The Summer Of Gifta

The sun is shining, skatimal is blasting and the summer of 2024 belongs to Gifta. Phase Records head honcho and self-professed skatimal pusher; the heart-of-gold DJ and freshly released producer has made her mark this festival season, establishing herself as a true champion of drum and bass and a widely loved fearless leader.

Some make bass music, Gifta lives and breathes it. Approaching every aspect of her craft with relentless energy, she vibrates with a burning passion for the sound and the culture, taking every opportunity possible to embody the PLUR values; whether that’s challenging and nurturing the Phase family artists to success, or through the overwhelmingly strong sense of respect she cultivates throughout her work in the scene – not only towards others but also within herself. Few have a moral compass so generously and resolutely held, or such an unwavering desire to help others be their best selves.

Having released her debut ‘Keep It Tuned’ EP at the start of the season and hopping off the deliciously dark and squelchy ‘Levels EP’ collab with drums diamonds, Exile and Coppa, the day before, Gifta is coming in hot at HITW – fresh off the back of no less than five sets at Hospitality On The Beach and a full summer of bass music pushing. After a face-melting hour at the Rampage stage, we managed to steal her away for a post-set chat on mental well-being, why having non-raver mates is key, community building, giving constructive feedback 101 and skatimal world domination.

We are live! Gabs, how are you? 

I’ve had too many Red Bulls… Nah I’m actually good, I’m buzzing. Had a really great set, really enjoyed it and feeling very blessed.

You shelled it. I’m not being paid to say that, by the way.

Thank you! I think I did too! I feel really good, really enjoyed that and now I’m ready to enjoy the rest of the day of great vibes in a beautiful location and some of the best and the boldest in drum and bass. Feeling very lucky to be part of it.

Favourite moment back there?

That’s really hard. I think probably when I got a little rewind for my Shella double, that was really nice. How can you pick one moment though, I enjoyed it all. I even kind of enjoyed being nervous. It’s all part of it. Last year I played on top of a big beer truck. I had to sign an injury waiver in case I fell off. This year I’m on the Rampage stage, it’s progress and it’s bloody lovely. A highlight this year was also dropping my ‘Phoneline’ double. I think that’s a Gifta signature, I’m not gonna lie. My dream is that one day, Emily Makis will hear it and cover on it, maybe give it a rewind. Hopefully, that’s not far off. Manifest.

You deserve all the manifested success – truly. Before we get into it, tell us – where did the name Gifta come from? 

I used to be called ‘gift of the gab’ when I worked in recruitment. I was the smooth talker. My DJ name was originally ‘Gift of the Gab’, but everyone called me Gifta anyway. Eventually, one promoter advised me that it was too long. I thought, I’m already known as Gifta and that was that.

Also, Happy Release Day! Tell us about the Exile EP and your collab.

I’ve been a fan of Exile and Coppa for a very long time. Coppa’s bass music presence is monumental and Exile’s legacy is just undeniable. I contacted Exile to do a remix and through that we connected. Phase was a lot smaller back then. We’re still small. We stayed in contact, and kept sending him Dubs. Then eventually he just said to me ‘I would love to work with you. I love what you do, and I think you’re doing things the right way. You care. You seem to care about the releases, and you put a lot of effort in.’ For ‘Type To Make You Go‘, I sent Exile stems then he worked with it from there. Then Coppa came out with this absolutely brilliant hook and worked closely alongside his personal vocal engineer to get it exactly how we wanted it. Then they just came together the way that they did. I’m so proud of the project. I’m genuinely mind-blown to even be talking about having these artists released on my label. It’s been a really interesting process, to work with the two biggest artists that I have, on original material for the label and now I’ve got a track on there which is mental.

A truly great meeting of minds. What are your personal highlights from this summer?

Obviously the ‘Keep it Tuned’ EP coming out at number two was sick. I feel that did so well because people wanted to support me. I like to think that people really came together to support an up-and-comer but also an underdog in the scene… and a girl! I’m really proud of that. Another highlight… I played Noisily festival and passed the decks onto Camo & Krooked. That was also probably my favourite set I’ve ever played. 

Also running the Phase remix competition for the winner to be on our remix LP,  it was great to see the amount of enthusiasm behind the entries. And the amount of new artists I got to discover through that was really cool. On a more personal note, I’ve just had such a great time making some lovely new friends this summer, who have brought new joy and energy into my life. Shoutout to them, because there’s a new spring in my step and it’s not just down to everything happening with Gifta.

Shoutout to the Gabs crew – old and new! Let’s talk about artist management. You have methods when it comes to cultivating your artists. What advice would you give to artists feeling musically disconnected?

