Dave Phillips (born January 18, 1969) also known as dp, is a British-French-Swiss experimental noise musician, composer, performer and

multimedia Multimedia is a form of communication that uses a combination of different content forms, such as Text (literary theory), writing, Sound, audio, images, animations, or video, into a single presentation. T ...

artist. He is best known for his solo work, but also as part of Schimpfluch-Gruppe, as founder of the group OHNE, as one half of Perverts In White Shirts, and as founding member of Swiss

grindcore Grindcore is an extreme metal, extreme fusion genre of heavy metal music, heavy metal and hardcore punk that originated in the mid-1980s, drawing inspiration from abrasive-sounding musical styles, such as thrashcore, crust punk, hardcore punk, e ...

pioneers Fear Of God. He has been active since the mid-80's in independent metal, hardcore punk and noise music scenes. Phillips refers to his oeuvre as ''Ritual Protest Music'', Metamkine called him a ''Musique Concrète Actionist''.

Life

Phillips is born on 18 January 1969 in Zug, Switzerland to a British father and French mother.

Spike Jones Lindley Armstrong "Spike" Jones (December 14, 1911 – May 1, 1965) was an American musician, bandleader and conductor specializing in spoof arrangements and satire of popular songs and classical music. Ballads receiving the Jones treatment wer ...

and

The Goon Show ''The Goon Show'' is a British radio comedy programme, originally produced and broadcast by the BBC Home Service from 1951 to 1960, with occasional repeats on the BBC Light Programme. The first series, broadcast from 28 May to 20 September ...

mark his infant years. At age 5 he buys his first 7", ''Waterloo'' by

ABBA ABBA ( ) were a Swedish pop group formed in Stockholm in 1972 by Agnetha Fältskog, Björn Ulvaeus, Benny Andersson, and Anni-Frid Lyngstad. They are one of the most popular and successful musical groups of all time, and are one of the List ...

, then discovers heavy metal age 8 and

hardcore punk Hardcore punk (commonly abbreviated to hardcore or hXc) is a punk rock music genre#subtypes, subgenre and subculture that originated in the late 1970s. It is generally faster, harder, and more aggressive than other forms of punk rock. Its roots ...

age 12. He grows up in

Oberägeri Oberägeri, until 1798 simply known as Ägeri, is a municipalities of Switzerland, municipality in the canton of Zug in Switzerland. History Oberägeri first appears in historical documents in 1150 as ''Agregia''. In 1538 it was mentioned as ''O ...

from 1974 - 1985, then lives in

Unterägeri Unterägeri is a municipality in the canton of Zug in Switzerland. History Oberägeri is first mentioned in 1150 as ''Agregia''. In 1538 it was mentioned as ''Ober Egere''. The first church in the valley was built in 876. After 1100, the land ...

. He moves to

Zürich Zurich (; ) is the list of cities in Switzerland, largest city in Switzerland and the capital of the canton of Zurich. It is in north-central Switzerland, at the northwestern tip of Lake Zurich. , the municipality had 448,664 inhabitants. The ...

in 1988 to join

RecRec Music RecRec Music was a Swiss independent record label created in 1983 by Daniel Waldner. The label was modeled on, and affiliated to, the British independent record label Recommended Records, but remained financially independent. The label went bank ...

, a record label and distributor of independent music, and a cooperative, with whom he stays until 1994. He starts organising concerts, amongst others the first live appearances of

Extreme Noise Terror Extreme Noise Terror (often abbreviated to ENT) are a British extreme metal band formed in Ipswich, England in 1985 and one of the earliest and most influential crust bands. Noted for one of the earliest uses of dual vocalists in hardcore,Bonn ...

Carcass Carcass or Carcase (both pronounced ) may refer to: * Dressed carcass, the body of a livestock animal ready for butchery, after removal of skin, visceral organs, head, feet etc. *Carrion, the decaying dead body of an animal or human being, also c ...

and

Godflesh Godflesh are an English industrial metal band from Birmingham. The group formed in 1982 under the original title O.P.D. (later Fall of Because) but did not release any complete music until 1988 when Justin Broadrick (guitar, vocals, programmi ...

in Switzerland. dp works for Jecklin, Switzerland's then-biggest classical music record shop, from 1995 - 1997. In 1997 he experiences a heavy injury that damages his back for life. He returns to the stage in 2001. From 2020 onwards Phillips lives with his parents as

carer A caregiver, carer or support worker is a paid or unpaid person who helps an individual with activities of daily living. Caregivers who are members of a care recipient's family or social network, who may have specific professional training, are o ...

for 15 months, and with his siblings accompanied their father right up to his death. One and a half years later they again provide

end-of-life care End-of-life care is health care provided in the time leading up to a person's death. End-of-life care can be provided in the hours, days, or months before a person dies and encompasses care and support for a person's mental and emotional needs, phy ...

