Features

Chook

Luxembourg-based Philippe Schirrer, aka Chook, first discovered DnB when his passion for hip hop died out because of what he describes as the "bling bling" era, and although he found something new and exciting in drum and bass, he ironically didn't like it at first.

"There was one little CD shop in my hometown that was selling about ten DnB records, the owner of the shop really pushed me towards that sound, but at the beginning I really didn't like it," laughs Philippe.

"No-one was really listening to DnB here, so the only way to discover it was to drive to Germany and buy more records there. I got my first gigs without ever having been to a drum and bass night! It's only in 2000 that I started going to the big nights in Mannheim where all the big UK DJs like Hype, Zinc, Roni Size, etc. were playing."

Chook started the Full Force Recordings imprint in 2004 as an outlet for techno influenced drum & bass and released tracks by producers like Phace, State of Mind and Mayhem as well as his own tracks.

For Chook, the world of drum and bass seems to be the perfect environment for musical exploration, a sentiment that is showcased in his forthcoming album The Cocoon. With a mix of DnB, minimal techno and ambient downtempo tracks, including collaborations with American DJ Aquatek and German artist Bassrk, Chook has evidently set out to push the genre's boundaries.

"I didn't want to do a strictly DnB album, I wanted to try something completely new and test my skills as a producer," explains Chook. "It was scary and risky, especially producing techno, which I had never tried before, but I am really happy with the end result. Trying out different stuff has taught me a lot and given me new ideas, especially when analysing different genres of music in order to produce them yourself, it's like being a beginner all over again."

The Cocoon highlights Chook's diversity as a producer with a collection of eclectic sounds offering a treat for anyone looking for something different from their DnB, yet Philippe admits that it was the genres outside of Drum and Bass that were integral to the creation of the album.

"For the past three years I've really been getting into tech house and techno, mostly German stuff," Chook explains. "I love it, especially because I find everything in techno that I'm missing in DnB today, namely the funk side of things. I am really trying to keep that funk alive, like the stuff we had at the end of the nineties with people such as C4C, Konflict and Ed Rush & Optical. I like making DnB just as much as I like making techno or any other genre, as long as it's got some funk and is well produced!"

The future is a necessary occurrence for every artist in the DnB world, so where does Chook see the scene and more importantly his music, in five years time?

"Well, I didn't like the turning DnB took five years ago. Where has the funk gone?" Chook states. "I still love DnB and there are tracks that are still amazing but the overall quality of the music went down a lot I think. I know that I'm not the only one thinking this, so many people have told me that they stopped listening to DnB because it wasn't what it used to be, so I'm really hoping that things are going to go up again and that producers are going to realise that it is not only about who's just made the loudest track.

"As for me musically, well, ideally I'd like to do techno as well as DnB. I wouldn't want to give up one genre for another, I'm definitely going to put more effort into doing techno, a few labels have asked me for tunes already. I've also been writing soundtracks for short films which was very interesting as well, so I'm hoping to do more of those too."