One of the best things you can do is to try and go to more local events. Stop looking to these big festivals and huge raves in warehouses where there are so many people you don’t even know where to look or where to stand. Support the local scene. It’s important. The scene needs support now more than ever. And there I can guarantee, you will be surrounded by people to whom all that matters is the music. I find that even for myself, it allows me to feel more connected and reminds me why I love the music and the community. It’s easier to spark up a conversation in those more intimate types of places, in a smaller smoking area, or outside in the line, before you go in. Through that, you’ll find hidden gems of artists too, maybe even people that may have more space and more time to work with you than these huge names with incredibly crazy schedules. 

That’s my advice to any artists struggling. Get yourself to those smaller events. Once you start doing that, you’re on the path to making some meaningful connections that I genuinely believe can be long-lasting and beneficial, and just get you back in that kind of smaller community spirit, rather than lost in a crowd of 10,000 people. Not to say that these festivals and stuff aren’t great. That’s how our music’s supposed to sound, on these huge fuck off systems with these amazing lights, there’s nothing like it. It’s amazing! But it’s underground music. So take yourself back to the underground.

You should be giving inspirational speeches on stage.

I like talking about it. I can’t lie. I’m very passionate about what music can do because it saved me, it gave me purpose! Like a lot of people in this scene, I didn’t really fit in anywhere until I found this. And then my life became good! Drum and bass is having a moment right now. We’re topping the charts. We’re touching territory we never thought we could reach and that’s amazing. If you love the music, I don’t think you should be upset by that, but that also means it’s changing, certainly at the highest of rates. But I think if we keep the very foundations of it, then we will always be able to call it a safe space and call it home, and keep that community vibe as much as possible.

And equally, not everyone is comfortable in those big spaces with 10,000, 30,000 people, why shouldn’t they be allowed to get the rave experience? I think now more than ever, our up-and-coming scene is a drum and bass scene in and of itself, and it’s a shame to think that it’s suffering right now, I certainly find it hard to put on events comfortably because it’s such a financial loss almost every single time, even if it does well. For so many artists this is their core, that’s all they’ve got, small events are their livelihood. Everyone came up from somewhere. Everyone came from the underground.

Support your local scene! I love the way you run feedback sessions with your Phase family, what advice can you share on how to give constructive feedback?

Firstly, take it as a huge honour that somebody is asking you for feedback, and be mindful. Be clear, be specific, and give suggestions on how they can actually fix a specific issue or a problem that they’re having with that track. The likelihood is, if they’ve come to you for that feedback, you might be telling them to address stuff they can’t hear themselves in their mix, or they don’t know how to do. You might be using all these production jargon terms that they don’t understand. So explain those things. State whether something is more of a preference rather than an issue. For example, ‘your kick drum is really interfering with the sub-bass, you should fix that’ – good. ‘Oh, I don’t really like this riser’ – bad. Make it clear what’s an opinion on the creative aspect vs. what needs to change to improve the mixdown and advance them technically.

It’s good to start with what’s good about the track, some people can take feedback very personally, certainly something that I’ve had to learn. I just want my artists to improve. Sometimes I’ve not given a shit sandwich and just said straight up what’s not great about it. Even though that’s come from a place of love and wanting people to improve and because I can handle that myself, that doesn’t mean everyone else can and that that’s good for them. That’s something that I’ve had to learn to make me a better leader. 

Open the feedback up to questions that they may have, or ask them what they think about the feedback you’ve given. Encourage them to have another crack at it. Something else I think is useful is suggesting a reference track for them to listen to, that might have a similar vibe to what they’re trying to do. Just be clear. There’s nothing worse than sending a track to someone, and they come back with, ‘make better’ or ‘beef drums up’. What does that mean? To a producer who isn’t super experienced, that doesn’t mean anything! Being specific and actually taking the time to deliver good feedback can help them improve by miles. 

It’s crushing to hear someone critique your work without giving any direction. Gifta’s masterclass needs to be rolled out nationally!

Every now and again when I’ve got some time, or even if it’s just for someone that I like, even if I’m not interested in it necessarily for the label, I might put up a story inviting people to send me their music. I think it’s important to do this, but it’s important to me personally because I’ve experienced this myself and sought out feedback from the right people who have given me the time of day. I’ve seen how much confidence it’s given me and how quickly I’ve been able to progress. I just want that for other people, because it’s such a great feeling to make music that you like.

Is there any advice you would give to up-and-coming female producers in particular? Who are trying to get to grips with production, become more confident…

Resource-wise, YouTube is an amazing friend. I can highly recommend DNB Academy’s YouTube channel. You can also go on their website and get loads of free resources and also buy some courses that you can do at your own pace. Sample Genie is also a very similar sort of platform. You can go on Discord and join different channels from different producers and different record labels. 

