PHIL MAGGI

Bio:

.... .. Phil Maggi, member and active vocalist of rock band Ultraphallus, is an atmospheric music composer since 2003, exploring drone and noise territories, but also dark psychedelic, disfiguring sound landscapes by using samples, loops and voices. His music is sometimes compared to Phill Niblock, Andrew Liles or Nurse with Wound.

His three first solo albums Initials of Jesus Christ, Lucilia Caesar and Continuum-The Primitive, have been all released on a few experimental music labels (Hyperblasted Recordings, Young Girls Records, FF HHH).

Phil Maggi’s debut album, ‘Blue fields in Paramount’, mastered by James Plotkin (Khlyst, Khanate) has been released on 1st of February 2009 on Idiosyncratics Records (first compilation including KK Null, Charlemagne Palestine, Rapoon, Jazkamer, Daniel Menche), founded by Yannick Franck, his long-time compatriot and partner-in-crime.

Maggi played and shared the scene with Bruital Orgasm, Yannick Franck, Suma, Hati, Kristus Kut, Batur Sonmez, Jeff Gburek, Metalycee, Robert Curgenven, Habsyll, Hypnoflash, G.S.07 in different places and countries: Liège, Brussels, Gent (Belgium), Maastricht (The Netherlands), Zbazyn, Torun, Bydgoszcz (Poland), Lille, Montpellier, Paris (France), Berlin (Germany), Istanbul (Turkey), Linz, Vienne (Austria).



SHEEP TONGUES OF MAYATHAN (mp3 store * COREDIGITAL001)
Conspiracy Records (16th of april 2010)
Mastered by Frederic Alstadt



Sheep Tongues of Mayathan is the new creation of Phil Maggi (vocalist for Ultraphallus). It was composed and performed in april 2009, during an experiment home-studio session, essentially based on drone-noise textures, and only processed with treated voices, throat manipulation and mouth-made industrial drum beats. The consequence of this work is a 34 minutes album, 6 tracks, mastered by Frederic Alstadt, a specialist sound engineer for low frequencies.


BLUE FIELDS IN PARAMOUNT (300 Ekopack * idcd 002)
Idiosyncratics Records (1st of february 2009)
Mastered by James Plotkin



Fondateur, avec Yannick Franck (Y.E.R.M.O.), du label expérimental Idiosyncratics, Phil Maggi n’en est pas à ses premiers faits d’armes: qu’il catéchise au sein des «culs-terreux bande-mou» d’Ultraphallus (cfr Rif Raf 145) ou en amoureux solitaire de la noise délétère (‘Continuum – The Primitive’ sur FFHHH, ‘The Initials of Jesus Christ’ sur Young Girls et ‘Lucilia Caesar’ sur Hyperblasted Recordings), le Liégeois n’a pas son pareil pour brouiller les pistes et tancer nos tympans de ses martels mélo-indus. ‘Blue Fields In Paramount’, seconde sortie du label après l’excellente compile ‘Idioscapes’ (KK Null, Jazkamer, Charlemagne Palestine,…), s’aventure dans de lointaines contrées mystiques où résonnent les sabots de dadas flamboyants, égarés dans une coryza qui lénifie le cortex. Dans cette procession minimaliste qui tire ses charrettes (Pärt, Menche, Coil, Britten,…) comme autant de fantômes, le temps semble scellé et l’affect consumé sous le poids des stigmates. Onze en tout, sans blancs ni l’Iscariote, pour 40 minutes de loops et de fields recordings ‘Made in Croatia’ (une fontaine, des oiseaux, des musiciens de rue,…), qui évitent les clichés carte postale (Zagreb, sa cathédrale, ses femmes qui tintinnabulent) et valent bien trois étoiles dans la rubrique «Soundscapes» de notre Guide du Mélomane frondeur. ‘Tout très bien agencé et aménagé. L’entretien impeccable (James Plotkin de Khanate/OLD au mastering) et la sympathie du patron en font une excellente adresse. Recommandé’. (ge)


