Phonica Records: Recent Episodes
Phonica Records
There are DJs who build a reputation through big releases, and then there are those who earn it one dancefloor at a time.Harri Pepper falls firmly into the latter. Equally at home behind the counter at Jelly Records as he is behind a pair of turntables, he's spent the past few years becoming a familiar name across the UK's most discerning parties, with appearances at Fabric, Houghton, Gottwood, Glastonbury, Rally and a growing list of all-night sessions that showcase the depth of his record bag. It's that side of Harri that comes through on his Phonica Mix, taken from the closing stretch of an all-night set at Om earlier this year. As the club emptied and the dancers dug in for the final hours, he settled into a raw, high-energy journey that captures exactly what makes his sets so compelling.
Some mixes are snapshots of the present; others trace a much longer arc. Benedikt Frey's contribution to Off The Record belongs firmly to the latter. Built around jungle records he first bought as a teenager, it's a deeply personal excursion that reconnects with the sounds that shaped his musical identity. That sense of history has long defined Frey's approach—as a DJ, producer and label co-founder, his sets unfold with patience and intuition, favouring emotion over convention. Here, memories of formative dancefloors collide with decades of experience behind the decks, resulting in a mix that feels both nostalgic and strikingly alive. With new music arriving across Club Blanco, R.i.O. and Turbo Recordings over the coming year, it's another compelling chapter from one of electronic music's most quietly distinctive selectors.
Family feels less like a DJ mix than a snapshot of that journey: a lovingly assembled collection of records discovered through countless hours in the shop, recommendations traded between fellow staff and releases championed from friends' labels. As Gencia explains, every track is tied to the community that Phonica fostered around him—a musical education built through shared knowledge, back-to-back sessions and endless conversations over the counter. The result is a warm, deeply personal mix that celebrates the friendships, discoveries and crate-digging ethos that continue to define one of dance music's most enduring institutions.
The mix that follows reflects exactly that mindset: a winding trip through dub pressure, punk energy, B-boy tackle and plenty in between, stitched together with the sort of individuality that's become synonymous with his work.With a new EP for Long Gone Are The Old Traditions, further Crying Outcast releases and a debut album on the horizon, Miles J Paralysis continues to emerge as one of the most distinctive voices operating on the fringes of UK dance music. Enjoy.
Few DJs are riding the line between heads-down oddball groove science and hands-in-the-air serotonin release quite like Papa Nugs. Whether he’s shelling down rooms like Phonox, Corsica Studios, the Glastonbury Festival fields at Silver Hayes and Shangri-La, or spinning at the iconic red-box BRET Bar in Amsterdam, the London selector has built a reputation on blends that feel simultaneously loose, euphoric and meticulously dialled-in. As co-founder of Suckerpunch, his output has become synonymous with a particularly UK strain of playful club pressure: plinky-plonky tech house, sleazy breakbeat mutations, trance-laced curveballs and the kind of late-session heaters that sound best when the afters should’ve ended three hours ago. His contribution to the Phonica mix series captures that energy in full — moving from wiggy, weird tackle into full emotional depletion territory, stitched together with unreleased cuts, razor-sharp digging instincts and the same restless dancefloor sensibility that’s made him one of the most exciting names currently orbiting the UK underground.
As the days stretch longer and dancefloors begin to spill out into sun-drenched mornings, basic chanel arrives on Off The Record with a mix built for motion, release, and pure emotional lift. Known for her deep-drifting excursions through psychedelic dub, hypnotic techno, and dreamlike bass pressure, Chanel trades the foggier corners of her sound palette here for something glowing with warmth and momentum — a joyful ride packed with treasured classics, festival-ready energy, and the tracks that have been soundtracking her recent dancefloor moments. It’s a mix that mirrors her world entirely: emotionally rich, intuitively curated, and rooted in connection. Across the accompanying interview, she reflects on formative records, treasured friendships, healing rituals, and the euphoric chaos of stepping into her first full festival season — offering a glimpse into the person behind one of London’s most quietly distinctive underground voices.
Family mix is a carefully curated journey through multiple influences, with a timeless feel, a mix of music past, present and future, that will still sound as good in 10 years as it does today. A journey through deep house, classic cuts, and forthcoming gems. The mix also includes her next release out this week! So grab your copy now from the Phonica store.
Few artists have navigated the intersections of club music, global rhythm and deep listening with the consistency and curiosity of Auntie Flo. Emerging from the fertile Glasgow scene and closely tied to institutions like Sub Club, his sets and productions have long blurred the lines between percussive club functionality and transportive, almost ritualistic sound design. Releases such as Radio Highlife and his ongoing output via his own imprint A State Of Flo have cemented a reputation for weaving Afro-diasporic influences with electronic music’s more exploratory edges, while appearances at spaces like Fabric and Panorama Bar underline his fluency across both intimate and heavyweight dancefloors. Whether playing sunrise sets in the Arctic Circle or all-night sessions back home, there’s a through-line in Auntie Flo’s work: rhythm as a shared language, patiently unfolded.For his Phonica Records mix, that ethos comes into sharp focus. Drawing from both fresh discoveries and personal archive, the set folds in three unreleased productions—including a forthcoming collaboration with Tony Morris—while echoing the deeper, more percussive territories he’s been exploring in recent club sets. Shaped loosely by a recent Berlin performance, it moves with a steady, hypnotic pulse: vibey, fluid, and quietly expansive. Like much of his work, it’s less about peaks and more about immersion—a snapshot of where Auntie Flo sits right now, as a selector and producer still driven by the joy of digging, storytelling, and sound system communion.
There’s a certain low-lit, after-hours quality to everything ddwy touch — a feeling that sits somewhere between dubbed-out introspection and dancefloor disorientation. The London-based pair, Naomi Pieris and Ronan MT, have been quietly carving out their space through a run of deeply textural releases and increasingly exploratory live and DJ outings, from DIY spaces to leftfield festival bills across Europe. Their Phonica mix leans into that same hazy, transportive energy: a collage shaped by long-haul sessions in Berlin and Düsseldorf, stitched together with their now-signature live vocal manipulations via harmonica mic and tape-style echo. It’s a mix that feels less like a straight recording and more like a lived-in artefact — part diary, part dream sequence — tracing the outer edges of their influences, from deep UK electronics to the kind of oddball, system-driven moments that tend to define their most memorable sets.
Family mix, the Kyiv-based duo turn inward, sketching a one-hour passage built entirely from their own catalogue, including cuts from Selected Memories We Never Had on Kashtan. It plays less like a showcase and more like a self-portrait in motion: deep, textural, and deliberately unhurried. Drawing from a shared instinct for digging—whether that’s Bohdan’s fixation on overlooked vintage records or Oleksii’s algorithmic wanderings through forgotten corners of the internet—the mix carries that same sense of rediscovery, where every track feels unearthed rather than placed. There’s a quiet emotional weight running through it too, shaped inevitably by distance and memory, echoing the kind of closeness they recall from early sets like Natura festival—moments that now feel suspended in time.
Dog in 2025, continuing to carve out a distinct sonic identity shaped by punk attitude and disco romanticism. For Off The Record 062, Subaru distils the records currently fuelling their dancefloors—imagining a packed room of dancers while recording at home—delivering an hour of favourites from their bag right now, stitched together with the same warmth and intuition that’s made them one of the most exciting selectors to emerge from the UK underground in recent years.
Stepping up for his Phonica mix, Chez De Milo delivers a raw, one-take session that captures the ruff-and-ready energy he’s been channeling on dance floors across the UK and beyond. A mainstay of Fabric, The Cause, Love International, and a host of revered underground spaces from London to Bristol, Chez has steadily built a reputation as a DJ’s DJ—equally at home soundtracking late-night basements as he is sun-drenched Adriatic terraces. A longtime affiliate of scene-shaping figures such as Andrew Weatherall—who personally invited him to play New Year’s Eve 2019 in London in a career-defining moment—Chez’s sound draws on deep, psychedelic currents and leftfield club pressure in equal measure. His new label, Club Blanco, signals the next chapter: a platform for forward-thinking club music, including forthcoming heat from A.Wild, while further cementing his place within a lineage of selectors who prize individuality and depth. Recorded club-style in a single take, the Phonica mix reflects the records he’s been hammering lately—many sourced from Phonica’s own racks—stitched together with the instinctive, chaotic precision that has defined his approach for over 15 years behind the decks.
Kisses in Melbourne to extended runs across Europe, Australia and Asia, always guided by the same open-eared philosophy: no genre borders, just feeling. This mix, pieced together from records found while DJing in Seoul, late-night Osaka digs and long-held shelf treasures, leans into a ’90s cosmic lineage — ambient techno dissolving into early trance atmospherics — a subtle left turn in tone perhaps, but unmistakably Mori Ra: deep, romantic and quietly transportive.
Italian-born, Berlin-based DJ and producer Pancratio brings a decade-plus career of finely honed releases and international dancefloor experience to his Phonica mix. With standout records such as Love Letters on PARAMIDA’s Love On The Rocks and the Automatic House LP on Faith Beat, he’s built a reputation for productions that fuse analog warmth with driving, modern club energy. Alongside this, his wider discography and long-running studio practice have helped shape a sound that’s both functional and emotionally tuned. As a DJ, Pancratio has played across Europe and beyond, appearing at respected clubs and festivals and sharing line-ups with influential selectors including Craig Richards, James Zabiela, Simone de Kunovich and Edward, while also hosting and curating his own nights. This Phonica mix captures him at full strength: big-room, tech-leaning anthems designed for impact, underpinned by clear nods to Chicago’s jacking rhythms and Detroit’s timeless, soulful machine funk.
Matt Cowell has carved out a distinctive space in the UK underground scene as a DJ, curator, label-head and sonic adventurer — a figure equally at home weaving deep, heads-down sets and steering conversations around forward-thinking music. As a key voice behind independent hub Ransom Note, co-founder of the boundary-blurring imprint Viscera Transmissions (home to artists like Niklas Wandt, Thomass Jackson, Shjva and The W.C. remix of Latrec’s Kutica), and resident selector for parties including Optick and Ransom Note events, his reach spans club nights, radio airwaves and DIY spaces across London and beyond. He’s also hosted and contributed to mixes and shows for platforms like Deeprhythms and various radio projects, showcasing his eclectic taste and ability to shape journeys that thrill dancers and listeners alike.
Off The Record hit their 60th with a mix from a true modern day selector. A mix that was sent to us from long time manager of Phonica, the dearly missed late Nick Williams – Muriel De Bros a.k.a Princess P gives us an hour and a half of genre-blurring, deep dug and beautifully blended magnificence. For decades Princess P has been a cornerstone of underground culture out of Switzerland – from cutting her teeth behind the counter at Basel’s seminal Plattfon Records and running her own events, to shaping soundtracks for club nights and stages at Zukunft in Zürich, Elysia in Basel, Kauz, Kapitel Bollwerk and Beyond, including standout sets at the Watching Trees Festival that have opened doors and hearts alike – a journey she herself describes as life-saving in its intensity. Renowned for her deft, expansive selections that move effortlessly between house, techno, IDM and beyond, Muriel’s curatorial voice extends far beyond the booth, most recently through her lovingly assembled Infinite Sonore compilation on her own Princess imprint, a sub-label of Mental Groove, where deep listening and emotional resonance take centre stage. This mix mirrors that same spirit – less concerned with tight club transitions and more with atmosphere, memory and musical moments that don’t always survive a dancefloor, pulled from dusty crates, rediscovered collections and a lifetime of careful listening.
Glasgow’s own Austin Ato has quietly built one of the most compelling trajectories in contemporary house music — a DJ and producer whose colourful, groove-laden records nod to 90s house, deep disco and soulful rhythms while always carrying a distinctly modern pulse. Over the past decade he’s dropped vinyl and digital cuts on revered imprints like Phonica White, Classic Music Company, Me Me Me and Defected — from the piano-rich Song For Mr. Lewis and the groove-driven Heat to his own rework series I Love Your Edits — earning love from tastemakers across the global scene. Behind the decks he’s just as at home firing up Glasgow’s Berkeley Suite as he is packing floors from Edinburgh’s Bongo Club to Berlin’s Wintergarten, deftly blending deep, jazzy house with disco inflections and thoughtful edits that reveal both his crate-digging instincts and dancefloor intuition. For his Phonica mix, Ato cuts away from the constructed-mix template and instead offers a live warm-up set from his own I Love Your Energy night (Dec 27th, 2025) — a recording pulsing with real crowd energy, shimmering between deep, jazzy moments and intricate, drum-machine house workouts. Ato’s aim? To share the same flowing energy he feels when playing to people, giving the Phonica listeners a late-doors vibe that’s groovy, soulful and deeply immersive rather than a peak-hour stomp.
Family mix off the back of a breakout year, one that saw her music embraced across Europe’s cosmic-disco and downtempo scenes and her live show land on iconic stages like Jæger. In conversation, she describes her world as part cinematic dreamspace, part crate-digger curiosity — a fusion that shines through this seasonal selection. Moving between ambient glow, cosmic synth voyages and warm, groove-led passages, the mix reflects the same tenderness, detail and wanderlust that shape her own productions, including the new projects and secret soundtrack she’s quietly crafting for 2026. It’s Elli at her most intimate: warm, reflective and open-hearted.
Over the past decade, Ploy has quietly but decisively become one of the UK’s most versatile dancefloor thinkers—an artist whose catalogue maps a constant tension between percussive futurism, bass-heavy urgency and a mischievous instinct for left-turns. His most recent release on Faith Beat pushed that ethos further into focus, folding sleazy groove, screw-face swing and oddball funk into something unmistakably his own. The response has been telling: with each shift in style, Ploy only seems to sharpen his identity, earning a reputation for unpredictability that dancers and DJs have grown to trust. As the producer steps into the Phonica mix series, he arrives not as a chameleon but as a fully coherent shape-shifter—restless, playful and firmly in his stride.
Family” mix in the spirit of working at Phonica Records, feels like a carefully curated journey through his musical universe. You can expect flickers of deep house, nods to disco and soul, maybe a touch of dubby wanderlust — a mix that reflects his dual life as both DJ and digger, uniting records from different eras and cultures into one seamless set!
The long standing NTS resident steps up for the latest Off The Record mix.London-based DJ and NTS regular Babyschön a.k.a Safi Bugel brings her deep, left-of-centre sensibilities to Phonica’s Off The Record series with a mix that bridges the afterglow of summer and the shadows of winter. Known for weaving post-punk, Italo, EBM and oddball house through her radio shows and club sets, Safi has built a reputation for finding warmth in the darker corners of the dancefloor. This mix, recorded at home on a quiet autumn afternoon but inspired by her set at DIY festival Three Wheel Drive back in August, channels that same energy — hazy, melodic and a little nostalgic while still maintaining a solid dance ready beat throughout. We had a quick chat with Safi about her mix and what she has coming up for the rest of the year:
The ever-restless crate digger and globe-trotting selector Romain FX steps into the booth for our 137th edition of the Phonica Mix series, bringing with him the full force of his nomadic, genre-bending ethos. Born in France but raised across Hong Kong, Taiwan and the USA, he’s spent nearly two decades cultivating a sound with no borders—whether through founding Hong Kong’s Fauve Radio and Fauve Records, digging through the city’s back-street record shops or driving sunrise sessions atop the Great Wall of China. For this mix he set out to “create a melting pot of sounds from different corners of the world, stitched together into my own musical sphere,” he tells us, outlining his intent to blend Canto Pop with Korean beats, Ghetto House with IDM, Indian electronic experiments and dreamy rave, all seasoned with a dash of space disco. That he pulls it off – without caring if genre purists wince – is testament to years of diligent vinyl hunting (over 3,000 records and counting) and a restless urge to challenge the dancefloor. It’s not just the track-list that intrigues, but the spirit of connection through contrast. Expect hidden unreleased gems for curious ears, and a journey that reminds you why Romain FX remains one of the most adventurous voices in underground dance music today.
From the shadowy basement grooves of early Detroit-tinged techno to the soulful echoes of deep house and Balearic atmospheres, Jayson Wynters’ Phonica mix is a distilled journey through the sounds that animate his DJ sets. A Birmingham native who cut his teeth releasing records like Latitude, Solitude, and Warheads / Exit Wound, Wynters has built a reputation for pacing, depth, and an ear for both the new and the buried treasures in his vinyl rack. In this mix he begins in more ethereal territory—drawing listeners in with introspective textures—before gradually escalating the energy, taking us into a place where he usually finds himself halfway through one of his live sets, guiding the dancefloor through intensity, emotion, and release.
There’s something quietly magnetic about Duncan Thomas. A London-based producer, live performer and lifelong digger, his sound sits at the crossroads of warm soul, deep groove and harmonic richness. From his early work with TR Trio and Size 8 to recent solo outings on The Check In and his forthcoming label Slam Duncs, Thomas has steadily carved out a space that favours feeling over formula. Whether behind a keyboard or a pair of decks, he approaches music with a jazz musician’s ear and a selector’s instinct — patient, playful, rooted in depth.His Phonica Friends & Family mix is a love letter to that ethos. Rather than chasing dancefloor peaks, this is a set built on timelessness — music he wants to return to in ten years and still feel connected to. These are deep, soulful cuts that lean into warmth and atmosphere, curated from both dusty crates and digital rabbit holes. True to form, the mix resists trend in favour of tone, inviting you into a space where melody, memory and movement meet. It’s subtle, emotive, and unmistakably Duncan Thomas.
For this edition of Off The Record, we’re honored to host a mix from Rob Sevier, co-founder of the legendary archival label Numero Group. Known for its meticulous approach to uncovering and reissuing lost gems across soul, funk, punk, ambient, and beyond, Numero has earned its place as a gold standard for crate diggers and curious listeners alike. Sevier, a tireless researcher and selector, brings that same curatorial depth to his exclusive mix—a deep dive into self-released and small-label funk-adjacent singles from Ohio, Texas, Michigan, and Georgia. Alongside the mix, we caught up with him to talk DJing in hidden corners of Japan, the joys of non-allegiance to any one digging method, and what’s next for one of the most important archival projects in music.
Phonica mix 135 comes in hot from one of the slickest names making waves at the moment.Wallace – the enigmatic alias of UK producer Jimmy Wallace – continues to assert himself as a quietly formidable force in underground house music. Since his 2023 breakthrough Ripples EP on Rhythm Section International, packed with sway-inducing grooves like “Whirl,” “Pump Up The Volume” and “Cenotes,” he’s maintained a remarkable creative and club presence. In 2024, he followed up with Papertrip on RS, a magnet for DJs and dancefloors alike, and later the Tanzanite EP on On Loop, where “Red Velvet” and “M’bira” earned serious praise for their visceral propulsion.Wallace’s latest chapter includes a headline slot at Panorama Bar, alongside touring Japan, and support from tastemakers like Moxie, Gilles Peterson, Hunee and Bradley Zero – the latter reportedly playing “four or five Wallace tracks per set” across the past year. Stop-start grooves, pumping electro and acid licks, interwoven with percussive breakdowns and bursts of raw energy, define his DJ sets— for this mix: a cerebral yet unrelenting fusion of house, electro, acid and more, made for physical, late-night immersion.We had a quick chat with Wallace about what he has coming up:
The Sustain-Release co-founder steps up to the Phonica mix just ahead of the acclaimed festival’s 11th year. New York has an iconic history when it comes to club music, and over the years has seen many great names emerge from its underground scene. In modern times, Aurora Halal is undoubtedly one of those names. Aurora has become a staple at forward-thinking institutions like Berghain, De School, and her home base, Nowadays, where she holds a residency. Alongside her international touring, she’s carved out her own vital space through the long-running Mutual Dreaming parties and Sustain-Release, the DIY-rooted festival she co-founded, which continues to push boundaries as it enters its second decade.Her Phonica mix offers a vivid snapshot of her deep, intuitive approach to DJing—captured live at Mansions, a cozy NYC wine bar turned house party haven. Known for her genre-fluid sets that blend hypnotic techno, house, acid and experimental textures this is the perfect calling card to showcase why she can hold it down with a range of greats like DJ Nobu, Vladimir Ivkovic and more.We had a chat about the mix with Aurora as well as touching off Sustain and some of her favorite moments at the festival.
Our Off The Record mix series returns with a radio-show like hour long mix from Music From Memory affiliated Berlin based Electronica / Jazz trio The Zenmenn.The Zenmenn are a genre-blurring trio known for their lush, escapist soundscapes that blend ambient, Balearic, and cosmic funk influences. With a flair for vintage textures and laid-back grooves, their music conjures a sense of timeless serenity—equally suited for sun-drenched afternoons or introspective nights. The Zenmenn debuted in 2021 with Enter The Zenmenn on Music From Memory, a dreamy blend of ambient textures, soft rock, and global influences. They followed up with Hidden Gem in 2022, a collaborative album with John Moods shaped by loose jam sessions and warm, nostalgic tones. Both releases highlight their signature fusion of cosmic calm and crate-digger sensibility.Their contribution to the Off The Record mix series showcases their crate-digging sensibilities and deep reverence for global sounds, weaving together a meditative journey that’s both soulful and transportive. We had a brief chat with the band (fronted through the words of their Keyboardist Magnus) about the mix and about what they had coming up in the rest of 2025.
