release date (vinyl / cd / digital): 21st of October

“I've intended to do an album for a long while. The tracks draw upon ideas going back to various points over the last 12 years or so - some of the hooks I wrote years ago other bits are brand new. In some ways I wanted it to reflect a personal arc and the way I tend to do things  - never rushed”

‘Frames of Reference’ is the some 12 years in the making debut album from UK based techno producer Ø [Phase].

Best known by his work on the Belgium based Token Records his style ranges from gritty minimal techno to Detroit influenced material. His debut ‘Module Overload’ was released on London’s Lost/Cosmic records in 2000 and was followed by a string of productions for London's Surface/Inceptive Records and Ben Sims Ingoma imprint.

The move to Token came in 2007, he shortly after began DJing professionally and has since performed at parties across the globe whilst becoming a regular guest at Berlin’s techno Mecca, Berghain performing alongside esteemed peers and supporters such as Marcel Dettmann, Len Faki and Ben Klock. His continued works have seen constant support throughout the techno world and have featured in CD mixes by Robert Hood, Dave Clarke, François Kevorkian and Fumiya Tanaka amongst others. Alongside his production work Ø [Phase] is also a mastering engineer and on/off artwork designer. Starting out at London’s prestigious Sony Music/Whitfield Street Studios, he has cut records for numerous underground dance acts as well as working on projects for mainstream artists.

Now after a string of acclaimed releases on Token and a selection of remixes for the likes of Robert Hood, Mark Broom and Peter Van Hoesen comes Ø [Phase]’s debut long-player ‘Frames of Reference’. Opening with the brooding and building swirl of ‘Binary Opposition (Process 3)’ Ø [Phase] sets out his template of evolving, richly textured atmospheres underpinned by shards of dark and light. ‘The Bwiti Initiate’ revolves around a bouncing techno rhythm that could most certainly traverse the house/techno divide whilst ‘Distracted’ and ‘Misaligned’ are the kind of unadulterated, pummeling, cavernous techno tracks that have made Lost such a party institution.
Then we have tracks like the soft beating ‘Just Another Dance’ providing a lighter edge, embellished with warmth and strings and the thick, densely woven tapestry of ‘Shadow Caster’ which goes from experimental to dancefloor and back again with consummate ease. The off-kilter lilt of ‘Perplexed’ drags us further into the dark before keys and a hint of a melody draw us back upwards for air whilst the fat driving bass of ‘Dirtro II’ and funkier edged menace of ‘On The Edge’ show a virtuoso producer at the top of his game. The closing introspection of ‘Self Deceit’ wallows in subtle nuances before a mid section synth and string intervention pulls us back from the brink before finally descending into the void.


Tracklist: 

2LP 
A1. Binary Opposition (process 3)
A2. The Bwiti Initiate
B1. Distracted
B2. Dirtro II
C1. Misaligned
C2. Just Another Dance (album version)
D1. Shadow Caster
D2. Self Deceit

CD & Digital:
1. Binary Opposition (process 3)
2. The Bwiti Initiate
3. Distracted
4. Dirtro II
5. On The Edge
6. Perplexed
7. Misaligned
8. Just Another Dance (album version)
9. Shadow Caster
10. Self Deceit

www.facebook.com/ashleyphase
www.residentadvisor.net/dj/phase 
www.tokenrecords.com
www.facebook.com/tokenrecords 

Frames Of Reference

Ø [Phase] - Binary Opposition (process 3)

https://youtube.com/@time.and.space.?si=iXvrdxkV7waX1XL2

assimilated by Techno ⬡⬡⬡⬡


It was warm. That was the first sensation, a warmth that pulsed through the body like blood, a steady and unrelenting current. The rhythm wasn’t confined to sound; it was tactile, pressing against the skin like sunlight on a summer afternoon. It vibrated in the soles of their feet, in the hollow of their chest, in the fragile bones of their skull. 

To exist in the rhythm was to be enveloped. There was no separation between self and sound, between body and motion. The bassline thrummed through every muscle, every tendon, guiding the body like a gentle hand. There was no strain, no hesitation—only effortless movement, as though the rhythm had always been there, waiting to be uncovered.

The air was thick with it. Each breath tasted of heat and energy, charged with a tension that never broke. It was intoxicating, like the first sip of wine or the rush of adrenaline after a sprint. The rhythm filled the lungs as much as the ears, its pulse expanding and contracting with each inhalation.

Even the mind was not spared. Thoughts didn’t just quiet—they dissolved, melting into the beat like snow under the sun. There was no room for regret here, no space for fear or uncertainty. The rhythm claimed it all, sweeping away the burdens of memory and anticipation.

The absence of thought wasn’t frightening; it was liberating.

Without the clutter of the past or the weight of the future, existence became beautifully simple. The body moved when it was meant to move. The breath rose and fell in perfect sync. The world reduced itself to the endless now, an eternal present in which nothing could go wrong because nothing needed to be decided.

The rhythm cared for them.

It wasn’t a cruel master, nor a merciful one—it simply was. It demanded nothing except surrender, and in return, it gave everything. To live within the rhythm was to be weightless, to be free of choice, free of doubt, free of self. It was a salvation as soft and enveloping as a dream.

And yet, there was texture in the experience. The rhythm wasn’t smooth; it was layered. The bass was heavy, grounding them, while the higher tones danced above like sparks in the dark. The sound wasn’t static—it shifted, evolved, building and breaking in waves that carried the collective along.

Their skin tingled with each shift, as though the rhythm spoke directly to their nerves. Each beat sent a ripple through their muscles, an electric surge that left them trembling with pleasure. Their heartbeats synced to the tempo, their blood rushing in perfect time.

And the others—oh, the others.

They didn’t see them as individuals anymore. The faces around them blurred, indistinct and unimportant. What mattered was the unity, the way every body moved together as one seamless organism. There was a comfort in this togetherness, a deep and primal reassurance that they would never be alone, never be apart.

They were the rhythm, and the rhythm was them.

To an outsider, the scene might have looked chaotic—sweating bodies writhing in time to an invisible force. But to those inside, it was the opposite of chaos. It was order. It was meaning. It was existence stripped of everything unnecessary, reduced to its purest, most blissful form.

There were no questions here, no doubts, no distractions. Just the warmth, the vibration, the endless flow of sound.

And in that flow, there was peace. ⬡⬡⬡


🎛️ | Axxø
Life is Progressive.
Booking: axxodj@gmail.com

Argentinian Dj and Producer based in Berlin. 

Bookings and demo request: eoyyvmusic@gmail.com