, this time for their mother. These experiences have a profound impact on him.

Career

Phillips performs live for the first time in 1981 (age 12) with Unterägeri punk band Neo Pogos playing cardboard drums. In 1984 Phillips and Reto Kühne form

Messiah In Abrahamic religions, a messiah or messias (; , ; , ; ) is a saviour or liberator of a group of people. The concepts of '' mashiach'', messianism, and of a Messianic Age originated in Judaism, and in the Hebrew Bible, in which a ''mashiach ...

, but his involvement is short. Around the same time first experiments with a microphone and a tape-recorder are conducted. In 1988 Phillips rejoins Messiah for a handful of shows. In 1986 Phillips is asked to join B.O.L. (Bunch Of Lies), the precursor band to

Fear Of God Fear of God or theophobia may refer to fear itself, but more often to a sense of awe, and submission to, a deity. People subscribing to popular monotheistic religions for instance, might fear Hell and divine judgment, or submit to God's omnipot ...

, with Reto Kühne, Erich Keller and Nasty (Exxor). The following year they morph into Fear Of God, with the definitive line-up consisting of Reto Kühne - guitar, Osi Oswald - drums, Dave Phillips - bass & backing voice, Erich Keller - voice. The band splits up at the end of 1988. 1987 marks the official begin of dp's solo career though his first album only appears in 1994. From 1988 - 1999 he plays with Stephen Thomas under different names (Tower of Beef, D&S, Doug&Chuck) from noise rock, dance/ballet music, to sound collage and

Plunderphonics Plunderphonics is a music genre in which tracks are constructed by sampling (music), sampling recognizable musical works. The term was Neologism, coined by composer John Oswald (composer), John Oswald in 1985 in his essay "Plunderphonics, or Aud ...

. They perform live once and release one posthumous collection in 2023. Phillips occasionally participates in Joke Lanz's Sudden Infant from 1990 - 1996 for some performances and releases, as well as in Psychic Rally from 1990 - 1994, a radioshow hosted by Rudolf Eb.er & Joke Lanz on LoRa (Alternatives Lokalradio) Zürich. Reto Kühne (Fear Of God, Messiah) and Roger Drein ask dp to join PK, who play conceptual improvised ritual music, from 1991 - 1993. Since 1991 Phillips is a member of Schimpfluch-Gruppe, a loose collective dealing with psychophysical tests and trainings, with Rudolf Eb.er/Runzelstirn & Gurgelstock, Joke Lanz/Sudden Infant, Marc Zeier/G*Park, Daniel Löwenbrück/Raionbashi and Alice Kemp. Phillips has been

DJing A disc jockey, more commonly abbreviated as DJ, is a person who plays recorded music for an audience. Types of DJs include Radio personality, radio DJs (who host programs on music radio stations), club DJs (who work at nightclubs or music fes ...

since 1995 under the monicker eva d., playing "all styles my style". ''Zeitgenossen'' is a monthly radio-show for new music with Reto Mäder in which Phillips participates from 1999 - 2002, on Radio Kanal K,

Aarau Aarau (, ) is a List of towns in Switzerland, town, a Municipalities of Switzerland, municipality, and the capital of the northern Swiss Cantons of Switzerland, canton of Aargau. The List of towns in Switzerland, town is also the capital of the d ...

