Please meet London based DJ and producer, former Cafe Del Mar resident, and our long time close friend Phil Mison (@cantomamusic). Interview (excerpt) down below.

www.musicfrommemory.com

MFM: Hi Phil, many know you as one of the DJ's who has played all the best sunset spots across the globe. How did your summer look this year, still been scoring sunsets here and there?

PM: My summer was great. I travelled to Amsterdam, Cork, Copenhagen and Barcelona and had some nice gigs in the UK. My friend Deke has opened a bar on the seafront in Margate, you get pretty epic sunsets down there. I played a few records one evening and managed to fit in a few old cafe classics as the sun disappeared into the sea. 

MFM: Please tell us a bit about how it all started for you?

PM: I grew up in the 70’s, so there were quite a few different influences. David Bowie ‘Life On Mars’ was an early memory, and I was obsessed with Blondie. Parallel lines was the first album I bought. Later it was Northern Soul, Electro, nothing really that mellow! In 87 I met a couple of people who were really into House. I started going to groove records in soho to buy records like Adonis - No Way Back, Ten City - Devotion. Then as 88 rolled around I got into the more Balearic side of things. Later in 89 I’d pop into Reckless Records for second hand stuff and started to browse the New Age section where I got things like Kitaro  ‘Tunhuang’ and Paul Greaver ‘Joy’. Those records were the starting point really. 

MFM: DJing in clubs to make people dance never really attracted you?

PM: I’d say pretty much most of my DJing has been in clubs. I started at the Milk Bar in Soho in 1992 after giving Darren Emerson a tape. Even though I was doing the warm up and playing mellow stuff at the beginning, you had to build it up to a full dance floor by the end. In 1996 and 2000 I was the tour DJ for Lefttfield, playing in front of 1000 odd people. ‘Just get it going before we come on!’ Alongside Ross Allen and Rob Da Bank, I was resident at Bar Rhumba for our Next Level night in 1997. It lasted a year and we opened with Harvey and closed with Andrew Weatherall. I Have to mention Moonboots and Jason Boardman’s night Aficionado too. I always enjoyed playing to a dancefloor there, they’ve kept the Balearic flag flying since 1998. 

MFM: At what point did you got into making music on your own? 

PM: I’d worked on a project for Kenneth Bager in 1994. Then later on he started his Music For Dreams Label, and asked me if I would be interested in making an album.  So the first Cantoma album was started in Copenhagen in 1999, and finished in London in 2003. 

MFM: How do you come up with a new song, is there a certain Phil Mison way to it? Do you write the parts for the musicians?

PM: It usually starts with an idea that pops into my head. Sometimes a memory or travelling will get a melody going, and I’ll sometimes hum it into my phone and use that as a starting point. Ive worked with Engineer/Producer Robin Twelftree on all the Cantoma albums. I’ll go into Robin’s studio and usually start with some basic keyboards, then I’ll play a bassline in. I’ll take the demos away and think about what would work on the tracks. For some musicians the music is written down. Ive worked with Robin Lee from Faze Action on a few Cantoma tunes, and he usually transcribes my basic melodies onto sheet music. Other times I’ll play the melodies on a keyboard or hum the tunes for the musicians to follow along to. On some tracks I’ll write the lyrics too and get a singer to record on a track. There’s a lot of going back and forth until I’m happy with the final cut. The music rarely ends up sounding like the first version.

MFM: Making a mix must have been a piece of cake for you :) What is this mix like?

PM: I went back through my 92-94 selection and picked a selection of the lesser played records. Memories of magic times at the Milk Bar and warm summer evenings at the Cafe del mar.

MFM Mix 044: Phil Mison

@No_Frills are back in the bin! !!
Celebrating the second release on their label Viktor & Lukas provided this three and half an hour trip filled with prime digs, chilled bits and unheard house hits. I'm sure you'll find some of these gems on their youtube account soon. May I now channel your attention to the Chiquita before everbody is checking for track ids? https://soundcloud.com/no_frills/sets/chiquita-nf-002

Spätsommer

No Frills - Spätsommer (Guest Mix, 2023)

Recording of @johngomezldn @ Bar Part Time October 2023

John Gomez Live @ B.P.T. October 2023

Kiernan and Jordan visited Stockholm in April and was of course welcome to play in the store, with a box full of favourites spanning across weird wave, odd rock, stretchy pop and baggy indie bits.

Tune in for this incredible selection!

@fragmentsinwax
@jgjgjgjgdj For IDs

Nitty Gritty Store Hours - Jordan g & Kiernan Abbott

Recorded live at Giant Steps in London on Sunday 13th October, 2024.

@johngomezldn
@nicktherecord

John Gómez & Nick the Record back at Giant Steps

3 hour ride through the cosmos with Prop Joe. 

ID Requests ~ @propjoemusicforears

1800 triiip - Mix075 - Prop Joe

Üllar Siir & Renno Paat - In The Night Mix

One of the truest stylists in DJing.

Although leaving behind only a small repertoire, sadly cut short by an early and unexpected passing, what we have left as evidence of his deep dedication to the pleasures of music is so unique and designed with such charming consistency, that when listened to, can only be Zecky’s selection.


