Phil Kieran is a DJ, electronic music producer, recording artist and remixer from Belfast, Northern Ireland. He also composes original music and soundtracks for film and theatre, TV, radio and online media.
Musical career
Phil Kieran's first solo release was RIP on Trama Industries in 2000. According to Discogs Phil has credits or appearances on 436 published musical works. As a solo artist, he has recorded for Cocoon, DMC, EMI, Hot Creations, Maeve, Novamute, Optimo, Skint, Snork, Soma, Virgin, Yoshitoshi and under his own label Phil Kieran Recording (PKR).
DJ career
Phil Kieran began his DJ career in 1995 aged 19, playing rock, indie, pop-chart music in local, Belfast nightclub the Limelight. The artist recalls 'pretending' to be an experienced DJ, borrowing his brothers CDs which led him to playing further gigs where he was able to 'sneak' techno music into his sets and build a name for himself as an electronic music DJ. In 1998 he became a resident DJ at Shine in his hometown of Belfast. By 2003 he signed to DJ agency Decked Out and began to play in clubs and festivals worldwide throughout the next two decades, playing in well-known clubs including Berghain (Berlin), D-Edge (Brazil) Fabric (London), Crobar (Buenos Aires), Privilege (Ibiza), Tresor (Berlin), Zouk (Singapore); festivals such as ADE (Amsterdam), Glastonbury (UK), Hard (LA), Strawberry Fields (New Zealand) as well as numerous clubs and parties throughout the UK, Ireland and worldwide. In the early 2000s Kieran was consistently ranked as a Top 100 Worldwide DJ. In 2002 he was awarded the Best Dance Act award at the BBC Hot Press awards.
Between 2014 and 2015 Phil presented on BBC Radio 1's dance music show, filling in for DJ Fergie on several occasions. He also produced BBC Essential Mixes including a 2007 session as Alloy Mental.
Productions
Phil Kieran has been releasing music since 2000. He has been described as a musical chameleon, who works under various guises; most of his dancefloor orientated work is self-named but in the early 2000s he released under pseudonyms Pil Hearin and Plastic Pervert. He uses the alter-ego, Burglar Tom, for creating various bootlegs. He is also the founding member and producer of EBM band Alloy Mental and a 3-player ensemble called Le Carousel.
He has released over 80 solo singles/EPs, three solo studio albums, 2 albums as Alloy Mental and Le Carousel and an album with Douglas J McCarthy of NItzer Ebb. His tracks appear on over 55 other artists albums and compilations by acts including, Patrice Baumel, Maya Jane Coles, Carl Cox,Terence Fixmer, David Holmes Richie Hawtin, DJ Hell, Robert Hood, Judge Jules, Chris Leibing, Ivan Smagghe, Tiga, James Zabiela as well as on numerous compilation albums by dance music labels, brands and nightclubs including Clubbed, DJ Mag, Global Underground and Ministry of Sound. Some of his most credited tracks include 'Vitalian House' (Kingsize 2001), 'My House' (Skint 2002), 'I love you' (Yoshitoshi 2003), 'Skyhook' (Novamute 2007), 'Missp' (Cocoon 2008),'I think I'm a monster' (PKR 2013) 'Wasps under a toy boat' (Cocoon 2018), 'Computer Games' (PKR 2014), 'Polyrhytmic' (Optimo 2018) and 'Endless Suspension' (Resist 2020).
In 2005 Phil Kieran formed a band called Alloy Mental, a collaboration with Irish singer-songwriter Martin Corrigan. They released four 12"s and followed this up with the June 2007 release of the album We Have Control. Alloy Mental's EBM sound was likened in the Guardian to 'Nitzer Ebb in a meat blender with the Stooges' which is no coincidence as Phil had remixed Nitzer Ebb track 'Murderous' for Mute in 2004 with Phil citing the band as a lifelong musical influence. He subsequently worked with Nitzer Ebb's Douglas J McCarthy on projects including the 'Fall Rise EP' released 2019 on Optimo. Alloy Mental supported New Order in 2007 and played a live set on Annie Mac's Radio 1 birthday show.