ITERSPECTRUM
(Iter - Latin for passage, space, journey, Spectrum - latin for appearance; also range of colours representing light of contiguous frequencies)
ARE YOU WILLING TO SACRIFICE WHAT YOU ARE FOR WHAT YOU CAN BECOME?
PHILL & DANSMORE
Phill & Dansmore are a duo who has come a long way in a short period of time expressing own artistry through electronic music. Talent, creativity and unique energy on the stage had no trouble of finding its way to the audience and the recognition for their work came in various ways. Being the ones who always aim high, throughout career they weren’t afraid to make drastic changes and start all over again, exploring different genres of electronic sound and elevate themselves as producers
At the moment when their career could practically choose whether is going to take the stairs or elevator, Phill & Dansmore realized they don’t like where those roads lead and did something entirely unexpected. They disappeared, got lost, wandered, explored and found themselves in an entirely new Universe. The result of the journey is Iterspectrum - their first studio album that brings different, a much mature sound that combines electronic and cinematic music. The music is accompanied by a short movie and a series of photos that place you in the center of a dystopic and futuristic environment that inspired them and shows you many dimensions of their story.
PROJECT
The initial idea for the album was their fascination with Space and space traveling on one side, and cinematic music on the other. In order to find a better introspection, a duo completely withdraw from the electronic scene in Serbia because they didn’t want to be under any influence.
Searching for inspiration, Phill & Dansmore returned to their hometown Majdanpek - a small city in eastern Serbia with an incredibly rich history that dates back to the Stone age. Through the late 20th century, the city was in a period of industrial progress and one of the most developed areas in copper mining in former Yugoslavia. But in the years that followed, Majdanpek became a collateral damage of political regimes and a hostage of the past.
What Phill & Dansmore didn’t know was that they were about to find much more than they expected. Even though they grew up there, for the first time they saw amazing scenery and surroundings of Majdanpek from a different angle and realized the Space they were looking for was already there. Industrial and somewhat dystopic ambiance, nature that man has exploited and modified, familiar yet unknown, beautiful but uncertain, and from time to time even hostile environment inspired them to make, not just a music album, but also a short movie that illustrates the sound.
MOVIE
The scenes from the video look like they were taken on some exotic parts of the world but the truth is - everything was filmed in 6 miles radius in Majdanpek - in and around the mine - in just two days. Who thought that that city wrapped in an ancient history can tell a futuristic story?
The beginning of the video follows Phill & Dansmore as they are walking through the cave. Rajko’s cave is one of the longest in Serbia (2.403m) and one of the curiosities is that the temperature in the cave is always 8 degrees of Celsius.
Once they get out of the cave, Phill & Dansmore are wandering through this deserted, unfamiliar place and explore it. The “path” leads them through the forest into the huge stone landscapes which from the aerial point of view look like they are from another planet, but in fact, it is just part of the mine, a nature exploited and modified by humans. Artificial lakes with vibrant colors, from turquoise blue to yellow, orange and red are looking beautiful but are quite toxic because of the ore. Sometimes, miners drain the lakes who then become huge, dry craters so the entire terrain is constantly changing and it never stays the same. Although Serbia does not have a desert in this video you’ll see sand dunes that are formed from the remains of processed ore. Parts of them look like a solid ground but it is actually a quicksand, so you have to be careful where you step. In the end, a glimpse into the unknown suggests that after this journey a big change is about to follow.
ALBUM
Once the video was done Phill & Dansmore finally had the movie for their music. But everything that they’ve experienced and learned on the voyage back to their hometown had an effect on them and forced them to change original ideas for the music several times along the way.
The quest for the right sound was pretty challenging, it lasted almost three years and throughout that time they constantly reconsidered themselves. The uncertainty of the whole project was unnerving and they didn’t know whether the path that they choose was right or even where it leads… But they kept going, they didn’t give up and efforts to create perfect sound eventually came to fruition.
Iterspectrum has 12 tracks that are entirely different from anything else that this duo has produced before. The album brings a much mature, deeper, analog sound that interweaves with elements of cinematic music. This required that they switch to some new instruments and machines, improve their producing skills, but it also changed their techniques and process of creating the music. Through that process, they got to know the sound much better which gave them new opportunities for artistic expression for the future.
Every track from the album reflects a scene from the video and is a perfect soundtrack for the unknown space they encounter and explore. Eventually, the last track symbolizes that nothing will ever be the same and although Phill & Dansmore still don't know what is waiting for them after Iterspectrum, they are optimistic and curious to find out.
PHOTOGRAPHIES
CREW
At the end, all of this would not be possible without these creative and hard working people! They put a lot of efforts to understand our vision and transfer everything from our mind into real art!
Kristijan Glibo
Career Manager / Project Manager
Marko Bulajic
Motion Picture Producer
Mina Stamenkovic & Aleksandar Savic
Motion Picture Directors
Sergej Radovic
Cinematography
Aleksandar Milenkovic
Edit
LCF Media
Color Grade
Bojan Stevanovic (Kan i Lingus Studio)
Photography
BPM Studio
Mixdown & Mastering
Marija Joksimovic
Copyright
Ognjen Marinkovic
Visual Design