Jennifer Loveless steps up to the Phonica mix with a charged hour of sculpted house — poised between deep groove and melodic resonance. Born in Toronto and musically forged in Melbourne, she relocated to Australia in 2012 and quickly became a central figure in the country's underground electronic scene. Now based in Berlin, her fluid DJ style — steeped in queer dancefloor energy and late-night catharsis — has lit up some of the world’s most respected booths, from Panorama Bar and De School to Body Movements, Maricas/Mxricas, and Boiler Room’s Discwoman showcase in Sydney.As a producer, her discography speaks in rhythms both personal and expansive. The debut Hard/Soft (Pure Space, 2020) blended meditative percussion and fragmented spoken word; 1.5m (Planet Euphorique) offered a pandemic-era pulse of emotional urgency. In 2021, the Water EP (Butter Sessions) landed with immersive, club-primed textures and was hailed by Resident Advisor as “career-defining.” Its 2022 follow-up Around the World expanded that sound with driving drums and psychedelic tones — its standout tracks appearing in DJ sets by Jayda G, D. Tiffany, and more.Loveless’s mix here flows like her best sets: deep, intuitive, and full of movement. Sensual grooves fold into one another — not showy, just sharp. A warm, high-fidelity hour from a DJ who knows how to guide the floor from dusk to afterglow. We had a brief chat with Jennifer about the mix and what she has coming up:
If you’ve been to Phonica in the past 15+ years, you likely know Nick Williams—an integral figure behind the counter, sharing his deep and eclectic musical taste with everyone from global DJs to underground newcomers. As founder of Meda Fury Records, he’s championed soulful, leftfield sounds, discovering artists like DJ Seinfeld along the way. A seasoned DJ himself, Nick has played iconic clubs like Fabric and Corsica, known for genre-defying sets that span ambient, house, techno, post-punk, jungle, and beyond. His latest mix reflects this wide scope—layered, emotional, and full of unexpected gems.
Dee Diggs joins us for Phonica mix 132, a 90-minute session that traces a fluid line through U.S, deep house and disco. Based in Brooklyn, Diggs is a DJ, producer and curator whose work foregrounds the Black and queer roots of dance music. Her sets balance emotional depth and rhythmic precision, drawing from a wide palette while maintaining a strong sense of narrative. First emerging through New York’s queer party circuit, she’s since built an international profile through thoughtful mixes for platforms like Honcho and Dekmantel, as well as her own event series, House of Diggs. With each project, Diggs makes clear that dance music is both personal archive and political practice.
Hashman Deejay stands out as one of those DJ's and producers where he lets the music do the talking. Like fellow collaborators PLO Man & C3D-E you won't see many interviews, let alone photos - they show up to the party and do their thing. With a vast range of alias' and collaborative projects Hashman has been responsible for some of the rawest sounds in experimental, breaks, house and techno. As well as a DJ his vast taste can expand anywhere from shoegaze and punk, disco and raw chicago sounds, to dubbed acid and techno. For this mix the selector has dug deep into the tape hiss sounding crates covering oldschool beats that could be mistaken for an OG Ras G tape, dub flowing onwards into some select acid house and more synth focused club sounds all working together with the most seamless touch. We had a very brief chat with Hashman about his mix but this one is all about the sounds and he lets that do the talking.
The Phonica series drifts Amsterdam way for the next addition in its series with not one but two of the cities most prominent artists. Kamma & Masalo supply separately in their sets nothing but magical moments so when you have the chance to see them play together it is that times two and some. Never knowing what the direction and vibe their set will go - having roots in eclectic and disco vibes as well clubbier house, techno and acid sounds (a vibe they cement firmly at their Brighter Days party in Amsterdam) - they have firmly placed themselves on top shelf list of some of Europes finest selectors. Appearing regularly at festivals like Dekmantel and Japan's Rainbow Disco Club to name a few, the duo have played some of the best clubs around the world. For Phonica 131 Kamma and Masalo have the dancefloor in mind with a mix focused on their beginnings in the underground club scene of their upbringing. We had a quick chat with them about the mix and what they have coming up!
The Off The Record series ventures stateside to Chicago, Illinois to reach out to one of the most iconic modern labels going at the moment; International Anthem, who are now celebrating 11 years on the planet. Started in 2012 by Scottie McNiece and David Allen International Anthem Recording Company has been focused on pushing some of the most ground breaking sounds in Jazz, funk, soul and blues. With a roster that extends to names like Makaya McCraven, Jeff Parker, Damon Locks, Carlos Nino and more it has proved to have an eye for the highest quality in sound and curation. For this mix the label has nominated their own Alejandro Ayala AKA King Hippo to hon and curate the sounds provided. King Hippo was the label representative on the International Anthem Worldwide FM Chicago show - so we are definitely in good hands. Coming in at a clean hour, Ayala brings in various styles of Jazz, moulded expertly to provide a perfect home listening experience or what the label likes to be known as the "Floating Kissaten Mix". We sat down and had a chat about the mix with Alejandro, as well as about the label and about what they have coming up in the future for their 11th year.
Phonica Mix Series 130 welcomes an artist who has defined and defied the rules of drum & bass like no other. dBridge, real name Darren White has been in the game for well over 30 years. Growing up listening to artists like DJ Randall & Grooverider on Rush FM when he was starting out shaped his ear for the sound that he would learn to grow with, love and mutate. With over 100 records released on labels like R&S, Convex, Metalheadz, Nonplus and more that span well into the 90's dBridge has become a pioneer well in his own right. Not only that but his label Exit Records which not too long ago celebrated its 100th release has been a output determined to push the boundaries of experimental bass, D&B and more. Having usually referred to himself as being producer first, it is not to be mistaken that White is a seasoned pro behind the decks. Having stepped into Worlds of his own playing with some of Drum & Bass' biggest names like Doc Scott & Goldie, the artist has also stepped into lengthy b2b's with Bass artist Youngsta and Techno legend Donato Dozzy (which he will do once more this Summer at Dekmantel). For this mix dBridge has dedicated it to people around him, a friends and family mix of sorts. With heavy bassy tones from the get go and experimental techno and electro flowing throughout - it showcases the sure diversity of one of the best to do it! We had a brief chat with dBridge about the mix and what he has coming up.
One of our newest members of staff steps up for the latest Phonica Friends and Family mix, but I wouldnt take alot of attention to the word "newest". With residencies in London hotspots like Lion & Lamb and more Patrick Rowe aka Rolo is no stranger to the wheels of steel. With a mix just bashing spot on an hour Patrick takes us down a vortex of experimental industrial sounds and warped euphoric trance fused acid and techno. We had a brief chat with Patrick about the mix and what he has going on!
Phonica reaches out to one of the finest names in Chicago for our 129th mix.Starting off in the 90's playing from cassette tapes with a group of friends under the moniker ‘Chuck Brothers’ Rahaan started to build an extensive house and disco collection that by 1996 would come to define him as one of Chicago’s stand out house and disco DJs. This would of course secure him with residencies at ‘The Spot’ and one of Chicago’s best clubs ‘Buddha Lounge’. A reputation he would cement with gigs all over the globe in the proceeding years also giving him an audience to his skills in production that have seen him release records with reputable labels like Lumberjacks From Hell, Z Records, Hot Biscuit, BBE and more. For this mix the Chicago legend takes us on a trip with over an hour of deep, soulful and funky disco house. We had a brief chat with Rahaan about the mix and what he has coming up!
The multifaceted talent Michael Diamond steps up for the next edition to our Off The Record mix series with a selection of bass driven leftfield club sounds. Off the back of his excellent EP "Placid Wakefulness" on his own Vasuki Sound imprint, which closed out the artists 2024 to much critical acclaim, we reached out to the South East Londoner for a mix. With a sound that draws elements which would stretch from the likes of Music From Memory all the way to Hessle Audio Michael has deemed himself unique in production but also very much so in his DJ sets. With a massively expansive taste we knew he would be a perfect edition to Off The Record. With a more club focused mix delving into the UK techy and bass vibe it gives us an example of Michael Diamond at peak time. We had a brief chat with Michael about his mix and what he has coming up in 2025!
We are finally walking out of the gloom and doom of January with Spring firmly in view. To give us that extra jolt and wipe off them cobwebs we have reached out to drum & bass and jungle master Tim Reaper to put a shock to our system.Tim is without doubt one of the striving forces in pushing a new wave of drum & bass and jungle in London and beyond. Alongside other names like Sully, Kloke, Stones Taro and Coco Bryce, Tim has brought a old school sound to an entirely new generation - sounds similar to alumni like Source Direct & Commix but with a new twist. With closing out 2024 with his new album "In Full Effect" with Australian producer Kloke on Hyperdub to much critical acclaim, the name Tim Reaper has never been bigger! So with that being said we are very honoured to have him join us for our series. For Tim's mix he takes us on an hour and half deep dive that he describes as the more chilled side to D&B and Jungle - but don't be fooled this mix definitely has a bit of power behind it. We had a brief chat with Tim about the mix and what hes gotta coming up this year.
The Off The Record mix series kicks off its year with a bonafide legend in the game. Having close ties to artists like Flying Lotus, Ras-G & more Kutmah has blurred the lines between beats, hip-hop, new wave and Lo-fi. Having flipped the script on sampling and making his own sound from a little bit of column A and a little of column B, the DJ (whose mixing skills are nearly unparalleled), has always found himself indistinguishable in terms of genre. This has gathered him a very firm fanbase who never know what to expect from a Kutmah set. That being said we did not know what to expect either, and in this excitement received an hour of pure raw distorted guitars, ambient waves and lo-fi beats. We had a brief chat with the man himself about the mix and what he has cooking in the pipeline.
The Phonica mix series returns for 2025! Kicking off the year with a bang is one of our favorite and definitely one of the slickest underground producers of the minute Tiago Walter. Running Jisul Records (together with Nils Diezel and Ba Dum Tish's Alec Falconer) Walter has used the imprint to put out killer release after release with a unique and clean take on the tied lines between tech, soulful and deep house. This is a joint sound that you can find travelling not just throughout this hour and a half journey he has recorded for us, but at sets he has played all over Europe i.e. London's Pickle Factory or Offenbach's Robert Johnson club! So get your headphones on and prepare to bop your head to this masterclass in house music from the excellent Tiago Walter. As always we had a little chat with Tiago about the mix and what he has coming up!
The Irish up and comer brings us on a two hour journey of eclectic builds and bassline infused d&b, house and tech anthems.Upon listening to the latest musical offering "The Instigator EP" from Irish artist, DJ & producer Niall Prescott aka Rhythms Of Prescott, you would assume that the artist has solely rooted his years into all things house and its surrounding stylings. This is far from the truth. Niall's deep understanding of all kinds of club and overall music demonstrates his versatility which has given him an uplifting edge as a producer. This comes to light when you see him DJ and begin to see the influences reflected in his music. Its like a drawn out map through sound. This is exactly what comes to mind when you listen to his Phonica mix. Just marking over two hours the mix starts off with some eclectic sounds solemnly and fluidly progressing into drum & bass influences before taking us to some dark bassline filled territories in the realms of techy club and house sounds. A solid closing mix for the series in 2024.
We change up the pace for Off The Record 52 with Palestinian/Egyptian DJ & producer Oldyungmayn.With a multifaceted identity layered through both his productions and performances, influenced from 90's era rave, sharpened sound design, and a wide spectrum of music he fiinds these stylings have taken him to the decks at Amsterdam’s Garage Noord, Herrensauna and a performance at the experimental festival CTM to name a few. For this mix Oldyungmayn digs deep into more leftfield sounds and less so 4/4 club sounds, that being said this mix can find its way to being played at all hours of the night. Driving yet euphoric. We had a very brief chat with the artist about the mix and what he has coming up.
Interview: http://offtherecord.net/phonica-friends-family-mix-series-22luther-vine/The Friends and Family mix we have been all been waiting for. The long time standing Saturday manager of Phonica records steps up for just over an hour of what he knows best: deep dug out and well selected tech house grooves.There has been many recognisable faces from dance music to work the weekend shifts at Phonica over the years. Artists like Heidi, Anthea and Danielle have all spent Saturdays and Sundays shifting the latest 12"s to the vinyl hungry punters of the Soho haunt. As these staff faded from the floor to bigger things Luther Vine has filled this void with a gusto and eagerness matching to his past colleagues (of course with his own flavour).With a hand in the Phonica record label, running its latest Phonica AM off-shoot and also running his own imprint Fragments Of Reality with Ralph Lawson of 20/20 Vision - it is no secret that Luthers ear falls expert to minimalistic cuts as well as grooving tech-house sounds. This you can also find in his solid productions on the two previously mentioned labels including a pretty memorable cut with good friend Subb-An (who also released the debut release on Phonica AM) on Fragments Of Reality Vol. 2.On top of all this Luther is a very credible DJ in the circuit having exhibited his skills all around the UK, further afield and as well as laying it down at London institution fabric on more than one occasion. For this mix he takes us into the deepest corners of his record bag with an all over minimalistic and tech house excursion with a perfectly built narrative and warmness to the craft.
The Stockholm based Aniara artist and Ritmo Liminal party co-founder Mattias El Mansouri steps up for our next Phonica mix.With three releases on the Aniara label, his most recent being the beautifully crafted "Time Dilation In Ultraviolet" Mattias has proven his understanding of what gives a dance track more meaning. This is also founded in his DJ sets all over Europe which have seen him share B2Bs with greats like Genius Of Time and Hunee. For this Phonica mix Mattias takes us from the house party and transitions us to the club and straight into the morning with a mixture of vocal delights into deep club moments leaving us on full blown Eurphora. We had a little chat with Mattias about the mix and what he has up his sleeve towards the end of the year.
Not many people have done two Phonica mixes but Govind Singh is a man of many talents and his Silsila Dubs alias is something that we most definitely needed to visit.A former staff member of Phonica and now handling things at Above Board Distribution it goes without saying that Govind lives and breathes this industry. Commonly known under his Kylin Tyce guise which has put out garage, house and a little bitta D&B for labels like Tesselate, PIV and Oldivibes over the years he has now focused on another deep love of his.Silsila Dubs is two records deep now and is all about Govind's passion for Dub and soundsystem culture. Having had both his debut "Perseverance" and his follow up "Walk The Light" (featuring Trumpet from our own Luther Vine) being blessed at Notting Hill Carnival by the legendary Aba shanti I soundsystem it only speaks volumes of Govind's in-depth knowledge and ear for this sound.For Off The Record 51 we asked Govind to put his Silsila Dubs hat on and show us what inspired and is currently motivating the project with an hour of Dub selections.
Phonica mix 124 is a truly special edition from not just one of London's finest collectors and selectors but one of our long time regulars; Nick The Record. Not only has Nick been a loyal friend of our shop in the years we have been open, he has also been one of the driving forces behind the London scene for nearly 30 years. Dealing records professionally to some of the biggest DJs in the world over the years as well as running several labels including his most recent outing Natural House - his knowledge in disco and house is impecible. He has displayed this in his vast deeply thought out sets over the years be it performing the closing set at some of Japan's best underground festivals or at his long running night Tangent with friend John Gomez, he is a definition of a digger. We had a chat with Nick about the mix and what he has coming up, even if we had to hold his flight to Japan for a couple of minutes!
Off The Record returns with its semi-centennial mix from Dublin born, London residing guitarist, producer and DJ Glimmerman. Real name Ethan Begley Hughes, Glimmerman has found himself as a producer following two paths as of late. Firstly his three large sounding 2-step 12"s on Dublin's First Second Label as well being featured on EMA's powerhouse Woozy imprint compilations. Or secondly finding him taking centre stage as the lead guitarist in his most recent venture: post-rock band Better Living. Listening to his latest release "Temple Sublet" it definitely feels like these two crossroads meet somewhere in the middle (not to mention the excellent track featuring London wordsmith Old Brother). Aside from all of that Hughes has been known to be a solid pair of hands behind the ones and twos having this year alone taken to Berlin's Paloma as well as touching down in the usual London hotspots MOT, Avalon Cafe and Ormside projects. For this mix Glimmerman ventures into more techno inspired roots as well as letting rip with some guitar related influences while still showcasing his knowledge bassy and D&B sounds and of course all harmoniously mixed to perfection.
Phonica ventures down to South London for its 123rd mix in our long running series. Leila Beesley also known by everyone as Chinese Daughter has been stretching the sounds of original, new, and future jungle records alongside the sounds of bass-lead old school rave, future hardcore, and breaks. While also working behind the scenes at Warp records, taking to her regular show on Rinse FM and repping the Swamp 81 crew; you can also find Beesley at parties all over the UK and further afield(not forgetting her smashing set at our 20th anniversary at fabric last year). The set she has supplied for us here is no different. Mixed on all vinyl Chinese Daughter here showcases a broad spectrum of 2010's bass gold, kicking drums and party going anthems all built together in a beautifully seamless narrative. We had a quick chat with Leila about the mix and what she has coming up over on WWW.OFFTHERECORD.NET
A DJ whose taste stretches the realms of Nu Beat, Afro, Cosmic, Disco, House and funky Techno; we are delighted to welcome Jaime Fiorito for our next Phonica Friends and Family mix. Having been exposed to such a large vast knowledge of music through his father, the legendary Balearic don DJ Alfredo, Jaime from a young age was born to follow in his footsteps. His style of DJing which currently touches off leftfield house & techno, disco, African rhythms and seductive balearic have seen him touchdown at hot spots all over Ibiza, South America and Berlin's Panorama Bar.
Off The Record is back for the 49th mix in its series! As we near half way to the golden centennial mix our eyes move over to two of the UK’s deepest diggers and independent musical minds.Stuart Leath aka Chuggy is commonly known for his work running the very excellent Emotional Response / Emotional Rescue imprints as well as a few other note worthy projects and Piers Harrison – part of the Brighton four piece Soft Rocks with a mountain work out in the world as well as being a very solid selector; together they make up the Mysticisms label.Mysticisms is an imprint that seems to focus on digging deep into the old as well as discovering the new and fleeting into obscure sounding club sounds. With a bag of certified legends like Persian and Nail along with more recent fresh names like Deep Dean & Coral D the label has perked ears from some of the biggest DJs in the game, not forgetting enticing the eyes with a solid visual aesthetic to match.For Off The Record #49 Leath & Harrison put together some choice tracks from the label new and old. Mixed by Harrison it is a perfect calling card for the label and really showcases what its all about.
As far as duo's go Ben Lewis & Josh Ludlow are a force to be reckoned with. With their party and label Make A Dance along with its also much beloved subsidiary imprint M.A.D Edits, the two have given a much needed outlet to the scene in London as well as further afield. With their party driven sound meeting ties with deep house as well as disco, italo and more they have proven to both deem a quality selection that can bring any party to its knees. And for the 122nd Phonica mix they do exactly that; a pure scope of energy mixed with quality deep anthems and a hint of acid to top it off. We had a quick chat with Ben and Josh about the mix and what they got going in the works.
Francesca Macri also known by her now well known moniker System Olympia has been stretching the genres of new-wave, disco and club sounds to her whim since the mid 2010's. With her 2020 debut album "Delta Of Venus" still in huge demand sitting on discogs for a keen collectors price it only speaks volumes about Macri's fan base. Having followed up her successful debut with the synth driven "Racing Heart" and the stunning "Always On Time" in more recent years, not to forget most recently her critically acclaimed new EP "Sanctified"; System Olympia has won fans over with her unique ear and keen eye to her sound, each time bringing something new to the table. As well as performing live shows, the artist also enjoys taking punters on journeys in her diverse DJ sets and this is where we move on to the mix. An hour of leftfield disco, rare boogie gems and synthy anthems all mixed to perfection. Pop that bottle of champagne, cue up the system and shine your phone light at the disco ball in your room. This is Off The Record 48: System Olympia!
The Iranian born & London based powerhouse Kasra V steps up next for the Phonica mix series.With a heap of solid releases out in the last while from labels like Byron Yeates' Radiant Love imprint and Sepehr's Shaytoon Records - Kasra V's production styles reaching the realms of breaks and techy club numbers have been forward thinking and truly head turning. As a DJ he has earned the respect of some of the biggest names in the industry, played in some of the biggest clubs in Europe like Panorama Bar and Fabric as well as recently marked his 10 year residency on NTS radio. With a new label "V-SION" and its first release focusing on his tenure at the long running radio institution in London things are only moving further in the upwards trajectory for the artist.
