Description
Three Generations Deep is the inspiring tale of drum & bass artist DJ Phantasy. A genuine rave underdog who’s been neck-deep in beats and bass since the acid house revolution, Steve Phantasy has seen it all. Sometimes his vantage point has been from the very top of the rave tree, resident at events that changed an entire generation.
Other times he’s seen things from the very bottom.
He’s seen things as a label owner, promoter, agent, manager and any other role he’s created to keep himself relevant, inspired and involved in the thick of one of electronic music’s most competitive genres. Right now, he sees it from the very top of his game as a solo artist, as the man behind game-changing headliner DJ/MC group SaSaSaS, as a businessman involved in more operations behind the scenes than many people realise and now as an author.
30 years deep into chasing his DJ dream, Phantasy’s whole life has been a turbulent ebb and flow of hustling, winning and hustling some more. Since quitting his father’s carpentry firm at the age of 20 he’s never known any other industry or lifestyle. He’s dedicated his working life to UK dance music culture, he’s never taken a day off, he’s got the yarns to prove it…
Misspent football youth; various brushes with the law at illegal raves and on pirate radio; being one of the biggest rave DJs of the early 90s touring with Carl Cox; crediting Geri Halliwell on his second single; making mixtapes for Ryan Giggs; taking Linford Christie raving in Australia, having an entourage and a packed schedule one minute then watching it all vanish before his very eyes the next… And the long and challenging fight back to the top.
A reminder that the game is not a sprint, it’s a marathon: very few DJs who came through in that first late 80s rave wave have managed to keep pace and remain as consistently involved and influential in the industry as DJ Phantasy. DJ Hype once described him as ‘the Del Boy of drum & bass’, Nicky Blackmarket calls him Mr Logistics, Grooverider simply describes him as a pioneer. His mates in SaSaSaS call him The Whippet… But we’ll save that story for the book.
Three Generations Deep was written by Phantasy and co-author Dave Jenkins. One of bass music’s most prolific commentators, Dave is UKF editor, D&BTV presenter and contributor to many leading electronic music platforms. The pair have spent the last 18 months making sense of Steve’s hazy memories and fine-tuning them into the heart-warming drum & bass story that’s yet to be told.
There are no gratuitous beef confessions. Big egos were lost decades ago. Three Generations Deep is a humble, thoughtful and often wry reflection on rave’s cultural revolution, how it changed the world and every generation who’s come through ever since… And the role he’s played in the thick of it.
Three Generations Deep goes on sale September 30 2019: the 30th anniversary of his first ever DJ set at a rave that changed his life. It’s available in both limited collector’s hardback and paperback and will be followed by two albums later this year.
Everyone wants to be a big DJ… Three Generations Deep shows just how hard you’ve got to hustle to last the long haul. But bruv, it’s totally worth it.