Already member of Eve And The Sickness, Idiosyncrasia and Ultraphallus and Idiosyncratics label's boss along with Yannick Franck, Phil Maggi is releasing is new solo album titled BLUE FIELDS ON PARAMOUNT on the aforementioned Idiosyncratics. The album contains a 39 minutes track that is formed by totally different mini suites made with loops, fields recordings (he did his sessions in a church and in the streets of Zagreb) and sampled contemporary classical music. The track starts with a dark ambient drone mood with tones inserts and follows with Zagreb sounds mixed with backward classical music. Suddenly anxious atmospheres take a hold thanks to synth sounds coupled with an orchestration of sampled/treated breaths. The tracks changes skins different times and each one is renewing like a phoenix born from its ashes and Phil succeeds into keeping the listener's attention high thanks to interesting sounds, light melodies and tension. I liked it...
(Chain D.L.K)


CONTINUUM - THE PRIMITIVE (50 cd-r * HHH93)
FF HHH
Mastered by James Plotkin and Gregory Duby


Phil Maggi, vous le connaissez derrière le micro de ULTRAPHALLUS , mais il est aussi sous son propre nom, l’auteur d’une musique électronique où les loops et les distortions sonores trouvent leur part. Rien d’étonnant à bien y réfléchir puisque c’est une pratique déjà usée, certes à sa manière, au sein d’ ULTRAPHALLUS . Lorsqu’il travaille sous son propre nom, PHIL MAGGI propose une musique plus minimaliste, contemporaine et beaucoup moins lourde. Elle n’est toutefois pas des plus accessible puisqu’à l’instar de XAVIER DUBOIS , c’est l’expérimentation et la conceptualisation sonores qui priment ici. La musique classique contemporaine est (c’est aussi son habitude) revisitée, les samples de cette dernière viennent s’imbriquer pour former une impression onirique distordue. Le tout revêt une allure surréaliste tantôt décadente tantôt à la limite du délire hystérique. L’auditeur ère entre émerveillements hallucinés et descentes astrales angoissantes.

LUCILIA CAESAR (90 cd-r * HyRe006)
Hyperblasted Recordings
Mastered by James Plotkin


Phil Maggi is the vocalist for a killer Belgian noise rock band called Ultraphallus, who we've yet to carry here at C-Blast but will hopefully rectify that in the near future - they've got a raging blown -out Am Rep/Unsane/Geisha thing going on that is damn heavy. It looks like Maggi's got some creepy horror movie soundtracks floating around in his skull as well though, which have materialized as this new solo CDR that was just recently put out on the Hyperblasted label. Packaged in a silkscreened 4-panel chipboard case, mastered by James Plotkin (Phantomsmasher/Khanate/Khlyst/OLD) and limited to a mere 90 hand- numbered copies, Lucilia Caesar is a sinister soundworld of minimalist drones, heavy doomed piano notes decaying in the night air, snippets of orchestral music taken apart, cracked and then stitched back together into deep breaths of scraping symphonic dread that cycle over and over again, distant ur-drones piercing a veil of witchy violins. I checked it out, and found out that the disc takes it's name from the greenbottle fly, which is a gruesome looking creature in it's own right, and that realization just adds to the sense of decay and corruption that seems to seep through Maggi's repetitious compositions as they unwind endless loops over shadowy terrain, in a manner not all that unlike the Basinski-esque blackened ambience of Sor'chenn. CRUCIAL BLAST RECORDS


The work is, alternatively, very direct to the point conceptually. The simple repetitions achieve what you have in mind. A smokey, haunted, rarefied work of conceptual minimalisms. To my ears, this is the soundtrack to the ghosts of an old, infamous orchestral hall -perhaps mysteriously gutted by fire- . A place where the cries of fractured chords heard to various degrees of abstraction still hum in the ashes centuries later. Plotkin's mastering is flawless per usual and the objective is achieved admirably. BEN FLEURY-STEINER


