DJ Phoney

What began with scratching fairy tale records on daddys stereo in `78 at the age of five developed into a creative outburst within the following years. Always so obsessed with melodies: rhythms & lyrics: school was only a drag. As soon as it was over: his first bands came: where Dirk Borrman (as his real name is): played guitar at first: then sang and later played bass. All more or less rock-oriented stuff: while his mind has always been open to many musical styles.As he more and more began to dig the Roots of Black Music and got deeper into Soul: Funk: Jazz: Blues and Reggae: the musical direction got clearer and clearer.What followed in the nineties were grooving instrumental Hip-Hop-tracks that were in a way comparable to the works of DJ Shadow or Dan the Automator. Besides that: DJ Phoney joined a Reggae Soundsystem for only half a year and then founded his own Voice of the People Sound in Cologne (2001): together with Selecta Natty Chris. The name was an open reminiscence to Prince Busters jamaican sound. The subject of poor mans struggling around the world was as important as the deepness of the music. Phoney: for years also an active revolutionary and supporter of the english Socialist Workers Party: still thinks that: although the relationship between music and politics has never been the easiest one: for him both belong together. Voice of the People lasted about 2 ½ years and left a pretty good impression with their style of playing strictly Roots: Dub and Conscious Reggae and in a way opposing Dancehall-trends. In fact the impression was that good that the boss of one of their regular locations had to show at the towns administration one too many times – the place and the outside was simply too crowded. During the VOP-period DJ Phoney began putting together some instrumental dubs. Later he teamed up with half-brasilian Reggae-singer Eduardo and they recorded “Genug davon”. Their co-operation is still active. This year they recorded two fine and rootsy conscious tracks (“Zukunft” & “Mr. Politiker”) in the studio and work on another pair of tunes: while Edu is actively supporting the material with his growing live presence all over germany.Expanding his work as a producer of splendid sounds: Phoney also worked with Mr. Kato: MC Cheese from Osaka and german based MC Timon Lee as well as Paul Smith at Burning Ear Studios. Currently he works a lot with EmCee Lynx from San Francisco: who`s soon going to release his fifth album. DJ Phoney is someone you can really call a workaholic – when he`s not hiding behind some hardware to squeeze the best out of keys: strings: modules and amplifiers: you can find the guy in a club playing a DJ-set (in the last three years alone those were about 300!): communicating with his musical comrades in struggle: promoting himself and them. And as if that wasn`t enough already he`s been writing for several magazines (from articles about working class struggle to music journalism) and publishes one on his own (Magazin für Köln und den Rest der Welt).Oh: and by the way – for anyone who asks himself “why the heck did the guy chose a name like this?”: here`s the explanation:As DJ Phoney explains: “Too much people within the music biz are taking themselves way too serious: humor all in all is not on the daily plan for so many.” So he chose an ironic name in the tradition of classic british punk acts at the end of the seventies. “Another thing is”: he adds: “when you are a good DJ you give people an illusion about how good music is. You pick out: let`s say: one brilliant track of an album and play it while maybe the rest of the album is only middle of the road. A DJ can be able to construct a subjective view on certain moments in music that changes emotions and from time to time some views about: not only: music. That´s why we`re damn betrayers!”: he grins: “it´s like telling a good story …it don`t need to be true…”