Our next Friends and Family mix comes from one of our staff newest to DJing. That being said in a short amount of time Phonica family member Josh Fortune (a.k.a Rark Mothko) has built up his reputation to secure a residency on Voices Radio as well as playing monthly at Soho hot spot The Social. For this mix Josh takes us on a journey of some of his select club focused records mainly in the realms of tech and classical house music. Mixed to perfection this is a solid hour and perfect calling card to one of Phonica's newest residence.
Long standing NTS DJ's and curators Jack Rollo and Elaine Tierney, commonly known as Time Is Away, step up next for the 47th edition of the Off The Record mix series. Having been recognised for their vast knowledge of folk, esoteric and eclectic sounds which is displayed in their curated compilations for labels like A Colourful Storm and Efficient Space - they have also been known to dig deep into more clubbier sounds like house, rare leftfield and DIY electronics. For their mix Jack and Elaine focus more on the latter but bringing tracks that would pay homage to more melodic sounds. We had a brief chat with Time Is Away about the mix and what they have coming up.
Ahead of Phonica's trip out to Kala festival this week, we reach out to one of their longest running residents to display his wares for the Phonica mix series. Music From Memory affiliate, NTS host and all round deep digger John Gómez pays homage to Phonica with a dive into his more clubby collection of records. John gives us an hour of some of his favorite releases in the realms of house, disco, acid and breaks showing why he stands as one of the UK's most respected collectors. We had a brief chat with John about the mix and what he has coming up. Get over to offtherecord.net to check that out now
West London selector, DJ & radio presenter Scarlett O'Malley steps up for the next edition of our Friends & Family mix series with an hour of deep, acid and jackin house sounds. The Rinse FM resident and Club Cowgirl founder has long been recognised in the London scene for her soulful yet party driven house sets and this is what she has given us right here. A true calling card if we ever saw one. We had a brief chat with Scarlett about her approach to music and to see what she has coming up.
It is not everyday we are sent a 5 hour mix from someone we have asked to join our Phonica mix series; but when Sheffield & Manchester legend Luke Una sends one… you have to jump straight into it! Having become first recognised in the late 80’s and 90’s as one half of production team “The Unabombers” with Justin Crawford, Luke over the years has shown to be a master in all genres be it Balearic, to Brazilian to E soul, House, Disco and Techno, you name it! With his Worldwide FM show over the years gaining a cult following Luke has gained an even more of a broader crowd from his curation of his E Soul Cultura compilation series via the label Mr.Bongo (Both comps topping our EOY lists in 2022 and 2023). This exact vast taste (that is displayed in these compilations) is very much pummelled into this five hour journey of a mix like a piece of clay and sculpted into a fine piece of art. We had a chat with Luke about this timeless mix and what he has been up to lately: http://offtherecord.net/phonica-mix-series-119luke-una/
We are straight outta the bank holiday here at Phonica and right back into business with another killer mix in our Phonica series from one of our all time favorites of late; Spotlight Records and Panorama Bar regular Chris Cruse.We are straight outta the bank holiday here at Phonica and right back into business with another killer mix in our Phonica series from one of our all time favorites of late; Spotlight Records and Panorama Bar regular Chris Cruse.Chris has been a predominant figure in the queer dance scenes in America and in Europe over many years having represented his mainstay party, now label, Spotlight from L.A., the Club Toilet Crew from Detroit and now residing in Berlin the last couple of years where he holds down regular slots at the city's major clubbing institution Berghain / Panorama Bar (most notably the party Snax which takes place there). Chris has dug deep and worked hard with these residencies to showcase the queer roots of house, techno, disco, and other forms of dance music.For Phonica 118 Chris takes us on a heated, hot and heavy club ready mix which would get anyone out to party. We sat down and had a lovely chat with Chris about his mix, his approach to DJing and what he has got up his sleeve for the future.For Phonica 118 Chris takes us on a heated, hot and heavy club ready mix which would get anyone out to party. We sat down and had a lovely chat with Chris about his mix, his approach to DJing and what he has got up his sleeve for the future.
All good things must come to end as they say. In this instance producer and DJ Ysanne recently departed ways with us at Phonica having held it down for us every Saturday for the last couple of years. Having worked behind our counter as well as working some time as a artist agent Ysanne is now taking a step forward in her own musical journey. With gigs stacking up in her favour as well as her own productions appearing on records labels like Semi Delicious & her own solo EP potentially on the horizon it was time we grabbed Ysanne for a mix. And what a mix, with just over an hour Ysanne takes us on a journey through variations of styles, moving euphoric rhythms into more techy and harder moments as it progresses this mix is a perfect calling card as what to expect from one of her sets. Be sure to check her out festivals like Love International and more this year. You won't regret it. We had a quick chat with Ysanne, about the mix, what she has coming up and her time in Phonica.
Italian label-head, radio host and DJ Elena Colombi has been holding it down on platforms like NTS and stages like Dekmantel for close to up to a decade. Their ear for the out there crossings of experimental, industrial and techno sounds is truly next to none. Not only does this show their skills on how to blend these styles to accuracy world wide but reflects on the music they pick for their excellent Osàre! Editions imprint since 2019. We are very excited to have Elena on the Off The Record series with a live recording of them at UBU club. A power hour of acid, bleep and techno sounds. For full interview hit the link above!
Not many people can combine the worlds of contemporary, avant garde and club sounds the way 'A Colourful Storm' label head Moopie can. Having birth the label out of the highly regarded mix series of the same name releasing names like Klon Dump, Valentina Magaletti and some beautiful compilations curated from Time Is Away to name a few, Moopie real name Matthew Xue, has shown he has a phenomenal ear for the diverse and interesting. This same ear also applies to his outstanding DJ sets which have seen him join stages with the likes of Ben UFO, Helena Hauff as well as taking the helms recently in Pickle Factory all night long to a solid packed venue til morning. For this mix Moopie has supplied us with a live recording of his opening set for Objekt and CCL in Melbourne. A perfect example of his vast stylings bringing the mood filled room into a raucous party. We had a quick chat about the mix, whats coming up and the label with the man himself.
Our very own discogs addict and all hands on deck man Sam Luke aka Skip Wooznam drops our latest Phonica Friends & Family mix. The mix is one for the deep diggers and chin strokers as well as the party goers and all nighters out there. Sam looks after alot of our online orders that go out worldwide as well as taking to the counter when we are in the height of it but this has not stopped him representing us at some of our big 20th birthday celebrations last year at the likes of Junction 2 and opening room 3 at Fabric. You can also catch Sam playing around London at Slipped Disc and Club Hiatus where he holds residencies.Bringing his own taste and sound to our crew we are delighted to welcome him to the series. We had a brief chat with Sam about the mix and what he's got going on outside of these walls!
Not many have covered the ground like London's Richard Sen has. Starting his deep dive into the underground scene by being the much recognised Sen graffiti writer he has moved on over the years to be considered one of the UK's great selectors and DJ's. Having also released music under several guises, not only under his own name (which he also has wealth of huge remixes for artists like Bryan Ferry, John Grant, Unloved and LCD Soundsystem), but most notably under the phenomenal Padded Cell and the excellent Bronx Dogs. With his excellent weekly radio show on Charlie Bones' Do!! You!!! Radio station as well as dropping the award winning Dream The Dream (UK Techno, Breakbeat And House 1990-1994) compilation on Ransom Note, Sen finds himself with an even larger wealth of fans. With that being said we are delighted to welcome Richard Sen to the Off The Record mix series where he provides us with a 3+ hour journey taking us on a deep dive into his record selection providing styles of all kinda throughout. We had a quick chat with Richard about the mix and what he has coming up. This is Off The Record 45: Richard Sen.
The very much in demand Dutch producer and DJ Eversines steps up for our 116th Phonica mix with over an hour of his own productions!If you are just getting on the Eversines train you have missed quite alot of stops but its not too late to catch up. Having released on a wide range of labels like Slow Life, Nous'Klaer Audio and the label he co run's De Lichting; Eversine's (real name Remco Hazewinkel) has been considered an array of styles spanning techy, euphoric and ambient variations of house. These diverse styles has been showcased into his sets; ambient, deepness alongside pulsating acidy bass into pumping driven moments that have caused a sweat and huge clubs and festivals like the recently close De School and Dekmantel. We are delighted to have Remco added to our long running mix series with over an hour of his own productions from start to finish. We had a brief chat with him about the mix below and what he has coming up in the near future. This is Phonica Mix 116 - Eversines.
The Venezuelan born, Bogotá based selector and producer Enrique Leon aka Leeon pays homage to what the words "Deep House" mean to him with an excellent funky and vibey hour and half for us this month.Over the last while Leeon has been making moves having appeared on the acclaimed Beats In Space alongside Tim Sweeney as well as dropping mixes on The Bunker NYC not forgetting spinning a lengthy one in Berlin's famous clubbing institution Berghain.
After a short hiatus to focus on our 20 Years Of Phonica celebrations the Off The Record mix series is now back! Stepping up for our 44th mix in the series and closing it out for the year is a selector, event runner and radio-host that has been making scenes in the celebrated European capital of clubbing; Berlin for years now. Maryama Luccioni aka Maryisonacid is recognised for pushing her event series and label African Acid Is The Future(alongside long time partner in crime Dauwd) as well as hosting her show Comme à la Radio on Berlin's Refuge radio! For this mix Maryama takes us on a in dept look into her selections from mellow to driving club sounds. Think of it as an all night long set summarised in the best way over an hour and a half!
The Phonica artist and innovative house producer Harrison BDP steps up for the next edition of our mix series with a tipping of the hat to the many sounds of the clubbing 90's.Having released on an array of big labels like Haŵs, Shall Not Fade and Lost Palms over the years Harrison has cemented himself as one of the solid names in UK house in modern years. We had a chat with Harrison about the mix and what he has coming up below:
The Semi Delicious label head, DJ & producer Demi Riquísimo takes us on an extended journey, pushing the energy just shy of 3 hours. Travelling through disco, tech club sounds, power house, acid and more it shows the skills and musical knowledge that has seen Demi play sets at some of London's most esteemed club nights and beyond including all over the EU and Australia to name a few. We had a brief chat with Demi about the mix and what he has coming up on his labels Semi Delicious and A Lifetime On The Hips.
Phonica walks into the fall months, but by no means are we saying goodbye to Summer just yet. With a weekend ahead looking to be well into the late twenties we are looking for somewhere to get our sweat on one last time. Enter Grace Sands! Grace is not only a regular in our shop but also a London legend. Being one of the founding members of the DiY Soundsystem, she has been holding it down since the early 90's originally as well as one half of Digs & Woosh alongside the late Peter Birch. These days you can find Grace holding it down at her residency at London's queer warehouse party Adonis or all over the world playing the likes of Fabric, Panorama Bar, Kala Festival and NYC Downlow at Glastonbury to only name a few. For this mix Grace has brought us our sweat in the form of an hour of pure driven house, tech and acid mixed to seamless perfection. This is Phonica 112: Grace Sands.
VINYL: https://www.phonicarecords.com/product/snad-labyrinthine-ep-feat-huerta-remix-pre-ord-phonica-am/190938DIGITAL: https://phonicarecords.bandcamp.com/album/labyrinthine-epNo stranger to the limelight with a string of forward-thinking, sought-after releases under his belt, Snad joins the roster of cutting-edge artists bringing his spark to Phonica AM under curation of Luther Vine.The 'Labyrinthine EP' opens with a relentless 4 to the floor club ready firestarter. Aptly titled 'Quark' hits the spot in all the right places. Its swinging drum work out and oscillating chords swirl to a frenzy and guarantee to set any a dance floor ablaze.The A2 'Labyrinthine' boots off with Snad's unique take on UK 90s Tech-House, full groove, snare syncopation and whirlwind of off-centre synth cords, adding to his effervescent sound design.The flip side opens with a killer remix fellow Berliner expat, Huerta's take on 'Quark'. The remix retains the destructive dance floor potential of the original and adds somewhat in the hypnotic trip out department. Full engagement is guaranteed from start to finish even for the more of an absent-minded listener on this one.Snad closes the EP with 'Revival'. This cross-genre juggernaut effortlessly marries puncy breaks with dubbed out echos while the resonant synth chords and muddled vocal chops expand listener's perception of sonar possibilities to places few have imagined possible. One of the rare tracks which hovers on the fringe of experimentation but guarantees to move the peak time crowd of the most discerning listening habits.
VINYL: https://www.phonicarecords.com/product/snad-labyrinthine-ep-feat-huerta-remix-pre-ord-phonica-am/190938DIGITAL: https://phonicarecords.bandcamp.com/album/labyrinthine-epNo stranger to the limelight with a string of forward-thinking, sought-after releases under his belt, Snad joins the roster of cutting-edge artists bringing his spark to Phonica AM under curation of Luther Vine.The 'Labyrinthine EP' opens with a relentless 4 to the floor club ready firestarter. Aptly titled 'Quark' hits the spot in all the right places. Its swinging drum work out and oscillating chords swirl to a frenzy and guarantee to set any a dance floor ablaze.The A2 'Labyrinthine' boots off with Snad's unique take on UK 90s Tech-House, full groove, snare syncopation and whirlwind of off-centre synth cords, adding to his effervescent sound design.The flip side opens with a killer remix fellow Berliner expat, Huerta's take on 'Quark'. The remix retains the destructive dance floor potential of the original and adds somewhat in the hypnotic trip out department. Full engagement is guaranteed from start to finish even for the more of an absent-minded listener on this one.Snad closes the EP with 'Revival'. This cross-genre juggernaut effortlessly marries puncy breaks with dubbed out echos while the resonant synth chords and muddled vocal chops expand listener's perception of sonar possibilities to places few have imagined possible. One of the rare tracks which hovers on the fringe of experimentation but guarantees to move the peak time crowd of the most discerning listening habits.
VINYL: https://www.phonicarecords.com/product/snad-labyrinthine-ep-feat-huerta-remix-pre-ord-phonica-am/190938DIGITAL: https://phonicarecords.bandcamp.com/album/labyrinthine-epNo stranger to the limelight with a string of forward-thinking, sought-after releases under his belt, Snad joins the roster of cutting-edge artists bringing his spark to Phonica AM under curation of Luther Vine.The 'Labyrinthine EP' opens with a relentless 4 to the floor club ready firestarter. Aptly titled 'Quark' hits the spot in all the right places. Its swinging drum work out and oscillating chords swirl to a frenzy and guarantee to set any a dance floor ablaze.The A2 'Labyrinthine' boots off with Snad's unique take on UK 90s Tech-House, full groove, snare syncopation and whirlwind of off-centre synth cords, adding to his effervescent sound design.The flip side opens with a killer remix fellow Berliner expat, Huerta's take on 'Quark'. The remix retains the destructive dance floor potential of the original and adds somewhat in the hypnotic trip out department. Full engagement is guaranteed from start to finish even for the more of an absent-minded listener on this one.Snad closes the EP with 'Revival'. This cross-genre juggernaut effortlessly marries puncy breaks with dubbed out echos while the resonant synth chords and muddled vocal chops expand listener's perception of sonar possibilities to places few have imagined possible. One of the rare tracks which hovers on the fringe of experimentation but guarantees to move the peak time crowd of the most discerning listening habits.
VINYL: https://www.phonicarecords.com/product/snad-labyrinthine-ep-feat-huerta-remix-pre-ord-phonica-am/190938DIGITAL: https://phonicarecords.bandcamp.com/album/labyrinthine-epNo stranger to the limelight with a string of forward-thinking, sought-after releases under his belt, Snad joins the roster of cutting-edge artists bringing his spark to Phonica AM under curation of Luther Vine.The 'Labyrinthine EP' opens with a relentless 4 to the floor club ready firestarter. Aptly titled 'Quark' hits the spot in all the right places. Its swinging drum work out and oscillating chords swirl to a frenzy and guarantee to set any a dance floor ablaze.The A2 'Labyrinthine' boots off with Snad's unique take on UK 90s Tech-House, full groove, snare syncopation and whirlwind of off-centre synth cords, adding to his effervescent sound design.The flip side opens with a killer remix fellow Berliner expat, Huerta's take on 'Quark'. The remix retains the destructive dance floor potential of the original and adds somewhat in the hypnotic trip out department. Full engagement is guaranteed from start to finish even for the more of an absent-minded listener on this one.Snad closes the EP with 'Revival'. This cross-genre juggernaut effortlessly marries puncy breaks with dubbed out echos while the resonant synth chords and muddled vocal chops expand listener's perception of sonar possibilities to places few have imagined possible. One of the rare tracks which hovers on the fringe of experimentation but guarantees to move the peak time crowd of the most discerning listening habits.
Long time label Friend and Phonica White artist Keisuke steps up next on our Friends and Family mix series with some driven numbers inspired by Berlin where he has resided for years. We had a chat with Keisuke about the mix, about what he has got coming up and more!
The fast up and coming Brazilian DJ & producer Bárbara Boeing steps up for our latest Phonica mix dedicated to the gates of heaven. If you have not heard of Bárbara yet, fear not, you will; Having just dropped her killer debut release on Toy Tonics in May and already having smashed sets out for the likes of Dekmantel Selectors, Boiler Room and Permanent Vacation we can clearly see this is nothing but an up hill trajectory for the talent. For this set Bárbara is bringing us to the day party, the closing of the Summer set if you will. Perfectly built up with a a solid mixture of taste and fun. This is one to get on before you go out but also one for a couple of wines in the park bidding fairwell to the Sun for another year. We chat to Bárbara about the mix, her approach to DJing and what she has coming up next:
For this months Off The Record mix we humbly rest our hands and our ears with Death Is Not The End. Luke Owen's long running label digs up the oldest of the old, serving up your gospel, blues and folk with a crackle. The label has been known for its deeply dug out tapes and records in the forgotten and unheard from the early years of records on gramophones to the London Rave era advertisements. For this mix Owen dives into some well sought after rare groove and soul / blues. A change of pace in this series for sure but a very welcome one from a keen London selector who we have had on our list for this series for a long time. We had a quick chat with the man behind the mix and the label to see how it all came to be and what the future holds.
The Nous'Klaer Audio affiliated Dutch & German DJ and producer Oceanic, known for his sets at his residency at the prestigious Amsterdam institution De School, steps up for the latest Phonica mix. Over the hour and a half Oceanic, real name Job Oberman, takes us on a journey of soundscapes, electronics, tech house, percussive rhythms and techno. This mix shows not only Job's musical range, having released Ambient live recordings on De School's De Nieuw label all the way to driven bassy techno on Rush Hour, but his undeniable skill behind the decks as well as his understanding of music and how various genres can be brought together harmoniously. @oceanicocean
We take a plane over to Madrid for the next Off The Record mix to hang with Mario G.R. AKA Glossy Mario, the head honcho at Glossy Mistakes; the record label that has been reissuing and unveiling the undiscovered.
With legendary names like Finis Africae, Susumu Yokota and Akira Ito recently getting some of their cult favourite releases reissued, this has proven Mario's ear is a thriving force of wisdom and knowledge showcased through his label with love and care. For this mix Mario focuses on percussive sounds and older gems with modern takes to combine together a mix that is intuitive as well as club ready! He sat down with our own Alex Egan for a quick chat about the mix as well as what he has coming up!
The next mix in our Friends & Family series comes from the head of Barcelona's hottest dance music distributor and record store; Subwax. Baldo has been at the forefront of club records in the Spanish capital for many years starting in Subwax under the faithful hand of Jimi Disko in 2013 going on to take-over the company entirely in 2020. In recent years Subwax has started to focus mainly on dealing with labels under tech, deep and garage house sounds from the likes of some our favourites Limosine Dream, Mindhelmet, Sunset Drifters & Spaziotempo to only name but a few but the quality list very much goes on & on. Baldo also handles many of his own imprints through the illusive distro, Physical Education, Curated By Time and BLD Tape Recordings. His thought provoking productions have also seen him appear on Gerd Janson's Running Back as well as Unknown to the Unknown's rave ready E-Beamz off-shoot! We are delighted to have Baldo on our F&F series where he is showcasing plenty of what has come and gone and what will come to be on the distro that he has dedicated his career to. @baldo
Next up on the Phonica mix series we head out West, State side all the way to Washington DC to hook up with James Bangura. James or by his real name Timothy has dropped some extremely interesting heat as of late on labels like !K7, Incienso and World Building to name a few. With a musical style that mashes inspirations from stems of US house and UK broken up beats and techno leaning sounds it goes without saying that Bangura's sound is one of the most unique out there in the current club circuit. Off the back of a recent trip around the UK and Europe we hooked up with James and got him to lay a mix down for us that is very much in itself inspired by his trip to the UK. Featuring a mesh of 2-step, broken beat, jazz influences and moulded together with a refreshing house and bass sound we are very excited to welcome to Phonica mix 108; James Bangura.We had a chat with Bangura about his trip, his mix and about what he's got going on.
Our Friends & Family Mix series is back in action and this month we welcome all the way from Berlin; Tom. You may recognise Tom as the booker and resident DJ at Kottbusser hot spot Paloma or from his recent release on the club's in house label "Lose Yourself". With a new release forthcoming on Frank Music we were delighted get Tom to supply a mix for us which of course is recorded live from inside Paloma. We had a chat with Tom about Paloma, what he has going on and the mix. Check that over on Off The Record now!