Phil Maggi - Lucilia Caesar (Hyperblasted HyRe006) CDR Phil Maggi, at least according to the accompanying press sheet, is a busy little beaver, being a member of 3 groups as well as releasing this his first album of solo works. It's a good listen too. Utilising samples from a variety of contemporary classical recordings alongside his own sounds and a variety of indeterminate voice samples Maggi is actively and methodically constructing a reality designed to his own specifications. A little overly repetitive in places and with an atmosphere that is almost unrelentingly dour excludes this from being something that I'd choose to listen to everyday but for the most part it's an intriguing piece of work that just needs the addition of that little missing something extra (maybe varying the ambience) to push it into being compulsive listening. (hyperblasted.bravehost.com)


DISCOGRAPHY/MUSIC HISTORY:
*The Land of Flow and Generosity -40 cd-r (Not Available) -February 2004---
*Memory is a sweet overdose EP -Previously unreleased -September 2004---
*Extravagances in Riviera Temple EP -Previously unreleased -September 2005---
*Narcissus Gold Moon EP -Previously unreleased -May 2006---
*Kobieta EP -Previously unreleased -September 2006---
*The Initials of Jesus Christ -50 cd-r (Not Available)- January 2007---YOUNG GIRLS RECORDS
*The Box of Breath Right Strips -December 2007--- AUR001(netlabel)
*Lucilia Caesar -90 cd-r- April 2008---HYPERBLASTED RECORDINGS---HyRe006
*Continuum - The Primitive -50 cd-r- May 2008---FF HHH---HHH93
*Blue Fields in Paramount - 300 cd EKOPACK- February 2009---idcd002
*Sheep Tongues of Mayathan - CONPIRACY RECORDS -mp3 store - COREDIGITAL001
*Spectral Sunset - A.M.P Records -amp063

Member Since:

July 30, 2005

Members:

.... PHIL MAGGI

Influences:

Veljo Tormis, Henri Barbusse, Paradjanov, The Apocalypse, Mary Celeste Legend and Truth, Gyuto Monks, Mr Kubitza, Guy de Maupassant, Adjani, Mark Twain, Zulawski, Zodiac, ph D, Boredoms, Alain Bashung, Marta, Eve and the Sickness, The Residents, Arvo Part, Rennes-le-château's treasure, Beethoven, Mike Leigh, Pornography, Sara Santos, Reygadas, JEAN COCTEAU, Autopsia, Troum, Czech, Poland and Romania Traditional music, Buck Owens, The Earth, Merle Haggard, David Bowie, Silver Apples, Theories of The Great Truth, Elisée Reclus, Antonio Machin, Amy Denio, Kurosawa's Dreams, Vermin of the Earth, Hank Williams, N.Senada, Hannibal City, S/P/K, Francis Laloux, Kubrick, Roman Polanski, Roland Topor, Yasunao Tone, Eyvind Kang, Violent Onsen Geisha, Yuka Honda, Strategy against music relentlessness, The Beatles, Teeth of Lions Rule the Divine, EARTH, Coil, Truffaut, Sinister Exaggerator, John Zorn, Klezmer music, Moondog, Cibo Matto, Swans, Michael Gira, Penderecki, Bela Bartok, Philip Glass, Magnetism and occult thesis on God's Absence, Erotesism/Esotericm, Influence of Atmosphere, Japanese independant music, Werner Herzog, Wim Wenders, Leningrad, Kate Bush, Blutch, Dreamies, Riviera, Obra River, Babimost, Fellini's Roma, Nino Rota, Ennio Morricone, Charlemagne Palestine, Dagmar Krause, Marie Goyette, Art Bears, James Plotkin, Salamanca, Takemitsu, Sakamoto, Jessika Kenney, Polystylistic Attitude, MacBeth, Killing Joke, Secret Chiefs 3, Jean Eipstein, Marguerite Gance PAUL MEYER, Marc Ribot, Marc Bolan, Love, LOVE

Sounds Like:

MEMORY, SLEEP AND DREAM

Record Label:

HYPERBLASTED RECORDINGS, IDIOSYNCRATICS