I met a guy at college who introduced me to the hardcore sounds of the early 2000's, and I became hooked to it right away. I listen to a lot of music styles in general, anything from Johnny Cash to Slipknot, and my main interest is in dance music (or EDM if you prefer), but the sheer energy, feeling and sensation created by hardcore kickdrums tickling my eardrums was like no other to be honest!
Initially, I only liked the more mainstream side of hardcore due to the hair raising melody lines and energy of the kickdrums, but as time went on, I came to appreciate the more obscure and dirtier sounds of core. I still tend to prefer the more melodic styles, but as long as it has a distorted kickdrum of some sort, I'll probably like it!
And in which of the above periods did you start producing your own music?
When I came back into contact with Hardcore in the early 2000's, I'd already been playing around mixing some other dance music styles, but had yet to even think about making my own stuff. The guy who showed me these tracks at the time also introduced me to FL Studio (or Fruityloops as it was known as back then). We both had similar tastes in music, and thought to ourselves that we could give making our own tracks a shot. We worked on some stuff together for a while, but eventually he quit producing and we went our separate ways. However, I decided I wasn't going to give up so easily, and I've been doing it ever since.
How would you define your style as a producer and as a dj nowadays?
Generally I tend to have a more melodic style with my tracks and sets, as I love the spine tingling sensations created by a huge melody line combined with the power of the kickdrums found within hardcore music. I always try to have an underlying story or meaning to my music, so that it feels like it has a soul, and not something that follows the same basic formula and structure that can be found in a lot of dance music. Of course, the same kind of melodic tracks can become repetitive after a while, so I do like to venture off into slower and faster styles of Hardcore. I'll generally try to have some more raw sounding tracks somewhere in a set, picking up the tempo as I go along so that I can end a set in a fury of kickdrums at 200+ BPM.
What artists and/or tracks have influenced you as an artist?
Like I said, previously, I listen to a wide variety of music styles, not just dance music, so I really get inspired by a lot of artists and other things such as movie or tv soundtracks. Within Hardcore, my biggest influence over the years would have to be Ophidian, as the sounds and sensations he has created in his music have consistently inspired me to try and hopefully make something as epic one day. Other artists who have greatly influenced me would include Nosferatu, Tha Playah, DJ Promo, Amnesys, D-Passion, Ruffneck, along with countless others. Outside of Hardcore, I get influenced by a number of styles like Drum & Bass, Dubstep, Electro etc., as these styles can also have some pretty crazy sounds and arrangements. For non dance music styles, I listen to pretty much anything and everything providing it's good; country music, punk rock, ambient, film scores etc. Music is all around us every day in some shape or form, it's just a matter of keeping an eye (or ear) out for it, and losing ourselves in it.
I can imagine that there isn`t much of a Hardcore scene in Ireland, am I correctly assuming this?
At the minute it's indeed quite poor unfortunately. It seems to be quite an acquired taste over here, with a lot of people regarding it as just noise. Hardstyle is a little bit more popular here since it can be more accessible, but even those nights can be quite rare now. Most people here seem to prefer the more civilized forms of dance music such as House, Trance etc. There was a period of time a few years ago when Hardcore gained a bit more popularity, and we even had some headliners over here such as Angerfist, Endymion, Art of Fighters and The Sickest Squad, and I was lucky enough to have the opportunity to play right before these guys who have helped inspire me to create my own music over the years, but poor crowd attendances at some of these nights meant that promoters were losing money booking these acts, and thus were hesitant to take a chance on these nights. It's quite sad, but hopefully one day the scene can gain popularity here once again.
You have released tracks on multiple labels (Gunpowder, Six Feet Underground, GGM, Deton8 and Infusion Audio) under your previous alias. Why did you decide to start allover under your current artist name Chaos Theory?
Yeah, for those who are familiar with my previous stuff, I released under the alias Xeno for a number of years on the labels mentioned above. I also released a couple of Frenchcore style tracks under the name Leprecore on GGM. I decided near the end of last year that it was time to start afresh under a new alias, as I'd made significant progress in regards to my production skills, almost like I'd became a totally new artist, or reborn in a sense. Another reason for the change was because over the years, there had been a lot of confusion between myself and a Dutch graphic designer who used a similar alias, and people in Europe often confused me with this guy, and vice versa. So, I thought for the sake of my own possible career in this scene, I'd be better to have something a bit more unique.
When we received your podcast it featured some of your own work. You had to redo that podcast, and take out your own tracks, because a label showed interest in those tracks. Can you unveil something about what happened?
Indeed, the podcast didn't contain any of my recent tracks, as around the same time I submitted the podcast, I also got an email from a very popular Hardcore label expressing an interest in releasing these tracks. I mentioned to them about the podcast I made, and they preferred if the tracks were not in this podcast, to prevent any early leaks of the tracks coming out online before the tracks are released. So, currently I'm finishing off some more tracks for this release, and I'll be able to announce more about this in the very near future all going well. Hopefully these new tracks will cause some movement within the scene.
What can we expect from you in the (near) future?
I would imagine in the early part of 2015 my first release as Chaos Theory should be out, then from there perhaps I'll get to play some gigs in some more venues outside of Ireland. I'll also be continuing with my college course to expand my skills, and hopefully get some more work with other clients for making some other styles of music, along with some more soundtrack work.
Do you have any good last words for us to close off this interview?
Don't eat yellow snow, ask any Eskimo... In all seriousness though, the only thing I can really say to people is for them to pursue whatever their dream is, no matter how big, crazy and unlikely it may seem. The only thing really stopping anyone from what they want to do, is themselves. With enough time and dedication, anything is possible. Just remember, if you find a job you love, you'll never have to work a day in your life.
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