Off The Record this month takes a dive into the mind of Chicago artist and musician Beau Wanzer. Wanzer is commonly known for records on Ron Morelli's L.I.E.S. imprint as well as working with labels like Brew, L.A. Club Resource, iDEAL, Natural Sciences, and Nation. His in touch ear with industrial, electro and experimental music has seen him work alongside the likes Traxx and Steve Summers as the excellent Mutant Beat Dance, Dan Jugle as the head banging Juzer and more recently De-Bons-en-Pierre with Maoupa Mazzocchetti. For this mix Wanzer goes no holds bared into the world of tape culture with noisey and hissing electro and synth tunes as well as some chuggy industrial moments. We had a quick chat with Beau about the mix and what he has coming up!
Xi'an-born and Toronto-based producer, pianist, and DJ Ciel steps up for the next Phonica Mix with a slow building club room warm up. With a selection of deep and chugging bass, house and techno this is a mix that equally see itself lending its ears to the home listener as well as the club dancefloor frequenters. Its this diverse sound that has seen Ciel take the helms of some of the greatest clubs, festivals, radio shows and podcasts as well as releasing solid records on labels like Mister Saturday Night, Peach Discs, Coastal Haze and more her sound is truly solidified through these outputs. We are delighted to have Ciel join us ahead of some of her amazing shows this year like Kala Festival & Multi Multi(Where we will also be hosting a 20 Years Of Phonica Stage). We had a chat with Ciel about the mix and about some of the releases she has coming up.
40 mixes in and the Off The Record series has seen a wide spanning in range of artists and styles. Its dug deep into DJ's record bags and has let us hear some of their holiest gems. Our 40th mix comes from one of the most solid selectors Amsterdam has to offer; Olf van Elden aka Interstellar Funk. Having started off working at the Dutch institution that is Rush Hour Records as a label manager and playing sets year in and year out at the monumental Dekmantel, Interstellar Funk has taken himself worldwide as well as releasing records on labels like L.I.E.S, Berceuse Heroique, Rush Hour, Dekmantel along with his own Artificial Dance label. A label he has run with a keen ear since 2017 releasing artists like Genetic Factor, June, Black Merlin and more. For Off The Record 40 Interstellar Funk takes us in the realms of home and club listening with a well crafted mix that builds and warms us into the floor beautifully. We had a chat with the artist about the mix and about what he has going on:
One of the true pioneers of live disco and dance music in Britain over the last 15 years gets its grips into our mix series. Off the back of their excellently selected curation 12" series on 2020 vision and the banger filled remix series(featuring Gerd Janson, DJ Nature and more) of their seminal "Age Of Ego" album from back in 2019 it has proved that Crazy P show no signs of slowing down. We had a chat with the band about the mix and and what they have been up to lately:
One of Dublin's most regarded heads takes the reigns for our 39th Off The Record mix. Nevan Jio over the years has found himself in many aspects of Ireland's striving underground scene, mostly Dublin, where he helms the ones and twos nearly every weekend in the cities hot spots the likes of Tengu, Wigwam, Izakaya and more. He has also found himself abroad on many occasions most noticeably opening the year supporting don Ben UFO in The Cause's new beloved DIY warehouse venue alongside EMA. Nevan has also applied his experience of working in All City records and collecting records in general to go on to running label's like Pear (With fellow Dublin wiz Fio Fa)which saw an array of house, breaks and tech house from names like Regularfantasy, New Members, Fio Fa and Big Miz as well as more recently the Irish club focused reissue label Aris which has so far seen classics take new light from Fish Go Deep, Bumble and Rob Rowland. For this mix Nevan has given us a vast genre spanning call card of a mix that shows the selectors diversity and range showcasing some home listening dashed with the club in mind and well into the afters for a few White Claws! We have a quick chat with Nevan to hear about the concept behind the mix and what he has coming up:
@AlexEgan is one of Phonica's longest serving staff members, with 2023 marking his eleventh year as part of the shop's family. While he recently stepped back from his full-time role at the shop to work in production at Ninja Tune, he still works part time for us behind the scenes on the various labels under the Phonica umbrella. He also runs a handful of his own labels, including Utter, which he started back in 2011. This mix has been a very, very long time coming…!Interview, tracklist and video of the entire set: http://offtherecord.net/phonica-friends-family-mix-series-13alex-egan/
Raised in South-East London, relocating to Bath since(spending days between there and Berlin) Niks Delanancy aka NIKS has become one of the prominent names in the UK club scene today. She is also the founder of Black Artist Data base which is the platform she created to promote Black Artists around the world. Now working on the next stage of B.A.D.’s evolution. The label will be launching to accompany the existing platform, releasing music that aligns with its mission. NIKS will be managing the label as well as acting as A&R. Being raised with a father who was a guitarist in a band and her brother who was an avid music collector in the heyday of London’s garage movement, NIKS has been surrounded with a musical ear all of her life. With an ear that touches from classic deep house to the driving percussive UK stylings of Hessle Audio it doesn't take long to figure out how NIKS' diverse pallet has seen her play clubs all over the world and helped the artist bag a nomination for "Breakthrough DJ of the year" at the Mixmag awards last year as well as seen her knock out mixes for Resident Advisor and The Warehouse Project to name but a few, it's this diversity we see in this club ready mix for Phonica 105. We have a quick chat with NIKS about the mix, B.A.D and what they have coming up:
A Psychic Yes is the alias of British, Berlin based artist, carpenter and DJ, Timothy Crombie. Timothy has released records on some of the most interesting and out there labels at the moment, most recently Nummer's self titled imprint and the ever impressive, ear to the ground; Kalahari Oyster Cult. His music touches off blends of percussive UK techno stylings with a nod to DIY bleep and yet has an air of leftfield ambient if that makes any sense? Either way, its with these stylings too that Timothy constructs sets, be it live or DJ, with these inspirations in mind and takes Off The Record 38 into similar patterns.
Cacophony is by definition a collision of multiple sounds in discordance. Sounds that shouldn't go together basically. Bogotá, Colombia’s Felipe Gordon does this, but in euphony(bringing pleasure to ones ear)! Spreading himself blissfully across jazzy, disco, funky and soulful elements he pours this concoction into his cluby productions and sets which has now given him international recognition. Having put out forty plus 12" releases and an album since 2014, including his brilliant "Timeless EP" on our Karakul subsidiary, he has found himself on labels like Shall Not Fade, Razor'N'Tape, Toytonics and some of the most long standing greats more recently like Nervous records. For Phonica mix 104 Felipe walks us through what for him brings musicality into electronic music, what live elements bring humanity into our dance floors. We have a quick chat about more on this subject below and see what else the Colombian artist has up his sleeve.
Butter Sessions is one of those labels that can go absolutely anywhere and still make sense because theres an element that tags it down to the ears of Sleep D aka Maryos Syawish and Corey Kikos. The two label heads behind the absolutely iconic institution straight outta Melbourne, Australia have worked with aritsts like Roza Terenzi, D.Tiffany, Tornado Wallace, Yuzo Iwata and more creating a platform for upcoming and solidly established artists to broaden their sound and explore into the unknown. Like the artists they represent Sleep D as DJ's and producers have touched all sides of the club and eclectic spectrum having dropped many anthem filled 12's(including a very solid LP on Anthony Naples' Incienso) as well as experimental outings on labels like Play On Records. For Off The Record #37 Syawish and Kikos have dropped us straight into the elements of the main room. A smoke machine filled warehouse of house, techno, bass and percussive club rolling excursions. Strap yourself in(or don't?). We had a quick chat with Sleep D about the mix, the Melbourne scene and Butter Sessions and more!
With what was mostly a full and fruitful year for us with many beautiful moments, we now turn our eyes forward to what is looking to be a very exciting year for us at Phonica as we walk into our 20th year of being alive. 2022 saw our mix series get even more killer contributions from artists like Paramida, Sally C, Fred P, Eden Burns, Alex Kassian, Erol Alkan and more. 2023's series line up plans to keep moving up and we have opened this years mix season in the capable hands of two of the finest DJ/Producers doing it right now. Bringing nothing but powerful, euphoric and goddess energies it can only be Octo Octa and Eris Drew of T4T Luv NRG. Amazingly celebrated for their strand of psychedelic, rolling progressive, trancey-house and break rhythms we can't think of two better selector's to take on our series. With an excellently curated compilation and mix for our good friends at Fabric last year as well as two banging cassettes on T4T we can't begin to imagine what this year has in-store for Maya and Eris but we have no doubt it's even more on the upward trajectory! Most likely to the heavens and back! We had a chat with Maya and Eris to see what they have been up to lately and little about how they approached the mix.
For the next in our Off The Record mix series we invited DJ, radio host and music consultant Sam Don or known to his close friends and family, Sam Donnison. Sam is a DJ's DJ, having proved himself and the world over as a man of many styles, tempo and moods. Having shared the airwaves with highly regarded talent like Danilo Plessow aka MCDE and constructed mind soothing mixes for podcasts like Mr Bongo its quite hard to pin point what direction Sam will go in a set. This also shows the sign of a true digger and if Off The Record knows anything its deep diggers. This digging helped Sam curate one of the most captivating compilation series' to come out this year in our opinion; "For The Love Of You", a journey through Lover's Rock across two brilliant volumes on the ever amazing Athens Of The North. For this mix Sam has tapped into a deep dig of fun yet raw house numbers, stemming with vocals, hypnotic acid, heavenly kicks and cunning blends throughout. We had a quick sit down with Sam about the mix and what he has been up to lately. This is Off The Record 36: Sam Don!
Orphic, the London based duo made up of Phonica's Kieran Jandu & Babak Faraji join us for the latest Friends & Family Mix. These new talents have been bubbling up in the East London Underground. They recently joined us for a banging in-store for the launch of their Shelter EP on E2-E8 Records, which explores the depths of techno. A four tracker which moves through deep, dubbed-out moments to big-room offerings and vibrant, sophisticated electronics, rounded off with a remix from Bunker and Clone affiliate Marco Shuttle. Their Friends & Family mix gives us a glimpse into their musical influences and gives a look into their record bags. We sat down with the Orphic duo and had a brief chat about the mix, their approach to DJing and their plans for 2023.
Sally Caithness also known professionally as Sally C was born in Belfast, Northern Ireland and got into DJing while living in Dundee Scotland, but Sally has always had a strong foothold in her current residence of Berlin where she has lived since 2015. Having played all over the city it wasn't long before she was throwing out lengthy sets in Griessmuehle, Saule at Berghain and Melt! with sets at Panorama Bar and more worldwide ahead its become clear she is alot more than one of the new up and coming names in dance. Having taken early inspirations from DJ's like Fast Eddie, Tyree and K-Hand, her sets have a driving energy with a US pulse that almost feel like you have been lassoed on to the dance floor. This energy is definitely a big part of her production style too with her excellent imprint Big Saldo's Chunkers which were instant sell out's worldwide. We sat down and had a brief chat with Sally about the mix and the approach she takes to DJing. This is Phonica Mix 102 Sally C:
Transmigration means to pass into a different body after death and in terms of the labels policy it does just that, it takes something passed and gives it a new lease of life. David Fogarty aka Louis Satori has carefully curated the identity of his imprint using sounds of the past and with the name sake of the label, keeps that mind state in play. Fogarty has reissued such artists as Susumu Yokota(under his EBI alias), Drum Club, Alien Mutation, Downlink and more and this has seen these releases pass into some of the biggest DJ names giving them even more exposure that they may not of had the first time in some cases. As expected with such deep rarities given second life can only be exposed by someone who deep digs. Having played all around Berlin and recently after making his debut in Berghain we are honoured to have Louis Satori take over the Off The Record mix for a cosmic selection of EBM, industrial, ambient, acid and more. We had a quick chat with Fogarty about the label, Susumu Yokota and what he has coming up.
Phonica dives into a new era, or season if you will, of our long established mix series after a stomping 100th mix from London legend Erol Alkan. We jump into our 101st mix from one of our most recent Phonica releasee's; French born and Swiss based DJ & producer Lea Lisa. If you some how managed to miss Lea's most recent outing with us we highly recommend it. Taking inspiration from legend Mark Goddard's (aka The Truth) classic "The End", Lea's "Love To The End" is her own various takes on this 1992 UK gem! And thus is what we see in Phonica mix 101, a crossing of time, styles and blends. Passing through elements of deep, cosmic, tech and jacking styles of house Lea Lisa shows that she shares the divine skills of legends like Kerri Chandler and Ron Trent. We have a quick chat with Lea about her recent projects and to see what she has in store for the future.
Brian Not Brian is a man of many stories, I enjoy someone with many stories. In the short time I've been in his presence I have been given countless facts, stories and been spread a wide variety of the musical encyclopedia to which of chapter's I didn't even know existed. Brian is a man who lives and breaths this industry, from digging in the furthest crates in the vast corners of the world reissuing never before seen or forgotten gems on his Midnight Drive, or more noticeably to finding some of the most interesting new talents coming up via Going Good. On top of all this he's an excellent DJ, a skill which has seen him play worldwide alongside underground greats like DJ Sotofett and Hashman Deejay to name a few. For his Off The Record Brian brings us on deep dive of various club sounds in house, disco and more. So get your pint of Guinness and have a quick once over of the chat we had with the man emself here:
After beginning his career with roots in Drum & Bass, Russian producer Nuage shifted his sound to embrace a wider range of styles while maintaining an emotionally charged sound and finding a home on labels such as Anjunadeep and 20:20 Vision. For our 32nd Phonica Records Label release, we are proud to present four stunningly euphoric works from Nuage.
Kicking off the ‘Pink Television EP’ is the title track, a floaty and playful melodic House excursion that reminds us of Floating Points’ synth work on his ‘Crush’ album. Next is ‘Ninety High’ which swaps the four to the floor for an intricate breakbeat, highlighting Nuage’s history in break heavy music. A cleverly reconceptualised Disco vocal sample and subtly withheld synth lines are combined with a sub rattling and pulsating bassline.
Maintaining the breakbeat on the B-side, ‘Don’t Forgive Me’ recalls classic Trance and Progressive House with haunting vocal reverberations and a warehouse wall shaking bassline as the track meanders through tension and release of euphoric energy. Lastly, ‘Glances’ opens with a skittish Rhodes riff and unites it with rich and perky melodies that weave in and out of focus.
After beginning his career with roots in Drum & Bass, Russian producer Nuage shifted his sound to embrace a wider range of styles while maintaining an emotionally charged sound and finding a home on labels such as Anjunadeep and 20:20 Vision. For our 32nd Phonica Records Label release, we are proud to present four stunningly euphoric works from Nuage.
Kicking off the ‘Pink Television EP’ is the title track, a floaty and playful melodic House excursion that reminds us of Floating Points’ synth work on his ‘Crush’ album. Next is ‘Ninety High’ which swaps the four to the floor for an intricate breakbeat, highlighting Nuage’s history in break heavy music. A cleverly reconceptualised Disco vocal sample and subtly withheld synth lines are combined with a sub rattling and pulsating bassline.
Maintaining the breakbeat on the B-side, ‘Don’t Forgive Me’ recalls classic Trance and Progressive House with haunting vocal reverberations and a warehouse wall shaking bassline as the track meanders through tension and release of euphoric energy. Lastly, ‘Glances’ opens with a skittish Rhodes riff and unites it with rich and perky melodies that weave in and out of focus.
After beginning his career with roots in Drum & Bass, Russian producer Nuage shifted his sound to embrace a wider range of styles while maintaining an emotionally charged sound and finding a home on labels such as Anjunadeep and 20:20 Vision. For our 32nd Phonica Records Label release, we are proud to present four stunningly euphoric works from Nuage.
Kicking off the ‘Pink Television EP’ is the title track, a floaty and playful melodic House excursion that reminds us of Floating Points’ synth work on his ‘Crush’ album. Next is ‘Ninety High’ which swaps the four to the floor for an intricate breakbeat, highlighting Nuage’s history in break heavy music. A cleverly reconceptualised Disco vocal sample and subtly withheld synth lines are combined with a sub rattling and pulsating bassline.
Maintaining the breakbeat on the B-side, ‘Don’t Forgive Me’ recalls classic Trance and Progressive House with haunting vocal reverberations and a warehouse wall shaking bassline as the track meanders through tension and release of euphoric energy. Lastly, ‘Glances’ opens with a skittish Rhodes riff and unites it with rich and perky melodies that weave in and out of focus.
After beginning his career with roots in Drum & Bass, Russian producer Nuage shifted his sound to embrace a wider range of styles while maintaining an emotionally charged sound and finding a home on labels such as Anjunadeep and 20:20 Vision. For our 32nd Phonica Records Label release, we are proud to present four stunningly euphoric works from Nuage.
Kicking off the ‘Pink Television EP’ is the title track, a floaty and playful melodic House excursion that reminds us of Floating Points’ synth work on his ‘Crush’ album. Next is ‘Ninety High’ which swaps the four to the floor for an intricate breakbeat, highlighting Nuage’s history in break heavy music. A cleverly reconceptualised Disco vocal sample and subtly withheld synth lines are combined with a sub rattling and pulsating bassline.
Maintaining the breakbeat on the B-side, ‘Don’t Forgive Me’ recalls classic Trance and Progressive House with haunting vocal reverberations and a warehouse wall shaking bassline as the track meanders through tension and release of euphoric energy. Lastly, ‘Glances’ opens with a skittish Rhodes riff and unites it with rich and perky melodies that weave in and out of focus.
Karakul, our deeper House focused imprint, is very excited to welcome Colombian powerhouse producer, label head and DJ Felipe Gordon. “Timeless” brings you four tracks of Mariana Trench level depth and soul, melting the best sounds of House together. Felipe has consistently blown us away over the years with releases on some of the best labels out there including Shall Not Fade, Razor N Tape, Toy Tonics and Norm Talley's Upstairs Asylum Recordings.
“Get Your Body Moving” is a dancefloor call to prayer featuring smooth vocals from Bob The Egoist set to a rocking beat, uplifting strings and a virtuosic flute solo. Title track “Timeless” sets the tone with a bumping bassline, gliding synth melodies and a quirky Deep House nature that reminds us of Glenn Underground at his best.
Kicking off the B-side is “Moving Results”. This is a jack-a-thon percussion workout with a 909 ride cymbal leading the charge, modulating and fluctuating hypnotically while electric piano chords form the backbone with a plucky bass riff. Finally, “Take It Away” brings swung Garage House percussion to the table, pairing them with soothing pads and atmospheres, vocal licks and those unreal Jazz-Funk style flute skills from earlier. It’s a release that gives us a real pleasure to be able to share Felipe’s unique and musical take on House with the world.
Karakul, our deeper House focused imprint, is very excited to welcome Colombian powerhouse producer, label head and DJ Felipe Gordon. “Timeless” brings you four tracks of Mariana Trench level depth and soul, melting the best sounds of House together. Felipe has consistently blown us away over the years with releases on some of the best labels out there including Shall Not Fade, Razor N Tape, Toy Tonics and Norm Talley's Upstairs Asylum Recordings.
“Get Your Body Moving” is a dancefloor call to prayer featuring smooth vocals from Bob The Egoist set to a rocking beat, uplifting strings and a virtuosic flute solo. Title track “Timeless” sets the tone with a bumping bassline, gliding synth melodies and a quirky Deep House nature that reminds us of Glenn Underground at his best.
Kicking off the B-side is “Moving Results”. This is a jack-a-thon percussion workout with a 909 ride cymbal leading the charge, modulating and fluctuating hypnotically while electric piano chords form the backbone with a plucky bass riff. Finally, “Take It Away” brings swung Garage House percussion to the table, pairing them with soothing pads and atmospheres, vocal licks and those unreal Jazz-Funk style flute skills from earlier. It’s a release that gives us a real pleasure to be able to share Felipe’s unique and musical take on House with the world.
Karakul, our deeper House focused imprint, is very excited to welcome Colombian powerhouse producer, label head and DJ Felipe Gordon. “Timeless” brings you four tracks of Mariana Trench level depth and soul, melting the best sounds of House together. Felipe has consistently blown us away over the years with releases on some of the best labels out there including Shall Not Fade, Razor N Tape, Toy Tonics and Norm Talley's Upstairs Asylum Recordings.
“Get Your Body Moving” is a dancefloor call to prayer featuring smooth vocals from Bob The Egoist set to a rocking beat, uplifting strings and a virtuosic flute solo. Title track “Timeless” sets the tone with a bumping bassline, gliding synth melodies and a quirky Deep House nature that reminds us of Glenn Underground at his best.
