Phoenix Manson is a young music producer from Melbourne who came to Sydney to study with us on our Produce Music Intensive course. Having a history of crafting a tastefully lo-fi blend of hip hop and jazz, he stepped this up with a level of polish that’s landed him a vinyl release on the iconic Bless series – and a chance to help put the world right.
You’re no stranger to getting tracks finished. What’s different about this one?
During my time in Sydney doing the course I wrote a track called Portsea. I used the Wurlitzer Electric Piano and the Mini Moog Model D synthesiser that live in the classroom, along with all of the skills I had learnt during my time there.
Living in Sydney while studying over summer definitely refreshed my music making process. You can never underestimate how changing your surroundings has an impact on your sound. Another thing I found that determines the overall flavour of my music is the quality of the sounds I use in my productions. After using software emulations of electric pianos and analog synthesisers it was amazing to be in the Liveschool studios using these iconic pieces of gear in my own music.
This is a lovely piece of vinyl, and it’s also for a good cause – what’s the story?
I have always loved the idea of making a positive impact in the world with my music so after producing the track I submitted it to Inner Ocean Records for their Bless Vol. 2 Compilation.
The Compilation is a charitable project that takes 99 tracks from some of the biggest names in Lo-fi Hiphop and donates all of the profits (from sales of cassettes, vinyl and digital streams) to fund micro loans for people in developing countries. These funds are then loaned people who want to develop programs around Sustainable Water and Agriculture projects, Refugees, Women, Education, Health Care and the Arts. Once these loans are paid back they are then perpetually reinvested into other projects. It’s so awesome to be involved a musical project that has tangible positive outcomes for people in need.
The Bless Vol. 2 compilation is now available on all streaming platforms. Cassette tapes and Vinyl are also available through the Inner Ocean website.