If you’re not so confident, maybe ask questions on the anonymous side of Discord. Patreon is really good, it’s specifically tailored stuff with specific producers. What’s really great about it, is that a lot of them have a feedback tier where you can submit your music to these producers that you love and look up to, and get some good quality specific feedback. When it comes to having confidence,in my opinion, you just need to do it. I make it sound easy. I’m not saying that it is, but you need to swallow your pride and say to yourself ‘I’m going to go for it, and if I don’t go for it, then I’m the only person getting in my way.’ So ask for feedback, put that mix out, and approach that label with tunes again. I’m not saying that’s an easy thing to do, but unfortunately, sometimes our own heads are our worst enemies. However, you can make them your best friend. And the more you do it, the more you put yourself out there, the easier it becomes.

You’ve got to believe in yourself…

I’ve been trying to do this thing for ten years, and it’s only in the last couple of years that it’s getting places and all these new things are happening. I’ve always believed in myself and I knew that I wouldn’t stop no matter what. And even if this is the biggest it gets for me and goes back down, I’ll be on my deathbed still trying to do this drum and bass thing. I love it. I want other girls to look at me and think, if she can do it then I can too!

You bear a lot of responsibility; managing the Phase crew, and the business but also your own career, all with a lot of effort, hard graft, care, love and attention. How do you look after yourself?

I’ve had tricky moments. To be so honest with you, losing my nine-to-five was the best thing that ever happened to me for that. But also just being that little bit older and a bit more aware now of certain things and what’s good for you and what’s not has helped. First of all, booking in breaks and sticking to them, is key to preventing burnout before it arrives. 

Being healthy physically, drinking water, going for walks, not spending all day sat behind the desk and in the studio in a dark room is really important. Actually prioritising sleep and eating healthy, are literally the basics. If you’re looking after yourself physically, the mental tends to follow suit. 

Finally, I’ve learned this the hard way only recently, it takes sacrifice sometimes but don’t neglect your friends that have nothing to do with your music. Big one, they’re important. They know you. Before Gifta there’s Gabs, and that comes before anything else for them. I’ve had cases where – and like I said, it’s taken me a while to get to this place, but – when I was younger, trying to push through. I skipped a few birthdays here and there to recover from a rave the night before, and took a pretty rubbish booking instead of being there for someone. Didn’t answer the phone to a friend who really needed me because I was knee-deep in my tune. I’m not saying that you shouldn’t do that at all, but there are instances where I regret not being more present and these friends are important for your mental wellbeing. It grounds you and reminds you who you are away from all this. If Gabs isn’t good, Gifta can’t be good, and Phase Records definitely can’t be good either.

Prioritising your health and having that support system is absolutely key…

Don’t neglect what’s important. You can chase your dream, but what’s going to lift you up on the days when it’s not going so well, are the people who were with you before all this.

You’ve been working towards your vision for a long time. What’s your long-term goal for Phase Records? For Gifta?

I would love to get a Best DJ nomination one day. I would really love that. Do I think I can do it?

Voting for you now…

I think I could. I would love to. And for the label… to achieve what the big dons are achieving, being 50 years old and still thriving. Have our own office, the works. That’s the dream. I want to keep putting out music and for skatimal to be recognised as a new subgenre. That would be sick.

On that note. We’ve got the entire Phase Records crew to look to for skatimal. What other artists can you point us to?

Yes yes yes. To nod at some of the really big skatimal dons; T<I, Waeys, Enei. Then if you want to listen to some of the newish producers on the block; hit up SMG, Visla, Yatuza, Parallel, Hexa, Chris Kastro. There’s an amazing young guy called Portrait based in Manchester – go check him out. Another guy called Kenna, is making some disgustingly good jump up skatimal. For skatimal DJs, shoutout to Klueless man! Mix that skatimal man, she’s amazing!

Three words to sum up Summer 2024?

Crazy… busy… and happy.

Three festival essentials?

Earplugs! You only get one pair of ears, protect them! Then… sunglasses… and a portable charger.

Standard. You of course have an incredible relationship with Hospital Records through their business development scheme. What’s it like to work with them?

Every day is a learning day… and an inspiring one. I learn so much about what it means to be an artist and how to run my label. I feel like a sponge, being around the Hospital lot. They make me a better label owner, a better artist and a better person.

Most important lesson you’ve learnt?

That you have the right to say no to stuff.

And finally, why is Hospitality In The Woods one of the greatest festivals of all time?

Because it’s in that awkward stage between the end of festival season – Boomtown is done you’re miserable because festival season is over and summer holidays are coming to an end. Then, boom, you just have this wonderful day to round everything off. The weather’s always nice and it’s run by Hospital – the most amazing people who, in my opinion, really put the ravers first. They’ve been doing it for such a long time so it’s always expertly run. And it’s always a pleasure. It’s that one festival that all your mates will go to, especially if they missed one or two here and there. There are loads of reasons why it’s a special place. But yeah, I think it’s just *chef’s kiss*.