. In 2000 Phillips and Tom Smith (of TLASILA) found OHNE and include Daniel Löwenbrück (Tochnit Aleph, Raionbashi) and Reto Mäder (rm74) in the line-up. OHNE were active until 2004. In 2003 Fear Of God reform, "a mistake that lasts six months," says Phillips. dead peni (stylised as all lower case) is born in 2004, Phillips’ one-man

doom metal Doom metal is an extreme subgenre of heavy metal music that typically uses slower tempos, low-tuned guitars and a much "thicker" or "heavier" sound than other heavy metal genres.K. Kahn-Harris, ''Extreme Metal: Music and Culture on the Edge'' ...

sludge Sludge (possibly , or some dialect related to slush) is a semi-solid slurry that can be produced from a range of industrial processes, from water treatment, wastewater treatment or on-site sanitation systems. It can be produced as a settled sus ...

project. In 2005 Phillips and Tochnit Aleph curate one evening for the LUFF/

Lausanne Underground Film and Music Festival The Lausanne Underground Film and Music Festival (LUFF) is a film festival and music festival devoted to underground film and music. It is held each year in Lausanne, Switzerland. The festival is organized by a non-profit organization (APCI � ...

titled ‘Nuits Bruit des Corps’ including Masonna, Zbigniew Karkowski, Daniel Menche and dp's only performance of ''hole/holy''. That same year Phillips is part of ''Camp Victory'', a noise-opera by Gilles Aubry and Stéphane Montavon. In 2008/2009 Phillips plays bass and vocals for ‘Ketsu No Ana’, a

blackened crust Crust punk (also known as stenchcore or simply crust) is a fusion genre of anarcho-punk and extreme metal that originated in the early to mid-1980s in England. Originally, the genre was primarily mid-tempo, making use of metal riffs in a strip ...

outfit with Zürich squatters. After the squat they rehearsed in got raided and their drummer disappeared they split up. Perverts In White Shirts is a duo with Nathalie Dreier formed in 2011. At the end of 2012 the ''Extreme Rituals: A Schimpfluch Carnival'' Festival is held at the

Arnolfini, Bristol Arnolfini is an international arts centre and gallery in Bristol, England. It has a programme of contemporary art exhibitions, artist's performance, music and dance events, poetry and book readings, talks, lectures and cinema. There is also ...

England to celebrate the legacy of Schimpfluch, coinciding with its 25th anniversary. The Schimpfluch Associates label is founded with Rudolf Eb.er in 2013. Phillips curates a series of experimental/sound art/new music live events, first called entart, then atonal_zürich, then atra, from 2013 to 2017 nearly-monthly at Klubi (later Umbo) in Zürich, and from 2018 to 2019 at Ausland,

Berlin Berlin ( ; ) is the Capital of Germany, capital and largest city of Germany, by both area and List of cities in Germany by population, population. With 3.7 million inhabitants, it has the List of cities in the European Union by population withi ...

. To date (2025), Phillips has played around 800 concerts in 55 countries and has appeared on over 300 releases.

Selected Discography

Solo

with Perverts In White Shirts

*2017: ''Power To The Sheople'' LP (Cruel Bones Zürich) *2022: ''Meaning What Exactly?'' LP (Misanthropic Agenda Houston) *2025: ''CULTurally Appropriated Songs'' 2CD (Misanthropic Agenda Houston)

with Schimpfluch-Gruppe

*1997: ''Shitpflug'' CDR (Ignominious USA) *1997: ''Do-Ku'' VHS (Gmbh Paris) *1997: ''Arschloch-Onna'' with Masonna CD (Japan Overseas Osaka) *2007: ''Schimpfluch Commune Int'' 2MC+CDR (Nihilist Chicago) *2007: ''For The Tasmanian Devils'' 9*lathe (Cipher Productions Tasmania) *2009: ''Paris Aktionen'' LP (Bennifer Editions Toronto & Tochnit Aleph Berlin) *2013: ''Nigredo'' MC (Fragment Factory Hamburg)

with OHNE

*2002: ''1'' CD (ohnemego Austria) *2003: ''020510'' CDR (Spirals Of Involution Yaroslavl) *2003: ''020503'' CD (The Egg And We Minsk) *2004: ''02004'' CDR (Tochnit Aleph Berlin)

with Fear Of God

*1988: ''Fear Of God'' 7" (Temple of Love Germany) *1988: ''As Statues Fell'' 12" (Off The Disk Zürich) *1992: ''Konserven'' 7" (Two Sheds St.Gallen) *1992: ''Pneumatic Slaughter'' 7" (Atrocious USA) *2003: ''Zeitgeist'' 2LP (Absurd São Paulo)

