Redefining the World of Electronica
A special interview with the man behind pH10, this year’s Midwest IAR winner
By Josh Bashara

The Music Phone Book is proud to announce the exceptional electronica outfit, pH10, as the winner of this year’s Midwest Independent Artist Registry. This edition’s IAR panel spent two months reviewing a mountain of submissions, listening to a host of great material from many talented musicians.

In the end, however, the Denver-based rock/electronica/funk group pH10 stood out among the rest. The brainchild of Brooklyn-native Robert Betts, a.k.a. Recone Helmut, pH10 is a unique amalgam of drum ‘n bass, hip-hop, funky rock, with a touch of dark industrial breaks thrown in for good measure.

As if that weren’t enough, pH10 has recently been graced with vocal styling of old-school hip-hop guru Pete Miser, who made a name for himself with his early-90s live band, the 5 Fingers of Funk. A native of Portland, Ore., Miser has made a comfortable habit of guest appearing on several pH10 albums, including the group’s most recent disc, Helmutvision.

Although Helmutvision was released over a year ago, the album continues to draw new listeners, thanks to its outside-the-box soundscape and production quality. It’s tough to pigeonhole the disc into one genre, mainly because each track is its own animal, defying the traditional coherency that most major-label bands back themselves into.

The album is a mix of dark, almost industrial-influenced drum ‘n bass, funky jungle-esque techno, and fast-paced hip-hop with obvious, old-school NYC influences. That versatility, Helmut suspects, is what separates pH10 from all the other dime-a-dozen electronica groups.

A native of New York City, Helmut grew up in the late-80s listening to punk and metal bands. “Our background is Slayer and Metallica,” he admits. “When people hear us, there’s a certain edge to it, and that’s where [our uniqueness] comes from.” He says that this fusion of genres is what divides pH10 from the “safer, cleaner” sound of traditional dance music.

In the early 90s, Helmut moved to Denver to go to college, where the wheels really began turning for career in music. In fact, he dabbled in a few industrial bands before forming pH10, playing percussion and using samples to get his “darker” fix out of music. It was during those years that he met collaborator Clark Nelson, who later went on help Helmut get signed to a label and tour Europe before later coming home to NYC.

Helmut credits Nelson with being the yin to his yang, offering an expertise in softer, groovier electronica to meet his own dark, industrial-influenced style.

In 1998, Helmut moved back to New York to set up shop. Since then, he’s been successfully keeping pH10 on the music scene’s radar, while offering his production skills to various clients as freelance gigs.

But even though Helmut took pH10 back to NYC with him, he says that Denver never lost interest over the years. This summer, he’s spending time in Colorado, just hanging out with friends, snowboarding and mountain biking.

But pH10 still plays the occasional live show in Denver, and the group is just as well-received as it ever was. “We were gone a whole eight years,” he says. “But when we came back, people still knew who we were. They followed our careers while we were gone.”

Just recently, pH10 won first place in its category at the International Songwriting Competition. Helmut fondly remembers joking about the competition beforehand, not realistically thinking they had a chance. But when he found out they won, he was genuinely thrilled.

As fate would have it, someone from the ISC nominated pH10 for the 2006 Midwest IAR here at the MPB, and a few months later, the group had earned yet another coveted title. In such a jaded business, he says, it’s recognition like this that really gives him the feeling of triumph he works so hard for.

When asked what advice he would give to bands trying to make it big, he laughs, and says he’s not sure he’s qualified to give that kind of advice.

“But if I had to,” he says reluctantly, “I would say people make a huge mistake in trying to get as much software, the latest plugins, and gear that they can. They get too caught up in it—they give themselves too many options. They get bogged down in the mechanics of it, rather than doing it because it’s fun, and creative.

“Besides that,” he adds, “it’s not practical to have that many options. If you download every plugin and every bit of software, you’re going to end up using all your time just learning how to use it. Just get a few, learn how to use them, and stick to it.”

After a moment of reflection, he offers the following advice, even though he admits it’s cliché: “You have to love it and be willing to put up with a lot of rejection. If you’re really doing it for the right reason, and you strive for the intangible returns, you’ll always be happy.”

I ask him if he’s heard the Tenacious D song, “Tribute,” also known as “The Greatest Song in the World.”

He chuckles, and says yeah. I ask him what his greatest song in the world would be. What would pH10’s ultimate song sound like?

Helmut thinks for a minute before deciding, and says that above all else, it’d be bass-heavy. Something to really get the air moving. It would have a nasty lead, but above all else, be something fun. A song that would put a smile on someone’s face the first time they heard it, and then put that same smile on their face when they hear it 15 years later.

I ask him if it’s all about fun; if he’s not interested in touching people on a more emotional, special level.

“We’ve never gone for the deep, serious, emotional stuff,” he answers. “But a smile on somebody’s face is pretty strong—that’s pretty special in itself.”

To learn more about Recone Helmut and pH10, visit the MPB’s special IAR website at independentartistregistry.com, or visit the band’s website at helmutplex.com.

Q&A with Pete Miser & pH10