Kicking off the B-side is “Moving Results”. This is a jack-a-thon percussion workout with a 909 ride cymbal leading the charge, modulating and fluctuating hypnotically while electric piano chords form the backbone with a plucky bass riff. Finally, “Take It Away” brings swung Garage House percussion to the table, pairing them with soothing pads and atmospheres, vocal licks and those unreal Jazz-Funk style flute skills from earlier. It’s a release that gives us a real pleasure to be able to share Felipe’s unique and musical take on House with the world.
Karakul, our deeper House focused imprint, is very excited to welcome Colombian powerhouse producer, label head and DJ Felipe Gordon. “Timeless” brings you four tracks of Mariana Trench level depth and soul, melting the best sounds of House together. Felipe has consistently blown us away over the years with releases on some of the best labels out there including Shall Not Fade, Razor N Tape, Toy Tonics and Norm Talley's Upstairs Asylum Recordings.
“Get Your Body Moving” is a dancefloor call to prayer featuring smooth vocals from Bob The Egoist set to a rocking beat, uplifting strings and a virtuosic flute solo. Title track “Timeless” sets the tone with a bumping bassline, gliding synth melodies and a quirky Deep House nature that reminds us of Glenn Underground at his best.
Kicking off the B-side is “Moving Results”. This is a jack-a-thon percussion workout with a 909 ride cymbal leading the charge, modulating and fluctuating hypnotically while electric piano chords form the backbone with a plucky bass riff. Finally, “Take It Away” brings swung Garage House percussion to the table, pairing them with soothing pads and atmospheres, vocal licks and those unreal Jazz-Funk style flute skills from earlier. It’s a release that gives us a real pleasure to be able to share Felipe’s unique and musical take on House with the world.
For Phonica’s landmark 100th mix, we had to make it extra, extra special. Enter Erol Alkan, a DJ who has been at the top of his game for over two decades and very much a local London legend.
Full interview: http://offtherecord.net/phonicamixseries100/
its's peak time at Dekmantel main stage and Palms Trax is letting the crowd have it and he's dropping a fairly addictive and unheard edit of "Sidi Mansour" by Cheba Yamina. Thus is to say as the weeks after went on this tune would become viral. The artist: Jamal Sulaimani AKA Moving Still, a producer and DJ coming fast up out of the woodwork recently because of his out there and dynamic culture crossing sets and musical knowledge that he incorporates into his own compositions. Jamal's roots to music are quite interesting too. His heart lies in two places, one in the sweltering heat of the beautiful city of Jeddah in Saudi Arabia, one in the prosperous rainy Irish capital of Ireland; Dublin (Which is where he resides today with his loving family). It has been this cross of culture where Jamal found his love for music and where he has solidified his unique sound. Moving Still's music is a mixture of tape collected Arabic music samples with punchy club cuts usually leaning into the disco, italo and house regions and wouldn't sound a miss in one of Sound Metaphors all night long sets. It is with these productions he finds the starting line of harnessing this energy while also finding equally fantastic gems to seamlessly blend into his well thought out sets. And this is what Jamal has done for us here. 1hr and 25mins of pure party energy while showing his trademark sound throughout without you evening noticing, sure... what would you know..., you're already dancing..., you're lost in it..., you're not coming back....HEY come back! ....Too late you're gone! ... Sorry lost my train of thought, we sat down with Jamal to chat about some releases he has in the pipeline and a little about his background in music:
It all starts with the sea, a grandson of a sailor and guitarist, Sonny Rooney has used inspirations of his grandfathers tales of the rugged oceans to his multi-instrumental inspirations. Harnessing these moments into the social age we find ourselves sitting in today it has forced Rooney to look into an all hands on approach which he undertakes into his productions, his DJ sets and his all round musical intake. It is with this thought comes his guise Pinky Perzelle. With his excellent debut release about to drop "No Games", a release dubbed: "a true labour of love and an ode to his total passion and dedication to multi instrumental record creation without compromise" we can honestly say that the Sky is the limit for Pinky Perzelle. A long time friend of the shop it was only right we bring in the release with Sonny and ask him to drop a mix for our friends and family series. We had a quick chat with Sonny about the mix and the inspiration behind his forthcoming debut:
As we edge nearer to our 100th mix, we seek to Berlin for textural techno melodies from dutch producer and DJ Konduku aka Ruben Üvez. Having graced some of our favorite labels like Donato Dozzy's Spazio Disponibile, Nous'Klaer, Delsin, Midgar and more, Üvez has become a maestro in layering UK techno stylings with a European flavour, finding that perfect balance between space and drums. His wisdom in also finding tracks of this style have become an integral part of his DJ sets being incorporated beautifully to the point of losing yourself even in the more relentless parts. A journey to say the least that very few can put you on, displaying Üvez's approach that could be comparable to that of modern greats like Batu and Donato Dozzy. And that is what Konduku has done here on Phonica 99. Recorded live from a Midgar party in Berlin recently that transports you to that time and moment so alluringly, we have a chat to Üvez more about the concept and where his head was at during this set.
These days lots of labels stick to what they know. They tend to have a sound and work into that, putting out record and record of the same thing until they fade into the dark space of discogs never to be seen again. This is not the case with @blankmindlabel . With a diverse selection of all things be it field recordings, ambient experimentations, bass heavy club anthems, dark dubstep rhythms or the legendary Shake Shakir remixing an underground tribal house and Socca masterpiece this label has defined a way to break the norm and keep us on the edge of our seat until we fall on to the floor. This curation all comes from the mind of South London native Sam Purcell. Sam has grown up around music being in the world of audio experimentations from his school years. Now with Blank Mind seventeen releases deep and running the incredible Pick A Sound night cementing his firmly well placed spot in the London underground scene it is only time we welcomed Sam to the Off The Record Mix series. Here we get a deep dive into what his taste is about and what inspires his mind musically in regards to curating his night and label. Recorded live from Pick A Sound at Ormside Projects this mixes brings us on a chuggy and bass heavy journey from the start of the night well deep into the dark hours. We had a quick chat with Sam too about his background and more about what he's got going on:
Hollering from the deep south of New Zealand a sound is pumping through the Earth, all the way through to Europe via Munich, then to Berlin and now its travelling to the UK and beyond. That sound is the Big Beat Manifesto. A sound that Mr. Eden Burns has produced to us over 6 volumes and all pressed to wax via the loving hand of Public Possession. This cross over of addictive club sonics and balearic undertones has seen the likes of Solomun, Jennifer Cardini, Jamie Tiller, Huge DJ Party Alerts, Gerd Janson and more taking various systems worldwide for the test drive of their lives with these sounds. Aside from producing these melodies Eden has deemed himself quite the DJ with Boiler Room(a personal favorite of ours), club and festival appearances galore. For this mix Eden picks some of his favorite club cuts but guides us through an hour which seems to be a summary of a set that could easily go into the 4 hour mark. A fine calling card. We had a quick chat with Eden about what hes been up to a little about the mix:
Claire Smith Cullum aka Voys has dedicated much of her years to the love of vinyl and independent radio. Having worked over the years in spots like Sister Rey and Rye Wax, she has surrounded herself in the heart of these cultures, gaining a vast ear for all things in UK sound and beyond. Now sitting as a buyer for Bleep specialising in electronic and dance we are glad to welcome Claire to our series to showcase her expertise, and this mix does exactly that. Commonly recognised as one half of the Souvenir collective with Elle Andrews of Mal Records, also hosting a killer NTS show together has found them providing nothing but quality mixes for some of our favourite labels and shows in the UK and all over(Left Alone, Kindred, LYL Radio etc) as well as dropping a very killer Trilogy Tapes tape not too long ago. For this mix Claire turns to a home listening perspective but still bringing broke down and trippy UK sounds into the cut. We talked to Claire about this excellent mix and a little bit about some project she's been working on lately:
We are delighted to welcome back, former Phonica staff member Prague born, London-based Adriana aka Ariane V, who is next up on our Friend & Family mix series. Ariane V is known for having a vast taste in disco, UKG, Balearic & house, these are all represented in her Balamii residency that we can't get enough of here at Phonica. She also runs Rhythm Sister, a collective/community through which they support female, nonbinary, and trans DJs and producers by running workshops and hosting events. For this two hour journey Adriana brings us into the setting of her set at Love International where she just returned from playing just recently. Adriana has taken the records from that evening and reconstructed the setting of a warm summery beach in Croatia to a blissful cosmic connection of balearic sounds & deep house. We had a quick chat with Adriana so she could tell us a bit more about the mix in detail. You can read that over on WWW.OFFTHERECORD.NET
As we near our 100th mix in our main Phonica series, we up the game with a journey from New York born and Berlin residing, deep house legend Fred P AKA Black Jazz Consortium for number 97. Deep is truly in the essence of everything Fred does and its honest reflection shines brightest in his two latest albums "Oasis" and "Abstract Soul" which dropped back to back this year accompanied by some heavy in demand 12's on his Private Society imprint. That very essence is showcased in this mix he put together for us. Grooving through all sounds that have inspired the mind of this artist and cutting into deep layered moods of house, funk and techier bits this is a divine look into how Fred P approaches sound.
Brussels based musical activist and collector/selector DJ soFa aka soFa Elsewhere joins us for the 30th edition of our Off The Record mix series after a short break, and what a mix to get it all back kicking off. Known for his excellent Elsewhere compilation series he curates, soFa shows his diverse selection here travelling from chuggy industrial and percussion-y rhythms to acid baselines and pumping house.
I think it would be fair to say that some people whose out put is quite regular suffer from quantity over quality. For Malik Kassim, the Amsterdam based producer also known as Retromigration, this just is not the case. With three records out already this year and plenty more on the horizon including a full LP on Wolf Recordings, it seems Kassim is determined to debunk the quantity over quality theory and prove you can very much be both. His records do the speaking for this argument, with his styles ranging similar to modern greats like Folamour and Kerri Chandler massively influencing off funky and up beat rhythms yet still maintaining that punchy four to the floor techy beat and its in these influences we move on the Phonica Mix 96; Retromigration takes us on a trip through many styles here across jazzy beats, funky rhythms, pumping house and melodic piano riffs, its very much a day in the Sun kinda party mix and he definitely helps us imagine that setting here.
Ransom Note, the excellent online magazine that has been on the forefront of what is going on in music, fashion and events in the UK and the world over for years, has had long ties to our beloved Soho home and for the next in our Friends & Family mix we have decided to step out of the shop and showcase some of the people we really admire doing stuff around London. Ally Tropical definitely ticks these boxes. Ally is the founder of Pleasant Life Records, a monthly resident on French radio station LYL and the Editor in Chief at Ransom Note. Having worked prominently behind the scenes in Electronic music for over ten years he has amassed a reputable wealth of knowledge having played at clubs and festivals across Europe and contributing mixtapes to the likes of the Goodhood, Mitamine Lab, Melbourne Deepest, 12th Isle & more. Originally from Glasgow but now based in London he is a keen record collector and remains at the forefront of the burgeoning underground Electronic music scene in the UK. For this mix Ally is giving us a masterclass in current strands of club and electronica, many of which are artists that get featured on his online mag the likes of Walton, D.Tiffany & Reptant spliced in with heavies like Atom & Tobias, Steffi and Parris this mix showcases some serious years in the digging trenches.
It goes without saying that Toby Tobias has been a long standing figure in the London scene. You may recognise him for his seminal house cuts on labels like Rekids , ESP Institute, Delusions of Grandeur, International Feel, Odori and Quintessentials to name a few. You can also catch him spinning records around London, most noticeably House Of St. Barnabas in Soho where we host a party with him monthly. For his Phonica mix Toby brings us on a masterclass through various styles of deep house, breaks, euphoric breakdowns, melodic percussions and acid basslines. Almost like a segment from a night out this is a little taste of one of his long all night sets in a dark London club.
With a strong discography from the likes of Workshop, Third Ear and Lobster Theremin, Luke Palmer aka Ozel AB has been turning heads in the realms of leftfield house and techno since 2014. Now putting out the first offering on his own self-titled label in May we are delighted to premiere one of these four new tracks from the man himself. Series Parallel is 5mins and 25 seconds of raw bleep styled techno that brings you back to a 90's warehouse with a fitting subtle cut up vocal throughout and an addictive bassline to match. An essential listen coming into the long weekend. Ozel AB's "OZ001" drops early May.
Alongside co-founding One Records, Subb-an has been producing killer dancefloor groovers for years, releasing on some of the best club focused labels around. Releases on Eastenderz, Pleasure Zone, Fuse and Crosstown Rebels have made him a name synomous with deep and minimal grooves of all shapes and sizes. Recent collaborations with Thoma Bulwer on Constant Black and Seven Hills, as well as working with our shop's own Luther Vine for a release on his 2020 Vision sublabel Fragments of Reality, have been glued to our turntables since they dropped, so when a chance came to highlight his skills on the decks we were over the moon!
This mix opens with lush and deep tracks, slowly building in atmosphere and energy as the mix pulses and grows into a unique blend of Minimal Tech House with shades of proggy euphoria and throbbing basslines.
VINYL: https://www.phonicarecords.com/product/eli-escobar-find-a-way-ep-pre-order-phonica-records/178923
New York House and Disco legend Eli Escobar has been releasing music for over 20 years under various aliases as well as running incredible parties and his own label Night People. We’ve been huge fans of his productions over the years and when a chance to release some of his stellar music on our Phonica main label came about, we were over the moon.
The “Find A Way EP” kicks off with “FindAWay2Day”, combining heavy hitting 808 drum work with deeply satisfying vocal samples, a beyond groovy bassline and 80s Electro-Funk galore. “Something Inside Of Me” leans towards a classic US Deep Garage House blueprint, with sampled chord stabs, mesmerising vocal hooks and MPC style swung drum programming.
Over on the B-Side, jacking House meets Deep Detroit Techno on “Down All Day” with a frenzied, chopped and replayed vocal melody melding with lush and relaxing pads until the piano line enters and pushes the track into pure euphoria. Finally “Daywun” conjures memories of the best funk of the 1980s, propelled by a bass riff that weaves through the drum hits and smacks just right, layering it with chords that feel like driving through California’s highways at midnight and an Electro Hip hop B-Boy style rap sample. The EP is a perfect combination of production highlights from House music’s influences and a modern approach with the freedom of style and genre while never sacrificing quality.
VINYL: https://www.phonicarecords.com/product/eli-escobar-find-a-way-ep-pre-order-phonica-records/178923
New York House and Disco legend Eli Escobar has been releasing music for over 20 years under various aliases as well as running incredible parties and his own label Night People. We’ve been huge fans of his productions over the years and when a chance to release some of his stellar music on our Phonica main label came about, we were over the moon.
The “Find A Way EP” kicks off with “FindAWay2Day”, combining heavy hitting 808 drum work with deeply satisfying vocal samples, a beyond groovy bassline and 80s Electro-Funk galore. “Something Inside Of Me” leans towards a classic US Deep Garage House blueprint, with sampled chord stabs, mesmerising vocal hooks and MPC style swung drum programming.
Over on the B-Side, jacking House meets Deep Detroit Techno on “Down All Day” with a frenzied, chopped and replayed vocal melody melding with lush and relaxing pads until the piano line enters and pushes the track into pure euphoria. Finally “Daywun” conjures memories of the best funk of the 1980s, propelled by a bass riff that weaves through the drum hits and smacks just right, layering it with chords that feel like driving through California’s highways at midnight and an Electro Hip hop B-Boy style rap sample. The EP is a perfect combination of production highlights from House music’s influences and a modern approach with the freedom of style and genre while never sacrificing quality.
Phonica’s very own Sam, otherwise known as Samson A.K, joins us for the 8th edition of the Phonica Friends & Family Mix Series.
For the last 5 years, Sam has been the man behind all of Phonica’s marketing, social media output, events series, and lots more. He has been DJing for more than 20 years, having first started out with a hand-me-down batch of battered trance and progressive house records from his older brother at the age of 13.
Sam is a resident on London-based radio station Balamii, from which he broadcasts a monthly dose of leftfield techno, ambient and experimental goodness. Always aiming to shine a light on some of his favourite artists and producers from around the world, Sam has invited guests such as Salamanda, Flaty, WASWAAS, Tristan Arp, Tarotplane, Koyil and Sebastiano Carghini to join him for a guest mix.
Aside from his solo work, Sam is also one half of production duo Zoo Look, whose music has been released via E-Beamz, Tusk Wax, Lost Palms and more over the past decade or so. Keep your eyes peeled for a future release of theirs on Permanent Vacation too.
For his contribution to our Mix Series, Sam decided to veer away from the softer side of the electronic music spectrum, which he usually showcases on his radio shows, and the result is a full-blown, energetic mix of psychedelic techno, dubby house and gritty post-punk. Enjoy! 🔊🔊
Lorca is up next on Shall Not Fade with his stunning debut LP ‘Saudade’. The album consists of eight melodic tracks with richly-layered soundscapes made up of samples and field recordings taken from his hometown, Brighton. Packed with pulsating jazz rhythms and oozing with groove, our pick for the premiere is the B1 cut ‘Colraine’.
Pre-order your copy from Phonica here: bit.ly/3pzhUwe
Kyoto-born, Berlin-based DJ, producer and artist, Alex Kassian has become a firm favourite of ours over here at Phonica over the past couple of years. His sophisticated, lush and organic sounding productions have been picked up by labels such as Paramida’s Love On The Rocks and Alex Bradley’s Utopia Records in recent years. His most recent release, Leave Your Life, was released in 2021 via Pinchy & Friends, and we can safely say it was one of our most-played, and bestselling, records of the year.
Together with Hiroaki OBA, Alex is also one-half of Opal Sunn, who have been operating their own imprint Planet Sundae since 2017, through which they self-released a number of EPs, catching the attention of and support from dance music luminaries such as Andrew Weatherall and DJ Sprinkles.
Check out the full feature & interview over at offtherecord.net
Japan-born, London-based digger, producer and founder of the phenomenal Time Capsule imprint, Kay Suzuki joins us for the 29th edition of the Off The Record Mix Series. Be sure to check out the full feature and interview over on offtherecord.net 🙌
Creative director and resident DJ of DISCOSÓDOMA in London and POWER DANCE CLUB in Athens, Stathis has been a staple in queer clubbing around Europe with his eclectic selection of leftfield electronic dance music over the past eight years. Stathis’ dynamic music style never disappoints the dancefloors, he can go from techno to disco and all the way back with elements of surprise but always with records that make your body move. In addition, recently he’s been co-curating the experimental, downtempo Moon Gazing mix series alongside Berlin-based DJ Luigi do Venere. Enjoy his psychedelic mix!
Panorama Bar resident and Love On The Rocks label head Paramida joins us for the 92nd edition of the Phonica Mix Series.
Since moving to Berlin in 2010, Paramida has since become a key figure in the cities ever-expanding electronic music scene. In 2014 she launched her Love On The Rocks label which has seen releases from Massimiliano Pagliara, Telephones, Fantastic Man, Elles, Violet, Alex Kassian and more.
Having spent five years working at Oye Records, Paramida is certainly no stranger to digging. Each of her varied DJ sets brings a new beacon of pleasure and surprise. Blending proto-house to trance, percussive gems with high-energy techno, Italian dream house and irresistible new beat. Sounds that are very much reflected in this here recording. Check out the in-depth interview over on Off The Record. Enjoy!
Hailing from Aarhus, Denmark, C.K is the main man behind Safe Distribution and its affiliated labels, such as PRS and Help Recordings to name just two. He has been known to release under a variety of different monikers, including the ambient-focused projects 3.11 and 355.11125. C.K is also part of several collectives, namely 2 Bit Crew, Maizena, and the infamous Regelbau crew, alongside Manmade Deejay, DJ Sports, Central, and more. A keen digger, C.K has a never-ending desire to find new music (and old) for his DJ sets. Whether performing solo or back-to-back, C.K is known to represent the relaxed but recognisable sound of all the labels and artists surrounding the Safe crew – usually with a nod a bit more towards the euphoric soundscapes of Dream House, with bouncy basslines and luscious melodies. These key themes also run through the core of his spectacular two-hour-long recording. Head on over to offtherecord.net to check it out, alongside a rare in-depth interview. Enjoy! 🙌 bit.ly/PHONICAMIX91
A Londoner through and through, Arthur Smith, more commonly known as Artwork, is a man who has been a key part of some of the capital’s pivotal music scenes in the last two decades. After a time producing techno under his Grain alias in the 90s, fore-fronting dubstep with Big Apple Records in the early noughties and forming Magnetic Man alongside Skream and Benga in 2007 – Artwork is now busy injecting his character into various parties, festivals and clubs around the globe.
As a longtime friend of the shop, we reached out to Arthur to see if he would be up for contributing a mix to close out 2021. For the occasion, Arthur went above and beyond and the result is a whopping one hour and forty-minute long recording packed with all kinds of rare disco, funk, boogie and house treasures.
Head on over to offtherecord.net to check out the in-depth interview where we discussed his new life in NYC, his past projects; Grain and Magnetic Man, his future plans, and much more. Enjoy!