Collaborations

*2000: ''For Rudolf Eb.er'' with Genetic Transmission, CDR (DSBMW Poland) *2001: ''Half Human/Chair Missing'' with Kid Commando, picture 7" (Lady Godiva Gothenburg) *2003: ''Easy Vegan Cooking'' with Eric Boros 7" (Manufacture Lausanne & Pale Mother Denmark) *2005: ''Illusion Is A Common Condition'' with Randy H.Y. Yau CD (Auscultare San Francisco) *2006: ''At A Loss For Words'' 7" with

John Wiese John Wiese (born April 18, 1977) is an American noise musician and visual artist based in Los Angeles, California. Wiese has released much of his material on his own Helicopter label. He graduated from the California Institute of the Arts in 2 ...

(Blossoming Noise Lilburn) *2007: ''Das Zerstören Zum Gebären'' CD with The New Blockaders (Blossoming Noise Lilburn) *2010: ''We Are None Of Us'' with Francisco Meirino CD (Domizil Zürich) *2010: ''Mutations'' with Cornelia Hesse-Honegger LP (Ini Itu Brussels) *2012: ''боринософил'' with

Alexei Borisov Alexei Yurievich Borisov () (born 7 December 1960) is a Russian musician, active in the Russian underground music scene since the beginning of the 1980s, and a member of Night Prospekt, F.R.U.I.T.S., Volga, ASTMA, Fake Cats Project and various ...

& Olga Nosova CD (Monotype Warsaw) *2014 ''Medusa'' with Aspec(t) CD (Noise Below/Excrete Greece) *2015: ''The Invisible Cage Of Comfort'' with Chris Galarreta MC (Fragment Factory Hamburg) *2015: ''Insect Apocalypse'' with Hiroshi Hasegawa CD (Monotype Poland) *2016: ''The Ghost Of Freaks'' with Michael Esposito Flexi-7" (Phantom Plastics Indiana) *2017: ''untitled'' with Mei Zhiyong LP (Urbsounds Bratislava) *2020: ''Colonial War And Mental Disorders'' MC with Meira Asher & Eran Sachs (Raash Jerusalem) *2022: ''The Best Of Chuck & Doug'' with Stephen Thomas MC (Attenuation Circuit, Augsburg)

Film scores

*2008: dp ''L’Îlot'' by Mario del Curto *2010: dp ''La Chienne'' by Klaudia Reynicke *2019: dp ''The Call of Cthulhu'' by Andrew Leman for IoIC *2022: dp ''

Un Chien Andalou (, ''An Andalusian Dog'') is a 1929 French silent short film directed, produced and edited by Luis Buñuel, who also co-wrote the screenplay with Salvador Dalí. Buñuel's first film, it was initially released in a limited capacity at Studio ...

'' by

Luis Buñuel Luis Buñuel Portolés (; 22 February 1900 – 29 July 1983) was a Spanish and Mexican filmmaker who worked in France, Mexico and Spain. He has been widely considered by many film critics, historians and directors to be one of the greatest and ...

Salvador Dali Salvador, meaning "salvation" (or "saviour") in Catalan, Spanish, and Portuguese may refer to: * Salvador (name) Arts, entertainment, and media Music *Salvador (band), a Christian band that plays both English and Spanish music ** ''Salvador'' ( ...

for IoIC

Filmography

*2010: ''Skills/Faces'' by Jan van Hasselt *2013: ''A Noisy Delivery'' by GX Jupitter-Larsen *2015: ''Sonic Rituals 声响仪式'' by Mei ZhiYong *2017: ''Proceed With Inquiry'' by Dave Phillips, GX Jupitter-Larsen, Jan van Hasselt, Moju, Remote Control Rectum *2019: ''Tinnitus'' by Daniil Zinchenko

Awards

*2001: Auszeichnung des Aargauer Kuratoriums ''Beitrag zum künstlerischen Schaffen'' *2005: Six months grant for use of a recording studio in Zürich from the city's culture department (''Kulturförderung der Stadt Zürich'')

Exhibitions

*2003: participation at ''EMA – Electronic Music Archive'', curated by Norbert Möslang for Kunsthalle St.Gallen

References

External links

Dave Phillips official websitePerverts in White Shirts websiteOHNE websiteFear of God website
{{DEFAULTSORT:Phillips, Dave 1969 births Living people