Closing out another monumental year in a career built on its own momentum, Phil Gallo continues to deliver a sultry, vivacious package through his musical alias, pheel.. The New York-born producer is a crucial member of Denver’s venerable all:Lo record label, injecting his distinct blend of boom bap and groove-driven bass music, and paying homage to the music of his childhood while nose-diving into the sounds of the future. Between his solo project and collaborations with Morning Coffee (pheel. & Parkbreezy) and Groovsauce (pheel., Parkbreezy & Thought Process), he’s managed to stay rather busy the last two years with a string of releases, a national tour with Lone Drum, and debut performances at Tipper and Friends and Red Rocks Ampitheater. Much to the delight of his fans, Gallo’s latest release is his long-awaited debut album, echo chamber., demonstrating his ever-evolving talent and ability across nine tracks of shifting moods and nebulous hues.
Beginning with the infectious head-nod track, “afterglow.”, and followed by “dust bin.”, “suss.” and “blip hop.”, the front half of echo chamber. stirs eerie soundscapes and infectiously pulsating low-end, all atop pheel.’s signature drum breaks. Falling directly in the middle of the album, “i’ve had it all.” is his lengthiest track to date; an absolutely stunning five-minute composition, “i’ve had it all.” showcases the growth in his songwriting ability, stirring up joy and sorrow through effective blends, turnarounds, harmonies, and potent arrangement. Past this point, the album increases in tempo and intensity, with tracks like “dripp.” and “solivagant.” putting a veritable bounce in each downbeat. Come the very end of the album, “blue skull cap.” and “yutia.” bring the vibe back home through sheer flavor and swagger, mingling the constituent elements across the entire album for a stellar two-track ending. Between the consistent arrangements, the infusion of high-end sound design, and the walking bass lines he’s become so known for, echo chamber is truly Gallo’s most comprehensive work to date.
The release of echo chamber proves that while pheel. is continuously improving his production chops, he still holds firm to his roots, remaining in a state of uniquity and staying on our radar as a direct result. Prior to his massive New Years Eve appearance opening for CloZee at Denver’s Mission Ballroom, we took some time to toss the man a few questions about his debut album and his last few years on the road.
Wes Johnson: Where does the title of the LP come from?
pheel.: I was very back and forth when picking the name for this album. echo chamber was one I’ve been sitting on for awhile. Its definition is “an environment in which a person encounters only beliefs or opinions that coincide with their own”, which felt a bit dark to me, but also felt like it really related to this point in time in our lives where there is a lot of darkness and debate going on. The other definition, “an enclosed space where sound reverberates,” really resonated with the artwork Veggie Tempura made for me 2 years ago when I first started working on this project.
Wes Johnson: How has the way you approach making music changed since the release of your last EPs in 2021?
pheel.: I feel like my approach is similar, just more refined. I try going into session with more purpose of what I’m trying to accomplish instead of just fucking around and seeing what happens. Sometimes that’s fun and gets fun results but lately it has turned more into time waste. My goal I’ve been working on since COVID started is to improve my sound design. I feel like I’ve improved a bunch but still have a lot of work to get where I want to with that aspect. I’ve always had a love for finding old tunes to sample or chop up to get a vibe going, but my main goal is to have a fluid combination of both of those styles.
Wes Johnson: What does this release mean to you?
pheel.: This one has meant a lot to me. It’s the first album I’ve ever put out - some of these tracks are from the 2+ years ago draft idea of this, and some are from this summer. For me, usually the older tunes I end up getting tired of and [they] go to die in my projects folder, but these ones still feel like what I want to show, where I’m at at this point and time. A combination of the chiller boom bap style stuff, building up to more sound design-esqe tunes then taking the energy back down to top it off.
Wes Johnson: What have been some of your highlights of the last year of your project and what are you looking forward to?
pheel.: Man, it’s hard to really pick, but the tour with Lone Drum really made me feel a lot more comfortable with the scratching part of my performances. Ever since that, I’ve felt so much more confident with it - even though I still feel like I have a lot of work to do to get to where I want with it, I’m happy with the results. Secret Dreams and Sonic Bloom were huge to me because it was our whole all:Lo crew, and these festivals trusted us with a whole 4+ hour block to showcase all our styles.
Wes Johnson: Anything else you’d like people to know about you/echo chamber?
pheel.: Thanks for listening and reading ⁃ love, Phil
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