Some of you may have seen Daire, aka DC FSLMAN, pottering around in our Soho store in recent months. Prior to that, you may have also seen him working behind the counter at Dublin’s legendary All City Records. This lovable Irishman is one of our newest team members (welcome, Daire!) and is also the main man behind the excellent First Second Label.
Stretching back as far as 2012, First Second Label has played host to a vast array of talent, such as Ellll, Minimal Violence, Sputnik One, Orlando, and G.E.O Corp to name a few. The label’s most recent release, Step Mode, comes from Dublin-based Glimmerman – be sure to check that out here. Daire is keeping his cards close to his chest for now, but we are told there are some tip-top releases on the horizon which we are already looking forward to checking out.
Daire’s mix is short but very, very sweet. It’s slow, always staying under the 100bpm mark, with all kinds of double-time, bass music, and sludge metal influences thrown in along the way. There’s a full tracklist on offtherecord.net. Enjoy!
London-based independent record label Kalita is known for specialising in unearthing and re-releasing great music that deserves to be heard by all. They focus mainly on soul, disco, and West African sounds from around the world that they love and believe others will love as well. Kalita Records prides itself on two things: the quality of its musical output, and its focus on the musicians behind each release. Alongside a beautifully presented outer sleeve, their releases are often accompanied by liner notes, photographs and interviews with the artists, thus creating a far more interesting package all around.
Some of our personal highlights from the label’s impressive back catalogue include ‘If You Need Me, Call Me’ by Emerson, ‘Looking Up: The Complete Works’ by Carrie Cleveland, and ‘Getting Next To You’ by Randolph Baker to name just three.
We got in touch with Kalita’s founder, Chris Webb, to see if he would be interested in putting together a mix for our Off The Record series - one that showcases the overall “sound of Kalita”. Check out the full feature & interview - bit.ly/3cmWY4H
Belgian producer Gratts, an active DJ for more than 20 years, teams up with pioneering Chicago vocalist Robert Owens on this new house anthem for our times. Hope is built into the very fibre of ‘Brighter Future’, from its optimistic synths to the sprightly Roland drum patterns, with Owens’ lilting affirmations soaring above. On the flip, Jorge Caiado’s remix and the New Vision Dub bring the track to the late night dancefloor, recalling the 90s heyday of Murk, Cajmere and Mood II Swing.
Grab your copy here: bit.ly/2YWxKHd
Milan-based, Chilean-born DJ, producer, and keen digger, Paula Tape joins us for the 89th edition of the Phonica Mix Series.
Although Paula started her musical career out as a drummer in various metal and indie bands, she is best known now for her distinct brand of breezy yet energetic dance music and her musical creations have been picked up by such labels as SOBO and Alzaya Records, as well as her forthcoming Astroturismo EP on Bradley Zero’s Rhythm Section International.
Paula is also an active member of the Tempo Dischi crew – a label on a mission to discover and repress Italian gems from the lost era, such as Alexander Robotnick’s Computer Sourire and Contact Music’s Keep On Dance to name but two.
Check out Paula’s interview over on offtherecord.net
Baltimore-based ambient and new-school Kosmische guitar musician PJ Dorsey, better known as Tarotplane, joins us for the 26th edition of the Off The Record Mix Series. If you’re not yet familiar with his music be sure to check out his phenomenal albums ‘Horizontology’ on 12th Isle and ‘358 Oblique’ on Lullabies For Insomniacs to name just two.
His recording below features gems from O Yuki Conjugate, Iury Lech, Michael Banabila, Cabaret Du Ciel, Suzanne Kraft, and many more. Check out PJ's in-depth interview over on offtherecord.net - Enjoy!
Musique Pour La Danse co-founder Ed Isar joins us for the 25th edition of the Off The Record Mix Series. Enjoy!
Our next Mix Series guest is a man who requires very little introduction. One of Detroit’s most iconic figures, Kenny Larkin has been at the very forefront of the electronic music scene for more than three decades.
Best known for his soulful approach to techno, Larkin’s timeless productions have been released via such mammoth labels as Warp Records, Peacefrog, Planet E, Rush Hour, KMS and Transmat, not forgetting his own label Art Of Dance, of course.
Following a recent string of classic Larkin reissues and represses, such as the Azimuth and Metaphor LPs, we reached out to Kenny to see if he would be interested in putting together a mix for our series. The result is a particularly unique one - it's a 1 hour and 15-minute recording taken from a live DJ set he did in LA on Saturday 4th September 2021.
Enjoy the raw energy!
Phonica AM is a new imprint curated by staff member Luther Vine focusing on a more ‘after hours’ sound. Think tripped-out Techno, Minimal, Electro and every shade in between.
Voodoos and Taboos are up first with the ‘If We Were’ 12”, a four track EP drawing on strains of Tech- House, 90s Breaks and Techno/Electro. The mysterious duo follow up a string of high calibre releases on their own imprint which have gained substantial hype both upon release and on the second-hand market, with Discogs prices skyrocketing.
A1 ‘Doorway’ is a nuanced, spacey Techno banger with intricate synth licks, underpinned by a pumping groove. Title track ‘If We Were’ is a rich and emotive track, blooming pads, euphoric motifs, fortified by a futuristic jacking groove.
On the flip, ‘Witch House’ is wonky, bassline driven Tech-House with a hefty splash of acid. Final track ‘Holyday’ is a refined modern homage to 90s rave, all swinging break beats and slick vocal fragmenta- tion.
Head of the E2-E8 record label and radio show Luca joins us for the 24th edition of the Off The Record Mix Series. Full feature with interview and tracklist coming soon. Check back!
Ahead of their forthcoming EP on our brand new sub-label, Phonica A.M., we asked the mysterious Voodoos and Taboos to piece together a recording for our ever-eclectic Mix Series.
The duo first came to our attention back in 2019 when the first release in their vinyl-only series landed at the shop. Their unique, spooked-out house, tech-house, garage and breakbeat inspired sound resonated with us, and when the idea of a new, more after-hours focused label was floated we knew exactly who to get in touch with for the debut release.
Their one hour and fifteen minute long mix is online now. Check out the full feature here! 🙌 bit.ly/phonicamix86
Joining us for the 5th edition of the Phonica Friends & Family Mix Series we have Ukrainian DJ and producer Bohdan.
Bohdan is one-half of the Kyiv-based electronic music duo Asyncronous. These guys first came to our attention with their critically acclaimed debut release ‘The Art of Fighting In A Dream’ on Berlin-based label Slow Life. The release was a firm favourite of ours over here at Phonica, it provided the soundtrack to many days in the shop throughout the year and we went on to include it in our top ten ‘Best Singles of 2019’ feature. In fact, we liked it so much that we reached out to the pair to see if they would be interested in putting together an EP for our own label. The result was the excellent ‘Pangaea Nova’ EP, which is comprised of six deeply atmospheric techno and ambient soundscapes, each packed with scattering drums, dubbed-out synths and syncopated basslines.
Bohdan’s artistic career blossomed during the mid-2000s. He initially started out as a Drum & Bass DJ and organiser of many significant events around Kyiv. Several years ago he delved into the world of music production, with a focus on “atmospheric, mental techno and its various manifestations” as he describes it.
His DJ sets, as well as his own productions, cover many bases – from organic atmospheres and spatial sound landscapes to functional, intense, and hypnotic techno cuts. Bohdan’s 2-hour long mix recording below reflects this perfectly. Enjoy!
Introducing CWPT - the brand new label from Berlin-based, British DJ and producer Palms Trax.
For the label’s maiden voyage, Palms Trax teams up with South African vocalist Nonku Phiri for the soulful, Afropop-inspired disco groover ‘Petu’.
The hawk-eyed amongst you may recognise the dub version of ‘Petu’ from Palms Trax’s set at The Music Locker as part of Grand Theft Auto Online, but it’s the supercharged remix from Amsterdam-based producer Masalo that gets our pick for the premiere. Enjoy!
Pre-order your copy here: bit.ly/cwpt_petu
We are delighted to welcome one of our all-time favourite Norwegian producers to the Phonica Mix Series - Bård Aasen Lødemel aka Skatebård. Dating back to the early 2000s, Skatebård's predominantly house and techno-focused productions have been picked up and released by such labels as Sex Tags Mania, Bordello A Parigi, Full Pupp, Untz Untz, Live At Robert Johnson and, of course, his own Digitalo Enterprises imprint. Coming in at almost 2-hours long, Bård's roof-raising mix recording is a deep dive into the more cosmic and energetic shades of house, techno and Italo, with tracks coming from Juri Hulkkonen, Lauer, DJ Blasy, Huey Mnemonic, Helium, Cybertrax and more. Head on over to offtherecord.net where you will find an in-depth interview with the main man himself, as well as a full tracklist. Enjoy!
Italian-born, Berlin-based DJ Luigi Di Venere has been making serious waves in and around Berlin over the past several years – known equally for his Balearic, listening-oriented DJ sets, or his explosive club sets. Luigi is very much inspired by the rave scene of the early ’90s, and his sets make constant references to those infamous warehouse atmospheres, all the while offering an eclectic selection. Luigi can often be found showcasing his talents at the legendary Cocktail d’Amore events series, for which he is a resident. He also once handled the Cocktail d’Amore label management. Outside of Cocktail d’Amore he has been known to grace the decks at many of Berlin’s most iconic clubbing hot spots, such as Panorama Bar, lab.oratory and Sameheads, where he runs his own Maximum Joy events series.
When he’s not DJing, Luigi is our man on the ground at Phonica’s Soho House Berlin shop. He hosts his own radio show, MachineSex, on Radio Cómeme and he hosts Pom Radio – a podcast series based around his own musical insights.
We hope you enjoy Luigi’s tripped-out mix recording. It's a killer!
Parisian artist Dang-Khoa Chau, better known as D.K., joins us for the 22nd edition of the Off The Record Mix Series.
As a producer, D.K. has been known to dabble in many different electronic genres, from dancefloor-focused ceiling slappers to deeply atmospheric deck-chair tappers.
His musical treasures have been released via such labels as Good Morning Tapes, Antinote, Melody As Truth, Second Circle, and 12th Isle in recent years - all of which have been in high demand here at Phonica.
Off the back of his latest EP on Good Morning Tapes, as well as the news of an eagerly-awaited repress of his phenomenal 'Live At The Edge' LP, we reached out to Dang to see if he would be interested in contributing towards our Off The Record Mix Series. The result is a mistifying, hour-long journey through things tribal, ambient and electronic. Enjoy!
Italian DJ, producer, and Life & Death label head Manfredi Romano, better known as DJ Tennis joins us for the 82nd edition of the Phonica Mix Series. As longtime admirers of Romano and the label, we reached out to see if he would be interested in getting involved with our Mix Series. The result is an hour-long journey through the more mystifying and cosmic side of house, techno and electronic music. Head on over to offtherecord.net to check out the full feature and interview. Enjoy! 🙌 bit.ly/PHONICAMIX82
Adelaide-based British DJ, producer, and Isle of Jura and Temples Of Jura label head Kevin Griffiths aka Jura Soundsystem joins us for the 21st edition of the Off The Record Mix Series. Coming in at 1 hour and 30 minutes long, Kevin's eclectic mix is a true reflection of everything that Isle Of Jura stands for - including tracks from Art Wilson, Telephones, Hotline, Andrew Weatherall, I Level, William Aura and more. Head on over to Off The Record to check out the full feature, interview and tracklist. Enjoy! 🙌 bit.ly/OTRMIX21
Manchester-born, London-based DJ and producer Sophie Wilson, better known as Willow, joins us for the 81st edition of the Phonica Mix Series with an hour-long selection of off-kilter house, techno and electronic goodness, featuring tracks from Even Tuell, Parris, Sad City and more. Enjoy! 🔉 🔊 bit.ly/PHONICAMIX81
Italian ambient music pioneer Gigi Masin joins us for the 20th edition of the Off The Record Mix Series. Just tipping over the 2-hour mark, Gigi’s gorgeous mix recording takes us on a trip through all things ambient, electronica, soul, jazz, pop, Balearic, and beyond, featuring tracks by everyone from Brotherhood Of Breath and Van Morrison to Hiroshi Suzuki and Anoushka Shankar.
Full feature including interview and tracklist over on Off The Record. Enjoy the journey! ✨ bit.ly/3rXgg69
Air Miles return with a remix EP from Bristol-based producer Remotif, including reworks from Nathan Micay, Molly, and Jeigo. Top stuff!
Pre-order your copy here: http://bit.ly/remogond
Brighton-based DJ, producer and Wisdom Teeth co-founder K-Lone joins us for the 80th edition of the Phonica Mix Series with an hour-long, fast-paced journey through all things footwork, jungle, bass music and techno. Strap in and enjoy the ride! 🔉 🔊 bit.ly/phonicamix80
For more than three decades, native Londoner and true DJ's DJ, Jaye Ward, has been one of the key figures in the capital’s underground electronic music scene. During the ‘90s Jaye was often found behind the decks at Fabric’s legendary WANG parties, Golden in Stoke on Trent, and she held a residency at London’s sadly defunct END. Still going strong to this day (when there are no global pandemics getting in the way) Jaye is often called upon by many of London and Europe’s hottest clubbing destinations and festivals, including KALA, Love International, and Field Maneuvers.
Dancefloors aside, Jaye is also the host of the excellent ‘Magical Real’ show on Netil Radio, from which she broadcasts a monthly dose of all things dub, disco, psychedelic, Balearic, and more.
As a longtime friend of the shop, we reached out to Jaye to see if she would be interested in putting together a mix for us. The result is a walloping two-hour recording, packed with an eclectic collection of gems and rarities from the likes of This Mortal Coil, Sterac, Donato Dozzy, Chris Carter, Niagara, Shackleton, and more.
Full tracklist and interview over on offtherecord.net 🙌
Montreal-based DJ, producer and label owner Francis Latrielle, better known as Priori, joins us for the 79th edition of the Phonica Mix Series.
Priori has become a firm favourite of ours here at Phonica over the past couple of years. His releases, which crossover through many electronic genres, from house and techno to IDM and ambient, have been picked up by such labels as Echovolt and Dust E-1’s Dust World in recent years, although much of his musical output, including his phenomenal 2019 album, ‘On A Nimbus’, comes via his own label, NAFF, which he co-runs with fellow Montrealer Ex-Terrestrial.
Head on over to Off The Record to check out the full feature, including an interview, where we talked about his past, present, and future plans, life in lockdown, Montreal’s music scene, and more. Enjoy!
San Francisco-based DJ and Dark Entries label head, Josh Cheon, joins us for the 18th edition of the Off The Record Mix Series. Full feature, tracklist and interview over on Off The Record 🙌 http://bit.ly/OTRMIX18
As another (rather unusual) year comes to an end, we close off our 2020 Mix Series with a sensational hour-long recording from one of the UK’s finest electronic music producers - Daniel Avery.
Daniel’s mix, however, is far from the ordinary. We'll let him explain in his own words below.
"The act of DJing feels like it exists on another planet at the moment but, unemployment aside, I feel fortunate to have closed my eyes this year,” Avery explains. “I’ve found a real solace in my metal box down by the water, the doors of which seemed to have been locked from the outside. In a good way. It’s all meant that the pile of new music is bigger than ever and, when asked to make a mix for my favourite dance emporium Phonica, I had the opportunity to do something different. So, to round off the slow-motion blur of 2020, here is a mixtape made up of new and exclusive stuff: unheard demos, versions, live jams and studio experiments. Most of it was made for the club. Hope you enjoy and please pass it around. I’ll see you on the other side very soon. DA xxx”
Full feature and interview on our editorial site, Off The Record - bit.ly/phonicamix78
For more than two and a half decades, Sally Rodgers has helped shape the modern Balearic sound as one half of production duo A Man Called Adam. Their music, which could be described as an amalgamation of acid-jazz, house, disco and pop, has been released via such labels as Big Life, Ritmo Recordings and Emotional Response over the years – not forgetting their own label Other Records Ltd.
When behind the decks, Sally’s DJ sets have been known to include everything from rare Japanese ambient to Italo-disco to post-punk, art-pop, French house and even ’60s and ’70s soundtrack material. Every summer in Ibiza she warms things up for DJ Harvey at his legendary Pikes residency and plays the sunset slot at Hostal La Torre. Back in the UK, she often DJs alongside Gilles Peterson and the Brownswood crew and is a favourite at Brilliant Corners and The Refuge in Manchester.
Sally’s mix for our Off The Record series is an hour-long breezy blend of Balearic goodness, with a few deep house and garage classics thrown in for good measure. Be sure to check out the interview as well. Enjoy!
bit.ly/OTRMIX17
We are delighted to welcome Swedish techno and deep house extraordinaire Dorisburg to the Phonica label family!
Alexander Burg has had a rock-solid string of top-class releases on labels like Hivern Discs, Aniara and Northern Electronics in recent years, and his brand new EP ‘House Organ For The Lonely’ is certainly no exception to the rule.
Comprised of three slow-building and ominous techno masterpieces - each set upon a bed of delicate synth-lines, off-kilter percussion work and whirring electronics. Perfect for those after-hours moments. Vinyl out now! You can also grab it digitally from all of your favourite sources (Spotify, Bandcamp, Beatport, Juno Download etc). Links below. Enjoy! 🙌
Vinyl: bit.ly/phon028-vinyl Spotify: bit.ly/phonica028-spotify Bandcamp: bit.ly/phonica-bandcamp
Full feature, including interview and tracklist over on our editorial site Off The Record: bit.ly/0TRMIX16
With more than twenty-five years in the game, Asad Rizvi, better known as Silverlining, has firmly rooted himself as one of the UK’s leading house and techno figureheads.
Having started out as a DJ on a London-based pirate radio station when he was just sixteen years old, Asad’s journey as a producer started around the same time, when he started to create his own brand of Warp Records-inspired electronica – some of which was picked up and played by Colin Dale on his seminal show, Outer Limits. From there, Asad’s musical influences shifted somewhat and the result was a blend the shuffle-heavy US house grooves with the abstract energy of Detroit and deep techno. A style that still rings true in his music to this day.
Since the ’90s, Asad’s music has been released via such labels as Neotropiq, Talman, Furthur Electronix, Reverberations and Terry Francis and Nathan Coles’ legendary Wiggle – not forgetting his own label Silverlining Dubs – the label from which his long-awaited debut album ‘Simulacra’ is due out later this year.
Asad’s mix, below, is a masterful one and a half-hour recording packed with all things house and techno, new and old, mixed to perfection at home using nothing more than a pair of Technics 1210s and a mixer. Be sure to check out the interview over on Off The Record as well. Enjoy!
Alex Bussé, also known as Ameeva, is a Catalan music producer who now resides in Berlin. Without closing himself into any specific genre, he explores a wide arc of influences, while remaining genre-fluid, as a desire to always stay focused on learning and understanding.
Alex’s contribution to our new series is nothing short of exceptional. It’s a one-hour, deeply atmospheric journey through all things ambient, drone and electronica, with added movie dialogues and personal conversational snippets added in to contribute towards the overall narrative of the mix. Enjoy!
Berlin-based DJ, producer and African Acid Is The Future affiliate, Dauwd, joins us for the 75th edition of the Phonica Mix Series.
Check out the full feature and interview over on our editorial site, Off The Record 🙌 bit.ly/phonicamix75
Joining us for the 14th edition of the Off The Record Mix Series we have Lyon-based digger, DJ and producer Waxist. Head on over to our editorial site Off The Record to check out the full feature and interview 🎶 bit.ly/OTRMIX14
When she's not working behind the counter at Phonica, Lucie divides her time between producing, DJing and performing as Avsluta, free improvisation and creating conceptual sound work. She runs Introspective Electronics, which is a monthly show on Netil Radio and a series of podcasts and chill-out gatherings at The Lion & Lamb in East London.
Lucie’s second half of 2020 is packed with some exciting releases. First up, she has an electro-acoustic mini-album coming out with David Toop on Cafe OTO’s digital label Takuroku, followed by a collaborative experimental double LP with Christian Duka as Vãdin on Utter, and lastly, a tripped-out, progressive and trancey 12” shared with Miro SundayMusiq for E2-E8 Records.
Full feature and tracklist over on our editorial site, Off The Record: bit.ly/staffmix3
London-based duo Zoo Look make their E-Beamz debut with a limited edition 10” double-header, comprised of two sweltering breaks-driven club rippers. Dusty pads, driving drums and throbbing acid lines all over this one! Grab your copy here 🔥 bit.ly/zoobeamz
Berlin-based DJ, producer, label head and Elevate record shop owner Cinthie joins us for the 74th edition of the Phonica Mix Series. Coming in at just under two hours, Cinthie’s mix is a pumpin’ and thumpin’ journey through all things HOUSE. Check out the full feature and interview over on Off The Record 🙌 bit.ly/phonicamix74
London-based DJ and producer Parris first cut his teeth at the legendary events series FWD>>, which mainly catered to the sounds of grime and dubstep. Taking inspiration from these musical roots, but adding his own special twist, Parris’s own, bass-focused musical creations have since been picked up by such labels as The Trilogy Tapes, Idle Hands, Tempa and Hemlock in recent years, as well as rock-solid collaborative release on CANUFEELTHESUNONYRBACK with Call Super.
