Tribute to Phil Asher from Malcolm We Love
It’s with great sadness to have lost a great talent in Phil Asher… A man who pushed the sound, contributed to the scene and made so much beautiful music, whilst allowing & supporting others to create!
A close friend of the Vinyl Vandals, Malcolm We Love, has put a special tribute mix together for your listening pleasure! Two hours of straight fire from Phil Asher, which includes broken beats to sweet & soulful house.
In Loving Memory of Philip Grahame Asher [1966 - 2021]
A constant presence in the lives of so many, Phil Asher's sudden passing on the 22nd January 2021, at the age of 55, has left his family, friends and the global dance music community mourning the loss of an unsung hero who has left us too soon.
In lieu of floral tributes, Phil’s family & friends respectfully request that anyone who wishes to honour PHLASH is invited to make a contribution to The Marvin Jupiter Asher fund.
More about PHLASH….
Phil Asher was a legendary disc jockey, producer, and record collector who got his start DJing at Delirium, one of London’s earliest house venues. His interest in music was passed down from his father who worked at a record store. He worked at both Quaff Records and Vinyl Solution in the early ‘90s while teaching himself how to make house music and DJing around London. He played his first DJ set at seminal house venue Delirium in 1991 and went on to have a prolific career spanning many aliases and working in influential dance music institutions.
His music bridged a gap between four-on-the-floor house music, broken beat, soul, and more with impeccable selection and taste. He released under monikers like Phlash, Basic Soul, E & E Soul, and Demonstration. He also curated a number of influential compilations on Slip ‘n’ Slide, including becoming part of the ‘Jazz in the House’ series. He worked with the likes of Nathan Haines, Mark De Clive-Lowe, Karizma, and Benji B, while remixing Roy Ayers, Todd Terry, and Peven Everett in the early to mid-2000s.
He founded West London’s Co-Op club in 2000 alongside IG Culture, Dego, Demus, and G-Culture, which became a hub for the broken beat sound and was featured as one of Mixmag’s 25 parties that changed dance music forever in 2015. He also worked in the English capital’s Quaff & Vinyl Solution records shops and hosted the radio program R Solution with Kirk DeGiorgio and 4hero’s Dego and Mark Mac on Kiss FM.
While speaking about the broken beat scene with Data Transmission in 2017, he said: “All I can say is I was lucky enough to be involved in a scene that was so creative and talented, it blew my mind. Some of the singers and musicians and producers from that era are visionaries. I truly believe that. Few snapshots are Co-op at the Velvet Rooms, passing by IG’s or Bugz studio and hearing new tunes in progress. Traveling the world spreading the vibe was priceless. The corner of Plastic People waiting to go on at Co-Op was always exciting.”
Speaking to Ransom Note about his desire to “only make music that makes the hairs on the back of my neck stand up” in 2015, he said: “Quality over quantity definitely. I’d rather take time, release some music that will be enjoyed for its merit rather than what it is. Good vibrations are more important to me than good chart positions and here-say. It’s not an arrogant vibe, it’s just as you get older your priorities change, now I strive for different goals. I have had a charmed career musically, considering I can’t actually play any instruments properly. I am super grateful and want to give something back.”