Written by: Wayland Fong

Senior Timmy Linetsky, also known as Bout Phase, is a professional DJ as well as a musician. His music is an old-school take on electronic music. Linetsky, who previously performed under the alias Underbelly, decided to change his stage name at the start of the year. “I had spent the past three days frantically trying to think of a name; I had pages of words I liked taken from books and random phrase generators, and I spent hours desperately trying endless combinations of words and phrases,” he said. “In the end, it just came to me.”

Linetsky’s musical career began when he first started playing classical piano at the age of 7. “He was always very perceptive and emotionally more mature than his age,” Linetsky’s father Gene Linetsky said. “His intuition and empathy are certainly above average.”

Linetsky was first enticed into expanding his music capabilities from piano playing when he first heard “Midnight in a Perfect World” by DJ Shadow. “When I first heard his album ‘Entroducing’ I had no idea that every instrument was just a sample from a record. Back then, I didn’t even begin to think about how the music was created; I just liked how it sounded. When I found out that album was made entirely of samples it blew my mind. Pretty soon, I bought a [Music Production Center] and the rest is history,” Linetsky said.

Last September, Linetsky decided to post a beat every night for a year. It took him anywhere from 45 minutes to two hours to make a beat. “A song always starts off with a beat, which is basically the core musical idea,” Linetsky said. “Turning a beat into a song is like turning a sketch into a painting: it’s about taking the beat, which is usually just a 4-bar loop, and giving it depth and progression.” Some of his musical inspirations include Flying Lotus, J Dilla, Seven Lions and Clams Casino. “There is good music in every genre, you just got to dig it up.” Linetsky said.

For Linetsky, making music is more than just a hobby. “The high of making something great is unlike any feeling in the world,” Linetsky said. “It’s a high that lasts, too. I couldn’t stop making music if I tried.” From making beats in his bedroom, to performing at gigs around Palo Alto, Linetsky only has great ambitions for the future. “Right now I’m working on a mini-album featuring full versions of the best Nightly Beats,” he said.   “I’ve also got a few more shows lined up at the Media Center and will be playing gigs regularly to promote the album. Look for me on the cover of ‘Rolling Stone.’”