"It's the reason the word is 'play' when you're talking about working with instruments," said Phillips. "It should be play, it should be high level play with a strong vocabulary of what you're doing. Play is essentially exploration. Play means a process of discovery. To have a record be based on that, it's going to work well. It's not to say play isn't work, but it's certainly not drudgery. It's just wonderful to get to do something that was so fun, and also like I said before, to force myself to give up on anybody caring.

"It was so nice to do this and think, 'I'm not trying to get a record deal. I'm not trying to get on the radio, and I'm not trying to get my credibility that I so desperately want.' I'm just trying to have fun. It was so good to just get back in and remember why I do this."

A good attitude, a good time, and good songs didn't remove all the obstacles in his path. There was still no one financing the record, but that hurdle opened a new door for Phillips.

"It was also the first record I've mixed, which was a big step for me," he said. "Once again, there was no budget so I had to see if I could do it. I love this stuff but I always knew there are people who can do it better than I can. I could rattle off a couple dozen names off the top of my hand who are far more qualified than I am to do anything on this record, including playing instruments. It was fun."

You can order Secrets of The New Explorers from Phillips' web site, GlenPhillips.com. You can also read BC Magazine's review of the new EP.