Since the late 2000’s we studied the few mixes we could get our hands on obsessively, to the point where for example: we will never be able to hear Pats and Pat “Tobago” without the expectation of “City Lights” to be mixed in next, courtesy of the 2008 Ebisu Bar Jam recording. To us, Zecky became a sub genre of music — "Zecky style tracks" — something in the realms of what we might consider as Balearic, but still somehow blurring the borders of acceptable Italo-disco, and then coming way out of left field with something contemporary like Simply Red...and somehow it all made perfect sense. A lot of these tracks may seem obvious now, but keep in mind this was mid 2000’s, a lot of these tracks were still not known, discogs was not what it is today: contextually, the calliber of his research was heavy. Imagine living in a time when the idea of what a good DJ should be doing is minimal techno yet you’re a Japanese guy going to Italy to look for completely expired Italo material, one can only imagine the facial expressions and dialogues that might have emerged between Italian record store owners and Zecky throughout his digging travels.


The role that talent plays in the DJ "profession" can sometimes feel fuzzy, especially in the post social media/CDJ era. In our humble opinions however, listening to Zecky’s oeuvre gave this mystery a good amount of inspiring clarity. The aesthetic precision of his selection supported by his simple but flawless mixing created compositions so striking that the mixes became new stories or soundtracks to beautiful movies no one had ever seen before. It really felt like he was making something larger than the music he was using to compose these moments. A common (and disturbing) cliche one often hears when people go about describing a DJ’s work is the idea of being a “story teller”. To us Zecky genuinely put forth this idea on a meaningful level, his stories were some of the nicest of all.

We learned so much from Zecky.


Thank you for the music and happy birthday — Zecky would have been 54 today.


Thank you to Daisuke, his party partner, for making this possible ❤️
_
DJ 界での真のスタイリストの一人。
残念ながら、予期せぬ早すぎる死によって残されたレパートリーはわずかですが、音楽の楽しみに対する彼の深い献身の証拠として残されたものはとてもユニークで、魅力的な一貫性をもってデザインされており、聴くとZeckyのセレクションを感じざるを得ません。
2000 年代後半から私たちは手に入れることができる数少ないミックスを執拗に研究し、例えば、2008 年の恵比寿バージャムのレコーディングのおかげでパットとパットの「Tobago」を聞くと、次に「City Lights」がミックスされることを期待せずにはいられなくなりました。
私たちにとってZecky は音楽のサブジャンル、つまり「Zecky スタイルのトラック」になりました。これは、私たちがバレアリックと考えるものの領域に属しながら、それでも許容できるイタロディスコの境界を曖昧にし、その後 Simply Red のような現代的なものによって予想外の形で登場しました... そしてどういうわけか、すべてが完璧に理にかなったものでした。これらのトラックの多くは今では当たり前に思えるかもしれませんが、これは 2000 年代半ばのことであり、これらのトラックの多くはまだ知られておらず、discogs は今日ほどではありませんでした。文脈上、彼のリサーチの質は高いものでした。優れた DJ が行うべきのことはミニマルテクノであるという考え方がある時代に生きていると想像してください。しかし、あなたは完全に期限切れのイタロの素材を探しにイタリアに行く日本人男性です。彼のレコード探しの旅を通して、イタリアのレコード店のオーナーと Zecky の間に生まれたであろう表情や会話は想像するしかありません。 DJ という「職業」において才能が果たす役割は、特にソーシャル メディアや CDJ の時代以降は、曖昧に感じられることがあります。しかし、私たちのささやかな意見としては、Zecky の作品を聴くとこの謎がかなりはっきりと理解できました。彼の選曲の美的精度と、シンプルでありながら完璧なミキシングが、非常に印象的な作品を生み出し、そのミックスは新しい物語や誰も見たことのない美しい映画のサウンドトラックになりました。彼は、これらの瞬間を作曲するために使用した音楽よりも大きな何かを作っているように感じました。人々が DJ の仕事を説明するときによく耳にする一般的な (そして不快な) 決まり文句は、「ストーリーテラー」であるという考えです。私たちにとって、Zecky はこの考えを本当に意味のあるレベルで提示しており、彼の物語は最も素晴らしいものでした。私たちは Zecky から多くのことを学びました。音楽をありがとう。誕生日おめでとうございます。Zecky は今日 54 歳になっていたはずです。これを実現させてくれたパーティーパートナーの大輔に感謝します❤️

H.A.N.D. MIX 065 : Zecky – Metro 1st

New Sound Metaphors DJs promo mix 2025. 
Thanks for your support! ❤️

For bookings (Sound Metaphors DJs):
dominic@thepool-london.com

H.A.N.D. MIX 066 : Sound Metaphors DJs

Jack & Prince - Whenever You're Around, a deep and soulful house track driven by a rich percussive groove. Warm basslines and rhythmic textures blend effortlessly, creating an inviting atmosphere perfect for late-night sessions and dancefloor moments.

Producer: Jack & Prince
Final Mastering: YHV Recordings
Publisher: YHV Music Group
Record Label: YHV Records

Instagram.com/yhvrecords
Facebook.com/yhvecords
Soundcloud.com/yhvrecords

Managed by:
www.yhvmusic.group

Jack & Prince - Whenever You're Around [YHV RECORDS]

BONDASY is a mix word I invented from "Bond" (James Bond) and "Fantasy".

✨✨✨✨✨✨✨✨✨✨✨✨

upload 06.05.2025

https://youtu.be/iI3FFDhtSZA?si=qiUDagRjiRdBV5Bv

BONDASY - 🎥YT

PLEASE DON'T SEND DEMOS, thanks...

Webshop: https://www.musicfrommemory.com

Amsterdam based record label releasing visionary electronic music from both past and present.

Sublabel: @secondcircle

MFM Mix 044: Phil Mison

Music From Memory