Parris has been on our radar here at Phonica for quite some time, and ever since he came and performed for us at our 2019 Record Store Day event we have been interested in getting a dedicated mix recording from him. So, with that in mind, we thought he would make for a perfect addition to our Off The Record Mix Series. His mix below is just short of one hour and slips and slides through all kinds of genres – from hazy hip-hop and R&B to obscure rock and pop.
Full feature on Off The Record: bit.ly/OTRMIX13
We've been doing our mix series for 6 years now but, as a lot of you know, we have a wealth of talent working behind the counter or packing your orders. A lot of us DJ, have a radio show or produce music and now we wanted to highlight some of our colleagues and give you an insight into what each of one us like. In the ongoing lockdown, we wanted to shine a light on some our dedicated crew.
Originally featured on the b-side of Cameroonian disco hero Zogo’s 1979 album ‘Afrika – Bye Bye’, Parisian label Banquise Records have come to the rescue with a much-needed, official reissue of the sought-after Afro-Disco masterpiece ‘Please Please’.
Alongside the extra-funky original gem, Banquise has added two top-notch remixes into the mix from Running Back label head Gerd Janson and rising French talent Bellaire. Gerd Janson’s drawn-out, dancefloor focused version is our pick for the premiere.
Pre-order your copy here: bit.ly/zogoplease
Ludwig A.F. (previously known as Ludwig A.F. Röhrscheid) is a dj and producer hailing from Frankfurt, Germany. His excllent productions first caught our ears back in 2018 with his debut ‘Velocity EP‘ on his own Exo Recordings International imprint. And what a debut that was – Enter the peaceful and magical world of Ludwig A. F. Röhrscheid for his debut EP on brand-new label Exo Recordings International !
Otherworldy beats soaked in atmosphere, mystical and intriguing pads, pizzicato strings, catchy rhythms and field recordings of Germany’s nature. And it seems that a lot of people agreed with us as it became a very in-demand record as well as the subsequent releases on his imprint, continuing these spaced-out sounds soaked in melody and the rhythm & breaks of 90s house & rave. We loved his productions so much that we asked Ludwig to contribute to our mix series, check out the full feature & mini-interview here: http://offtherecord.net/phonica-mix-series-73-ludwig-a-f/
Check out the full feature & interview here: http://offtherecord.net/off-the-record-mix-series-12-aardvarck/ Aardvarck has been a constant favourite here at Phonica - we've stocked his records since we opened, and they never last long on the shelves. His last album - 2019's 'Monkey Formula', made it to number 9 in our Best Of 2019 Albums end of year charts. The Dutch polymath producer has been releasing music since the early 90's on labels such as Djax-Up-Beats, Delsin and Rush Hour. Working in a dizzying array of genres, he didn't just touch on them - he mastered many, having 'hit' records in underground house, techno broken beat and dubstep scenes. Continuing his explorations further, in the last 10 years alone he made impressive moves into hip-hop, dancehall and ambient/concrete. His 12"s finding long-term accommodation in top DJ's record bags, defty used and abused by the likes of Mala, Ben UFO, Dan Curtin, Sassy J, Joy Orbison, Cera Khin and the Zenker Brothers. Since being one of, if not the first DJ to regularly play house music in Holland, It seems that Aardvarck might be approaching the end of his 'current' but long running and influential career. In our opinion this would be a huge loss. For now, you can enjoy his Off The Record Mix below.
We've been doing our mix series for 6 years now but, as a lot of you know, we have a wealth of talent working behind the counter or packing your orders. A lot of us DJ, have a radio show or produce music and now we wanted to highlight some of our colleagues and give you an insight into what each of one us like. In the ongoing lockdown, we wanted to shine a light on some our dedicated crew. First up is Govind aka Kylin Tyce - who you will find working most weekends at the shop. You may know some of his releases on Tesselate or OldiVibes where his intricate minimal house and UK Garage-flavoured productions sit proudly on our wall racks! So enjoy an hour of perfectly-mixed house music from Kylin Tyce!
Running Back co-owner Gerd Janson is one of those very few people who get referred to as 'a DJ's DJ' - an aficionado and general nice guy that always delivers the goods whenever you hear him! We are very lucky to finally get Gerd to do a mix for us as part of the Phonica Mix Series, so we hope you enjoy it. He describes the more disco flavoured-mix as "more the 2007 Computer-Incarnations-for-World-Peace-Gerd than the sadly non-existent 2020 Ibiza-Gerd." Read the full feature here: http://offtherecord.net/phonica-mix-series-72-gerd-janson/
North Carolina's Nadia Khan first appeared to us at Phonica when we heard her excellent release on Brooklyn label Scissor & Thread back in 2018, an exercise in subtlety and restraint, which is a delicate balance in a lot of ambient music. A later cassette only release on Where to Now was another example of 'less is more' and that is definitely the ethos of Nadia's mix for Off The Record. So sit back and enjoy almost an hour's sonic journey of melodic ambience and delicate evolving textures . The mix features tracks from D.K. , Huerta, NewWorldaquarium, Fred P, Exael and Christopher Rau, amongst others. Enjoy this immersive deep-listening experience from Nadia Khan. Check out the full feature & trackless at: http://offtherecord.net/off-the-record-mix-series-11-nadia-khan/
Phonica label friends @kassiansound step up for the 71st edition of the Phonica Mix Series with a groove-filled one hour and twenty-minute long recording. Enjoy!
Music From Memory co-founder Jamie Tiller delivers a red-hot club mix for the 70th edition of the Phonica Mix Series. Full feature: bit.ly/phonicamix70
Canadian DJ and producer Adam Feingold aka Ex-Terrestrial joins us for the 10th edition of the Off The Record Mix Series with an extra deep and ambient recording. Enjoy!
Tokyo-based diggers Ken Hidaka and Max Essa have pieced together a blinding Japanese music mix for the 9th edition of the Off The Record Mix Series. Check out the full feature and interview here 👉 bit.ly/OTRMIX9
German-born, London-based producer, label owner and Fabric resident DJ Voigtmann joins us for the 69th edition of the Phonica Mix Series.
Full feature over on Off The Record: bit.ly/phonica-mix-69
British DJ and producer Nebraska returns to Detroit Swindle‘s ever-impressive Heist Recordings for the third time with three disco-tinged dancefloor burners. Over on the flip-side, there’s a solid, ’80s sounding remix from Italian maestro Giovanni Damico to round the package off nicely.
Our pick for the premiere is the extra-lively, woodwind and guitar plucked B-side track ‘Dip & Flip’.
Pre-order your copy here: bit.ly/heist044
Ranging from deep and dubby to bass-heavy and bumpy, Pugilist‘s musical creations have been picked up by such labels as Whities, Zam Zam and Modern Hypnosis in recent years, but it’s his brilliant new three-tracker on DJ Oberman’s Nous’klaer Audio that really caught our attention.
With that in mind, we reached out to see if he would be interested in laying down a mix for us. The result is a chuggy, bass-driven and highly percussive journey through all things dub, slo-mo techno and broken beat, with almost forty tracks crammed into the one hour and thirty-six-minute long recording – many of which unreleased. Enjoy! 🔉 🔊 Full feature: bit.ly/OTRMIX8
The debut release from Spanish DJ and producer /Göo! is set for release early March via Musex Industries - Farmway Records. The EP features five solid original tracks, plus an epic Italo-house flavoured remix from Lauer. This one gets our pick for the remix!
Pre-order a copy here: bit.ly/goojune
Legendary London party brand and DJ and production duo Secretsundaze step up for the 68th edition of the Phonica Mix Series.
Check out the full feature over on Off The Record: bit.ly/PhonicaMix68
Phonica White’s first release gets a long-awaited reissue with a previously unreleased Lord Of The Isles remix!
As the first release on Phonica White back in 2009, ‘Galaxy’ by Japan’s Iori is an expertly crafted piece of dance oor-focused Techno, led by a rolling bassline and crisp hi-hats, with hypnotic melody patterns skittering off the surface. As we described it upon release, it’s a trippy but accessible heads-down affair that has the depth and the bite to do damage at peak-time and in the after-hours alike. A decade later, those words still ring true and as it’s now one of the most sought after records on Phonica White it’s the perfect time to revive it - with a twist.
This time we have freshened up the record by swapping original B-side ‘Urge’ with a previously unreleased remix of ‘Galaxy’ from Lord Of The Isles, the producer behind two of Phonica’s best received 12”s on the main label; ‘Year Of The City’ & ‘Greane / Gigha’. Countering the original’s functional sonics, his remix takes the track in a deeper, widescreen direction, swirling the original’s components around immersive pads and piano.
To keep collectors of the first pressing happy as well as to differentiate the two versions, the label artwork is the same Pedro Carvalho de Almeida design yet inverted and slightly tweaked to re ect the new tracklist and catalogue number.
Tel Aviv based DJ and producer Tai Rona joins us for the latest edition of the Off The Record Mix Series. Full feature coming soon...
Amsterdam-based Jorge Velez unveils his new album on Utter titled ‘The Saturn Star’. Inspired by Coil and Carlos Peron, the New Jersey native recorded the score to an imaginary film based on the tale of a 16th Century Alchemist hunted down by The Inquisition in Western Europe. It follows a string of Velez releases over the past few years for labels such as L.I.E.S, Berceuse Heroique, Creme Organization and Rush Hour. ‘The Saturn Star’ is limited to 250 copies and includes the A5 ‘Systema’ booklet illustrated by Velez. Our pick for the premiere is the gritty and ethereal A-side track ‘Labour’.
Order your copy here: bit.ly/utter4phonica
Check out the full feature over on Off The Record: bit.ly/velezlabour
Strictly speaking, this one isn't a premiere, but we've made an exception for Bluff Records' debut release.
Originally released in 2000 as an extremely limited white label promo, Voy-E's 'Day Off' EP is a little known nugget of gold that was produced during Florida's breakbeat boom in the late '90s. Sadly, due to label complications, this gem never went on to receive the full release it deserved. Luckily for us, newly formed London-based label Bluff Records has stepped in to save the day - having spent months tirelessly tracking down the original label owner, who now resides in North Carolina, USA.
Lovingly restored from the original master CD, the EP consists of three beautifully crafted club tracks, each touching on elements of breakbeat, rave and electro. Our pick for the premiere is the title track 'Day Off'.
Pre-order your copy here: bit.ly/bluffvoye
Aussie DJ, producer and Superconscious Records co-founder Fantastic Man joins us for the 67th edition of the Phonica Mix Series.
Full feature over on Off The Record 👉 bit.ly/PhonicaMix67
London-based DJ and producer Will Lister makes his Of Paradise debut with the expertly crafted 'Glow (Of Paradise)' EP. Our pick for the premiere is the glistening and eery club cut 'Patience'.
Full feature: bit.ly/listerpatience Grab a copy here: bit.ly/listerglow
Known to draw inspiration from the rugged sounds of breakbeat, reggaeton, R&B, rave and house music, Portuguese DJ and producer Silvestre‘s musical creations have been picked up by such labels as Secretsundaze, Diskotopia and Padre Himalaya during the course of his flourishing career so far. His latest offering comes in the form of an extra hot and totally zonked-out six-track EP for R&S affiliated label Meda Fury. Full feature on Off The Record 👉 bit.ly/newcarprem
Pre-order your 12" here: bit.ly/silvmedafury
Australian DJ and producer Roza Terenzi joins us for the 66th edition of the Phonica Mix Series. Full feature over on Off The Record - bit.ly/PhonicaMix66
Perhaps best known for his releases on Periodica and Marguerite Records, South Italian DJ, producer and longtime record collector Filippo Zenna joins us for the sixth edition of the Off The Record Mix Series. Check the full feature over on our editorial site Off The Record - bit.ly/OTRMIX6
The mysterious Seoul-based DJ and producer S.O.N.S joins us for the 65th edition of the Phonica Mix Series. Check out the full feature on our editorial site Off The Record 👉 bit.ly/PhonicaMix65
Curve Records returns for their second outing with an energetic and groove-filled four-tracker from Bristol-based producer Lrusse. Our pick for the premiere is the dancefloor focused remix from Lord Leopard.
Pre-order your copy here: bit.ly/lrusse-curve
@curverecs @lrusse @runlordleopard
Collectively known as Mandar, Lazare Hoche, Malin Genie and S.A.M. step up for the 64th edition of the Phonica Mix Series.
Full feature over on Off The Record 👉 bit.ly/PhonicaMix64
Over the course of the past ten years, Berlin Based DJ and producer Johannes Paluka, otherwise known as Iron Curtis or Achterbahn D’amour, has been pushing his signature style of deep and atmospheric house and techno music with the world via such labels as Retreat, 4 Lux, Hudd Traxx and Acid Test to name a few.
With an excellent new six-track EP about to drop on Office Recordings, Paluka kindly provided us with a superb hour long recording for the 63rd edition of our Mix Series.
Full Feature over on Off The Record - bit.ly/PhonicaMix63
Native Londoner Dego returns to his own 2000 Black imprint with his third full-length album ‘Too Much’ - due for release early September 2019. The eagerly-awaited album features thirteen of Dego’s forward-thinking and genre-defying musical experimentations that touch on elements of soul, funk, jazz, R&B and boogie, and feature an impressive selection of guest singers, songwriters and musicians.
Our pick for the premiere is the silky smooth and blissfully soulful opening track ‘Strong Move For Truth’ which features longtime 2000 Black collaborator Nadine Charles on vocals. Check it!
Check the full feature on Off The Record: bit.ly/degopremiere Pre-order your copy here: bit.ly/dego-toomuch
Lisbon based DJ, producer and Naive label boss Inês Coutinho, aka Violet, steps up for the 62nd edition of the Phonica Mix Series 🙌 bit.ly/PhonicaMix62
Pre-order your copy here: bit.ly/hoshinazangai
Full Off The Record feature coming soon.
The first in a series of three 12" samplers featuring a selection of tracks from our 'Ten Years Of Phonica' compilation, released in 2014.
Tigersushi and Crowdspacer boss Joakim kicks off the first 12" with melancholic masterpiece 'EAHR'. A prolific and sonically diverse producer, his balearic-flavoured remixes over the years for the likes of Antena and Max Berlin shines through on this one. Up next is the enigmatic Panoram, a shop favourite since his brilliant 'Accents' 12" arrived back in 2012. The lysergic 'Alpha Marmara' hits all the right spots once again.
On the b-side edit-masters and rare record connaisseurs Psychemagik contribute the string-laden 'Triumph Of The Gods', an ambitious Axelrod-esque modern funk gem. Finally, Alex Egan resurrects his work as The Draughtsman one last time with the previously unreleased track 'Fade To Green' - a deep, atmospheric house/techno cut recorded during the same 2010/11 sessions as his '1694 EP'.
Amsterdam-based DJ and production partners Detroit Swindle serve up an hour-long disco, boogie and house fuelled recording for the 60th edition of the Phonica Mix Series. Check out the full feature and interview over on Off The Record - bit.ly/PhonicaMix60
We are delighted to welcome a true “DJs DJ” on board for the 59th edition of the Phonica Mix Series. Having held down a long-term residency at Düsseldorf’s number one, free-spirited clubbing destination, Salon Des Amateurs, alongside regular radio appearances on NTS and Radio Cómeme, Lena Willikens’ unique blend of new-wave, techno, industrial and raw house sounds have pushed her to the very forefront of the electronic music scene in recent years.
Full feature, including tracklist, over on Off The Record 👉bit.ly/PhonicaMix_59
Pre-order your copy here: bit.ly/utter3phonica Full feature on Off The Record: bit.ly/PhonicaPremiere80
Pre-order your copy here: bit.ly/farmarama Full feature on Off The Record: bit.ly/PhonicaPremiere79
Full feature including interview and tracklist over on Off The Record 👉 bit.ly/PhonicaMix58
As fans and supporters of the label, we reached out to Alice from Soundway Records to put together a mix for our Off The Record Mix Series. The outcome is a blinding one-hour recording, packed with a selection of '70s and '80s African and Caribbean jewels (with the exception of one DJ Sotofett track). You can check out the mix, interview and tracklist over on Off The Record 👉 bit.ly/OTRMIX3
Pre-order your copy here: bit.ly/dartraxep Full feature on Off The Record: bit.ly/PhonicaPremiere78
Rising Polish DJ and producer Bartosz Kruczyněski is a man of many aliases. His releases come in the form of ambient and minimal leaning works under his own name, sample-based explorations of Polish heritage as one half of Ptaki and new age infused deep house under the ominous title of The Phantom. Bartosz’s musical creations as Earth Trax, often with long-time friend and collaborator Newborn Jr., have been picked up by such labels as Bradley Zero’s Rhythm Section, Lost Palms, Les Yeux Orange and our very own Phonica main label in recent years.
Check out the full feature and interview over on Off The Record: bit.ly/PhonicaMix57
Al Zanders' latest offering on his own A-Z imprint comes in the form of a four-track track split release entitled 'Love Sensations', which he shares with up and coming British producer JVXTA. Our pick for the premiere is the string-heavy disco-house smasher ‘Strings II’.
Pre-order your copy here: bit.ly/loveaz Full feature on Off The Record: bit.ly/PhonicaPremiere77
Off The Record Mix Series 2: Alex Bradley (Utopia Records Home Listening and Healing Mix) by Phonica Records
With no ties to record labels, nor following any specific trends, Dr. Rubinstein is a true DJs DJ, and that’s why we reached out to see if she would be interested in joining our Mix Series. You can check out Marina’s impeccable one-hour techno and electro fuelled mix below. Enjoy!
bit.ly/PhonicaMix56
It’s been 5 years since North Lake delivered the ‘Moonwalker’ 12” on Phonica’s main label and it’s telling that to this day it’s one of the most requested for a repress. That’s not to say he’s been idle in the years since then, his releases for Life & Death, Permanent Vacation and Ellum Audio have cemented his reputation as a trusted producer in the world of leftfield Techno.
North Lake is Michigan-based Isaac Delongchamp and his ‘Hearing Voices’ EP features four tracks that illustrate his influences, stretching from classic Detroit Techno to Deep House and even New Age and Ambient. In fact, these four tracks could work as a story, from the opening title track, ‘Hearing Voices’ through two peak-time housers into the after-hours vibe of the final track.
‘Hearing Voices’ is the standout here based on a beautiful looping keyboard melody which subtly grows, progressing and ascending to a deceptive moment of silence before returning to its original melody. Next up ‘Vibing To Your Vibe’ is a perfect combination of organic and electronic elements with little synth details and an 80s Electro vibe adding to the 4/4 groove.
On the flip, the simple but devastatingly effective Omar S-esque ‘Magic Ride’, the EP’s peak energy moment and the logical follow-up to his first Phonica release with Dixon-favourite ‘Marlborol Noir’. Finally, the record comes to an end with ‘Teenage Heartbreak’, a mellow, classy House production that works just as well on the dancefloor as well as home listening.
The final chapter in Phonica’s 2018 Mix Series comes in the form of an intricate and eclectic 75-minute long recording from Optimo’s JD Twitch.
Check out the mix and interview over on Off The Record 👉 bit.ly/PhonicaMix55
Introducing a new series of mixes from our Off The Record editorial website. The first in the series comes in the form of an hour and ten-minute long techno and electro mix from Berlin-based DJ and producer Blind Observatory. Enjoy!
Interview and tracklist: bit.ly/otrmix1
D.Tiffany and Roza Terenzi each deliver a killer club cut for Berlin-based record label Oscillate Tracks' debut release. Our pick for the premiere is the dreamy B-side remix from Jayda G. Check it below!
Pre-order your copy here: bit.ly/otracks001 Full article on Off The Record: bit.ly/PhonicaPremiere76
Chicago born, New York-based DJ and producer @HoneyDijon delivers a stellar one-hour recording for the 54th edition of the Phonica Mix Series.
Full feature on Off The Record: bit.ly/PhonicaMix54
Joe Danvers-McCabe and Warren Cummings aka @kassiansound make their debut on Detroit Swindle's Heist Recordings with three jazzy and deep original house jams. Our pick for the premiere is the fourth and final cut on the release which comes in the form of an 'after-hours' style remix from NYC house veteran DJ Nature. Check it below!
Pre-order your copy here: bit.ly/kassianheist Full article on Off The Record: bit.ly/PhonicaPremiere75
Label Focus: Groovin Recordings Mixed by Alex De Ponti Check out the full feature and interview here: bit.ly/groovinfocus
Lady Blacktronika's next outing 'Wax Cylinder Only' comes in the form of an extra hot 2xLP from London based label Meda Fury. The first 12" from the double pack features a collection of unreleased dancefloor material, showcasing the tougher side of her 'deep and hard' sound. The second 12" features a handpicked selection of Blacktronika's tracks which were up until now only released digitally.
