Exclusive: Watch the Official Video For Jon Phonics - 'Domino Effect'

THUMP are pleased to bring you the exclusive premiere of 'Domino Effect', the single from the EP of the same name by Londoner Jon Phonics. In its stripped back rendering of R&B and hip hop motifs into 8 bar loops, 'Domino Effect' sees Jon Phonics's sonic palette simplify in order to give featured singer Tabanca an apt platform for her delicious vocals. To mark the occasion, we caught up with Jon Phonics to talk technique, hard work, and how working with a vocalist can bring even the simplest productions to life.

THUMP: Hey Jon Phonics, please introduce yourself, and tell us what you do.

Jon Phonics: Hi, I'm Andy Warhol. I produce music and perform it live. I also run the Astral Black label and club night.

Your EP feels very indebted to R&B and hip hop. What sort of vibe were you reaching for? 

Jon Phonics: Thanks, I'm one of those kids that grew up listening to 50 Cent and bugging out to R Kelly harmonies, so I'd like to think my music will always have those influences. Production wise, after my Grid Games EP, I wanted to try and strip my production back to just a few key elements that compliment one another, as opposed to fifty or sixty layers contributing towards a wall of sound. I also wanted to get back to working with vocalists, and just get a little more creative and musical with what I was doing.

A lot of the production on the EP is processed live instruments, or field recordings with me playing guitar or analogue synths over the top; running them through a lot of effects units. I guess the vibe of the record is a result of where were both at in our lives at the time. Without getting too deep, we'd both come out of long term relationships and were in pretty shitty mental states, so making the record gave us both something to focus on and vent those feelings and emotions outwards instead of inwards. Hence the name Tabanca: a Trinidadian slang term meaning "A painful feeling of unrequited love, typically for a former lover, and causing unbalanced or violent behaviour".

It's interesting that the EP is framed as "presenting" your featured singer, Tabanca. Singers on tracks are often an after-thought, and the producer takes centre stage. Were you trying to redress a balance? 

Jon Phonics: It's more a case of Tabanca being an artist in her own right, and this is her introduction to the world. For me at least, the process was about creating music for her to shine on. From the outset, the intention was for her to be on every track on the record. 'With Direction' was the first track we made together, and from there it kind of opened me up to being able to make stuff that I wouldn't usually make as an instrumental or to play in the club, which I fully embraced. 'Domino Effect' started out as just an 8 bar loop of the chords and drums, then she heard it and wrote something beautiful to it. A beat like that would never normally leave my hard drive, but that's one of the great things about working with a vocalist. They can take something very ordinary and turn it into something special.

What do you do, creatively speaking, other than produce music? 

Jon Phonics: I started the Astral Black label early last year, and then started putting on parties at The Alibi in London under the same name. That's been really fun and grown quite quickly. We did a party in Glasgow late last year for the Jaisu tape launch, and we've got another up there in February with Alexander Nut.

I'm also working on getting some nights in other cities to get the whole label out there. All these things keep me focused on the ultimate goal of getting away from the studio and playing my music loud to people that enjoy it. It makes me hungrier to get back to the studio and work more - which is dope, because writer's block is a bitch.

Being able to work so closely with producers who make music I love is also a massive inspiration for my own music. I'm humbled that these guys value my opinion, and trust me to handle their business. That just gives me more confidence to move forward in my own work.

What does early 2014 have in store for you?

Jon Phonics: Following on from this EP, I've got a three track release coming out on Alex Nut's Hotep label in late February or early March. The lead track on that also features a vocalist by the name of Yasine, who featured on my Half Past Calm 2 record. A 7" for First Word, which also features Yasine around June, and then a collaboration with Pedestrian is due to come out on Don't Be Afraid in late summer.

Astral Black wise, we've got the Inkke's Faded With Kittens tape dropping late February, which is his ode to Memphis rap music. That's just been sent to duplication, and so the next few weeks will be working on some dope visuals and other bits for that. Inkke is the future. I call him The Young Dilla because even though his music doesn't sound like Dilla, he has that same uncompromising vision and conviction that can only create the most original and personal music.

Other than that, I'll be working with Budgie, Jaisu, Inkke and DJ Milktray getting their EP's together for release throughout the year, staying busy putting on parties together, and writing some new, less depressing music for release later in the year.

Video edited and directed by Beth Hiley.

Jon Phonics - Domino Effect EP is  out now on Push and Run.