Phaeleh – pronounced “Fella” Since his debut release in 2008, Phaeleh aka Matt Preston has developed an inimitable style of cinematic electronic music, which floats between the shifting tempos and timbres of dubstep, garage, electronica and house music. Phaeleh’s last two long play releases on Afterglo records - ‘Fallen Light’ and ‘The Cold In You’ - have cemented his position as one of the most exciting new producers to emerge from his current hometown, Bristol. Phaeleh’s downbeat and heartfe...
Phaeleh – pronounced “Fella”
Since his debut release in 2008, Phaeleh aka Matt Preston has developed an inimitable style of cinematic electronic music, which floats between the shifting tempos and timbres of dubstep, garage, electronica and house music.
Phaeleh’s last two long play releases on Afterglo records - ‘Fallen Light’ and ‘The Cold In You’ - have cemented his position as one of the most exciting new producers to emerge from his current hometown, Bristol. Phaeleh’s downbeat and heartfelt sound honours the tradition of Bristolian forefathers Massive Attack, Smith & Mighty and Portishead, with a fresh outlook and penchant for sub sonics.
This time, he’s skirted round the easy option and stepped away from any formulas that seemed too comfortable. “I was very aware of certain tracks which did very well in the past, and was keen to avoid just painting by numbers and taking the obvious route”, says Phaeleh, “I wanted to make an album where I didn’t feel influenced by the need to keep DJs happy with structure or style”.
‘Tides’ is very much an album that Phaeleh wanted to listen to, rather than one that he thought people wanted to hear. Aiming to achieve a more cinematic, musical experience but whilst still retaining the same emotional content of the early releases, he’s filtered in influences ranging from Philip Glass to Massive Attack and Boards of Canada but maintaining a sound that is distinctively Phaeleh.
His back catalogue has already seen him establish a strong fanbase. ‘Fallen Light’ and ‘The Cold In You’ have sold over 200k downloads and contributing to a staggering tally of more than 2 million monthly views on YouTube. This is supplemented by 65k+ Facebook fans and a Soundcloud following that turns over 75k plays per month, while he has also been readily embraced on the airwaves as well, picking up support across Radio 1, 6 Music, 1Xtra, Kiss and Rinse FM. He’s also risen to prominence as an in-demand remixer, reworking artists as diverse as chart-topping dance outfit Rudimental to classical composer Ludovico Einaudi, via much-hyped pop acts such as Charli XCX and Niki & The Dove.
His second album proper, ‘Tides’, is an evolutionary step with taut songcraft and melancholic tones. It features vocals by Jess Mills, Soundmouse (who collaborated on his most popular songs), and Augustus Ghost (one half of Snow Ghosts with Throwing Snow), who will also be performing alongside Phaeleh on his forthcoming live dates in the US.
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