Packed with classic US house riffs, flickering vocal snippets and a seriously bouncy kick pattern, our pick for the premiere is the A2 track 'Body Move'. Check it below!
Pre-order your copy here: bit.ly/medalady Full article on Off The Record: bit.ly/PhonicaPremiere74
Legowelt takes us on a cosmic one and a half hour trip through the many shades of house, techno, disco and everything in between for the 53rd edition of the Phonica Mix Series.
Full Feature & Interview: bit.ly/PhonicaMix53
Hammer's Ozone EP for Modern Magic features three atmospheric and suspense-filled house cuts. Our pick for the premiere is the four-to-the-floor, synth-heavy and ultra-melodic title track Ozone. Check it out below!
Pre-order your copy here: bit.ly/hammerozone Full article on Off The Record: bit.ly/PhonicaPremiere73
Alongside this exclusive mix for Off The Record, we caught up with Kyoto-born, Berlin-based DJ and producer Alex Kassian to find out a bit more about his past, present and future plans.
Check the full feature and interview here: bit.ly/introkassian
Prequel Tapes returns with a brand new LP on Gaffa Tape Records. Hissing tape loops, distorted kicks and a whole load of melodic synth work across this superb nine tracker. Our pick for the premiere is the title track 'Everything Is Quite Now'.
Pre-order your copy here: bit.ly/prequelnow Full article on Off The Record: bit.ly/PhonicaPremiere72
DJ, producer, educator and curator of three record labels, Ugandan born, Berlin-based Jenifa Mayanja steps up for the 52nd in the Phonica Mix Series. Check the full feature and interview on Off The Record: bit.ly/PhonicaMix52
Ellen Allien’s first solo EP outside of her own BPitch Control imprint is set for release on Boddika’s Nonplus. Our pick for the premiere is the hypnotising, big-room techno cut 'Trigger'. Check out the feature on Off The Record below!
Pre-order your copy here: bit.ly/ellenstand Full article on Off The Record: bit.ly/PhonicaPremiere71
Prolific New York DJ and producer Eli Escobar steps up for the 51st edition of the Phonica Mix Series with a sublime 1 hour and 20 minute long live mix, packed with all kinds of silky smooth house and disco gems.
Check the full feature on Off The Record: bit.ly/PhonicaMix51
Swedish DJ and producer Almaty's debut release 'Gennaro' is an ode to experimental rave icons Andrea Parker and Future Sound Of London. Arriving early August via Violet's Naive imprint, this hot 12" comes with a heavyweight selection of remixes from Octo Octa, Photonz and Endian.
Octo Octa's pounding yet melodic techno re-work is our pick for the premiere. Check it out below!
Pre-order your copy here: bit.ly/almatynaive Full article on Off The Record: bit.ly/PhonicaPremiere70
The 20th release from Nina Kraviz’s трип imprint pays homage to the previously unexplored sub-cultures of 90s electronic dance music, such as hardcore, gabba, acid-techno and ambient. The 'Don't Mess With Cupid, 'Cause Cupid Ain't Stupid' 2xLP features ten original tracks from heavyweight producers Universal Indicator (aka Aphex Twin), Biogen, Exos and Nina Kraviz herself, amongst others.
Our pick for the premiere is the whirring, trippy-techno stomper '3-1 Tap Lush' from Icelandic producer Bjarki. Check it out and pre-order your copy below!
Pre-order your copy here: bit.ly/tripcupid Full article on Off The Record: bit.ly/PhonicaPremiere69
Julius Steinhoff returns to Smallville with his first solo 12" since his excellent Flocking Behaviour LP was released in 2014. The title track 'Along The Coast' is our pick for the premiere. Check it below!
Pre-order your copy here: bit.ly/juliuscoast Full article on Off The Record: bit.ly/PhonicaPremiere68
Widely respected for their fast-paced and hi-energy old-school electro sounds, which were mostly released via their own M.A.P Records imprint throughout the 90s and 00s, DJ Maaco and Odell aka Detroit In Effect have secured a name for themselves as one of Detroit’s most influential duos over the last three decades. Now running things solo, DJ Maaco steps up for the landmark 50th edition of our Phonica Mix Series.
Full feature Off The Record: bit.ly/PhonicaMix50
DJ Boring returns to Shall Not Fade with four feel-good summer jams. Our pick for the premiere is the A1 track, Exotic Feelin'. Check it below.
Pre-order your copy here: bit.ly/fortahn Full article on offtherecord: bit.ly/PhonicaPremiere67
Secretsundaze one of London’s most well known and best loved DJ duos have consistently followed their hearts not the hype. Their party of the same name is still standing tall after 16 years and as DJs they have played many of the best clubs worldwide. It’s only in the last year that they have made it into the studio together having both produced previously separately. Giles as Two Armadillos with the much missed Martin Dawson and James alongside both Marco Antonio Spaventi and Dan Berkson.
‘Still Hope’ is their second single and the follow up to ‘Motorway Jam’ (their double A side with Palms Trax from late last year) which sees them collaborate with Anthony Anaxagorou, a British born Cypriot award winning poet and essayist, whose poetry and fiction have appeared on BBC Newsnight, BBC4, ITV and Vice. Hearing his lyrics via their good friend Simbad, Secretsundaze connected with Anthony and ‘Still Hope’ is the fruit of their labour.
The original is a potent and political spoken word piece delivered over a rolling house groove. Definitely one for the deeper moments with its late night heady feel and full vocal not letting up. The ‘Poems in the Heart’ floor version strips the vocal back and adds dramatic strings for a more direct dance floor approach.
Ex Slum Village Detroit producer Waajeed released a couple of killer EPs in 2017 on his own Dirt Tech Rock imprint so we had to get him aboard for the remix. His ‘Detroit Hardcore Dub’ does what is says on the tin and is a peak time slammer while his ‘Searching Dub’ goes down a jazzier, spacey route with live sounding drums and dreamy pads.
“We’re very happy to be releasing our debut EP on Phonica Records, a store and label close to our hearts, having shopped there since day one and James also working behind the counter in the earlier days. We’ll let Anthony’s words do the talking but suffice to say, it’s been a great experience and opportunity working with him and we’re happy to be able to use our music as a platform to spread some positivity with the world, especially in it’s current sorry state of affairs. There’s Still Hope!” Secretsundaze
For Phonica’s landmark 20th release on the main label we go back to a classic from the same year the shop opened; Stereofuse’s ‘Casino EP’, originally released on Berlin label Salo in 2003.
The ‘Casino EP’ marked the first collaboration between Martin Wörner & Thorsten Diegel as Stereofuse. They followed it up with a string of other 12”s for other labels but it’s this initial 12” that has been fetching high prices second-hand as one of the most sought after releases on Salo and for very good reason. A timeless EP sitting somewhere between house and techno (before tech-house became a disputed tag-line!) with the likes of Ricardo Villalobos & Craig Richards playing it regularly in their sets.
The EP kicks off with ‘Black Jack’, a pacey track which gets stuck in a serious groove. Skittering percussion, short looping samples and a breakbeat-feel in parts. A real tension builder and was a staple in the sets of Daniel Bell for many years. It is followed by ‘Hot Slot’, a techy dancefloor stomper led by a bouncing bassline and some intricate rhythmic patterns. The sweeping sound effects on this are bound to do some damage on a big system!
On the flip is the other killer track on the EP - ‘Royal Flash’ is an understated and hypnotic minimal gem. The percussion and synth stabs give this track a sense of continuous forward motion whilst the long, soothing pads keep it firmly planted in the ground. ‘Pokerface’ closes the EP with expansive, luscious pads and circling delay, gently underpinned by a deep bassline.
While Thorsten and Martin eventually went their separate ways to work on their own individual projects, with renewed interest in the Stereofuse project this timely reissue could well mark a starting point for future collaborations. This record is also the first in a series of EPs released to commemorate 15 years of the Phonica Records shop in Soho, London.
French label Hard Fist returns with a solid various artists release entitled ‘Princes Of Azbu’. The release features five Middle-Eastern flavoured cuts from five producers from five different corners of the globe. Our pick for the premiere comes from London based producer Timothy Clerkin of Eskimo Twins fame. Clerkin’s track fuses together the dispersant worlds of psychedelic guitar music and dark, eery acid, creating a hypnotising yet totally dancefloor-worthy jam. Check it below!
Pre-order your copy here: bit.ly/VAabzu Full article on offtherecord: bit.ly/PhonicaPremiere66
Following releases on such labels as Uncanny Valley, Pets Recordings and U Know Me in recent years, Polish producer Eltron provides the latest EP on Grego After All's UNDERTHESEA imprint. The Le Volte EP features three dancefloor focused house cuts. In addition to Eltron's original tracks, Basic Soul Unit supplies our pick for the premiere on the flip - packed with booming distorted kicks, rave-inspired stabs and a wide array of atmospheric pads, perfect for those peak-time, darkroom DJ sets. Check it below!
Pre-order your copy here: bit.ly/eltronBSU Full article on offtherecord: bit.ly/PhonicaPremiere65
Parisian producer Brawther celebrates ten years of releases with his first ever studio album 'Transient States' on his own imprint Negentropy. Our pick for the premiere is the floaty, summertime groover 'Brudan In Leeds'. Check it below!
Pre-order your copy here: bit.ly/transientbrawther Full article on offtherecord: bit.ly/PhonicaPremiere64
For the 47th edition of the Phonica Mix Series, we welcome Swedish DJ, producer and leader of the infamous Studio Barnhus crew, Axel Boman.
Full feature and interview on Off The Record: bit.ly/PhonicaMix47
Tsuba returns with an official reissue of Westworld’s 1991 classic ‘Dreamworld' featuring a selection of Gerd Janson edits. Janson's piano-laden edit of 'Dreamworld' is our pick for the premiere. Check it below!
Pre-order your copy here: bit.ly/westworldjanson Full article on offtherecord: bit.ly/PhonicaPremiere63
Dublin-based producer Lerosa is up next as an extra bonus edition in our Mix Series. For this chapter, he takes us back to the nineties with almost two hours of dreamy techno and ambient selections.
Check the interview on Off The Record: bit.ly/BonusLerosa
Detroit native Waajeed delivers a four-track EP dedicated to his mother on Carl Craig's iconic Planet E imprint. The title track 'Mother' is our pick for the premiere!
Pre-order your copy here: bit.ly/waajeedmother Full article on offtherecord: bit.ly/PhonicaPremiere62
The legendary ‘Voice of Q’ by Q is getting a much-deserved reissue via Isle Of Jura. On the B-side lies the previously unreleased track, ‘Keep it Strong.’ With dreamy piano stabs, a heavy dose of dubby mastering and a funk-laden housey bassline, this track feels brand new, making it our sure-fire pick for this week’s premiere. We also caught up for a quick chat with Michael Forte of Q for a rare interview. Check it on Off The Record...
Pre-order your copy here: bit.ly/VoiceQJura Full article on offtherecord: bit.ly/PhonicaPremiere61
For the 46th edition of the Phonica Mix Series, we welcome long-time Salon Des Amateurs resident and curator of the Offen imprint, Vladimir Ivkovic.
Full feature and interview on Off The Record: bit.ly/PhonicaMix46
Welsh producer Harrison BDP debuts on vinyl-only imprint Lost Palms with an immersive, deep and dark four-track EP. 'Contact Light' is our pick for the premiere!
Pre-order your copy here: bit.ly/Palms012 Full article on offtherecord: bit.ly/PhonicaPremiere60
LA producer Grant teams up with Swiss producer Dan Piu for a new 3xLP collaboration, Theory of Movement. 'Life Without Fear' is our pick for the premiere!
Pre-order your copy here: bit.ly/TOMLP Full article on offtherecord: bit.ly/PhonicaPremiere59
Spearhead of the Ata Kak band, Rememory Music label curator and Worldwide FM resident, Esa, steps up for the 45th edition of the Phonica Mix Series!
Full feature and interview on Off The Record: bit.ly/PhonicaMix45
Brooklyn based producer FaltyDL serves up three purpose-built dancefloor cuts on the longstanding UK imprint Hypercolour. 'Medium Size Room' is our pick for the premiere!
Pre-order your copy here: bit.ly/Falty3Rooms Full article on offtherecord: bit.ly/PhonicaPremiere58
One of our favourite London diggers, edit-master and Phonica alumni, Jonny Rock, kindly provided us with an hour long, chuggy and jam-packed mix for our bonus series. Check it out!
Fort Romeau and Ali Tillett's Cin Cin imprint enters 2018 with a fresh and innovative split release from Lauer and The Golden Filter. Arumba is our pick for the premiere!
Pre-order your copy here: bit.ly/CinCin10 Full article on offtherecord: bit.ly/PhonicaPremiere57
One half of Masters At Work and iconic NYC house DJ and producer, Louie Vega, steps up for the 44th edition of the Phonica Mix Series. What better way to start 2018?!
Check the full feature and interview on off the record: bit.ly/PhonicaMix44
NYC house veteran Fred P is back with three stellar reshapes on Cassy's newly founded Kwench Records. The 'Fixation Mix' is our pick for the premiere!
Pre-order your copy here: bit.ly/CassyFredP Full article on offtherecord: bit.ly/PhonicaPremiere56
We have a new release coming out on Phonica Records on 10th November, so thought of sending it your way for consideration for a premiere.
We are proud to present the ‘Song For Mr. Lewis’, a new record from Austin Ato!
Austin Ato may be an unfamiliar name to most right now but you will have undoubtedly heard his music before. The man behind the mask - Colin Bailey - has a decade of music production experience under his belt using aliases such as Drums Of Death, Frankie Dreams and The Slumberjack. Following on from his recent 12” on Futureboogie, Phonica White unveils the fantastic ‘Song For Mr. Lewis EP’.
Happy Thanksgiving, one and all! Genre-defying, rising-talent Afriqua makes his R&S Records debut with a deep and captivating four track EP entitled Aleph. 'Thanksgiving' is our pick for the premiere!
Pre-order your copy here: bit.ly/AlephEP Full article on offtherecord: bit.ly/PhonicaPremiere55
Scottish genre-bending stalwart Neil Landstrumm links up with Central Processing Unit to bring us four club-ready and bass heavy cuts which harp back to the short-lived, but much loved, ‘bleep techno’ era. 'Tomorrow People' is our pick for the premiere!
Pre-order your copy here: bit.ly/LandstrummCPU Full article on offtherecord: bit.ly/PhonicaPremiere54
One half of Genius Of Time, Nils Krogh aka Arkajo offers up a mesmerising three track EP to mark the occasion of Aniara Recordings 20th release.
Pre-order your copy here: bit.ly/FathomlessMusic Full article on offtherecord: bit.ly/PhonicaPremiere53
Berlin-based DJ and producer Marquis Hawkes delivers a jam-packed disco mix for the 42nd edition of the Phonica Mix Series!
As usual, full feature and interview on offtherecord: bit.ly/PhonicaMix42
Dan Schey launches his brand new 'Thina' imprint - a record label with an interesting background story and cause. The fast-paced, deep and thought-provoking 'Bree Street Corner' featuring London duo Dark Sky is our pick for the premiere!
Pre-order your copy here: bit.ly/Thina01 Full article on offtherecord: bit.ly/PhonicaPremiere52
Phonica label friend Earth Trax teams up with Newborn Jr. for a hot-to-trot four tracker on Parisian imprint Les Yeux Orange. Nemesis is our pick for the premiere!
Pre-order your copy here: bit.ly/LYOMirage Full article on offtherecord: bit.ly/PhonicaPremiere51
Session Victim's Hauke Freer is known to bring a record bag filled with everything, new and old, things between house, disco and soul when getting behind the turntables.
His vinyl mix for Phonica ranges from recent 2000 black dub vibes to favourite deep house cuts by Christopher Rau or Laurence Guy, paving the road with all sorts of tunes from sweet and dreamy to edgy and eclectic.
The result is as danceable as it is fun to just listen to - and we strongly recommend to try both!
Californian producer Urulu's latest offering on his Amadeus imprint is our pick for the premiere. It's a warm, broken beat experiment with a nod towards the sounds of early eighties electro.
Pre-order your copy here: bit.ly/ArmadilloEP Full article on offtherecord: bit.ly/PhonicaPremiere50
Azymuth's Ivan Conti gets three percussive, future-centric and club-ready remixes on Far Out Recordings. Glenn Astro's wild and jazzy contribution is our pick for the premiere!
Pre-order your copy here: bit.ly/AzulRemixes Full article on offtherecord: bit.ly/PhonicaPremiere49
Düsseldorf native, Salon Des Amateurs resident and man of many names – Wolf Müller aka Jan Schulte aka Bufiman is next in line for the Phonica Mix Series!
As usual, full feature and interview on offtherecord: http://bit.ly/PhonicaMix41
Midnight Themes and Retrograde Records' Marlon Hoffstadt dishes up a tasty 4 tracker for Ransom Note Records. Batavus is our pick for the premiere.
Pre-order your copy here: bit.ly/MarlonObserving Full article on offtherecord: bit.ly/PhonicaPremiere48
Phonica Records Special Editions in association with Play It Again Sam is delighted to present the incredible Quiet Village remix of Agnes Obel’s ‘Stretch Your Eyes’, lifted from the Danish born, Berlin based singer songwriter’s critically acclaimed 3rd studio album ‘Citizen of Glass’.
Obel was at an early age guided into music by the influence of her parents, who would play and listen to a blend of the classical greats, folk music and contemporary pop. She learnt to play piano as a child but it was her move to Berlin in 2006 that prompted her to take her music to the next level. Her debut Philharmonics was released in 2010, a quiet phenomenon that spent seven consecutive weeks at number 1 and sold in excess of 100,000 copies in her homeland alone. The release of ‘Aventine’ in 2013 cemented her status as a household name across Europe and as an icon to piano players throughout the world.
Quiet Village are the British duo of long-time record-collector and DJ Joel Martin and Matt Edwards, the house and techno producer known as Radio Slave and the head of the Rekids label. They came to our attention with a series of highly sought after twelves on the DJ Harvey-related Whatever We Want label from New York, alongside excellent remixes of The Osmonds, Toby Tobias, Black Devil Disco Club and Francois K before releasing their acclaimed album on K7 Records in 2008. After a break from using the Quite Village name, the duo are back with a bang and recently graced the Phonica White label with a fantastic techno 12” ‘Social Music’ / ‘Change’.
Needless to say, Quiet Village were the first producers Phonica thought of when looking for remixes for this project and their slow, dark, dub-heavy atmospheric groove perfectly compliments Agnes’s vocal, with echoes of Massive Attack’s timeless ‘Teardrops’ coming to mind. It’s one of the finest remixes we’ve heard in recent memory and we’re proud to present it as a limited 12” on the Special Editions label.
South London sibling duo and In Dust We Trust label curators Chaos In The CBD are next up for the Phonica Mix Series!
As usual, full feature and interview on offtherecord: http://offtherecord.net/phonica-mix-series-40-chaos-in-the-cbd/
South Londoners FYI Chris are back with a heavy acid remix. Drop the Beat is our pick for this week's premiere.
Pre-order your copy here: bit.ly/VersusII Full article on offtherecord: bit.ly/PhonicaPremiere47
It's Phonica podcast time! Callum & Sam step up for the August edition, armed with some of their favourite releases that have recently landed in store.
Tracklist at offtherecord: offtherecord.net/phonica-podcast-65-august-2017/
London based Lorca returns with a jam packed 4 tracker on Live Ones. No Chains On Me is our pick for the premiere!
Pre-order your copy here: bit.ly/LorcaTribute Full article on offtherecord: bit.ly/PhonicaPremiere46
With their sophomore album about to drop, the Tel Aviv duo Red Axes deliver an exclusive mix for the August instalment of our Mix Series.
As usual, full feature, including tracklist and interview on offtherecord: http://offtherecord.net/phonica-mix-series-39-red-axes/
Australian 5-piece The Possé are up next on Ken Oath with a killer three track EP. The title track 'Season's Greetings' is arguably the heaviest track in the Ken Oath catalogue and our pick for this week's premiere.
Pre-order your copy here: bit.ly/KEN004 Full article on offtherecord: bit.ly/PhonicaPremieres45
The Podcast it’s back! Miles picks his favourite summery jams for the July edition. ⛱ 😎
As usual full tracklist on offtherecord.net/phonica-podcast-64-july-2017/
Red Axes return with a new psychedelic cosmic adventure. Lifted from their forthcoming sophomore album, Piper Work is our pick for this week's premiere.
Pre-order your copy here: bit.ly/TheBeachGothsLP Full article on offtherecord: bit.ly/PhonicaPremieres44
Norway's Skatebård sprinkles his magic over the first outing of Primitive Trust, a new collaboration between Will Saul and Tee Mango.
Pre-order your copy here: bit.ly/AUS116 Full article on offtherecord: bit.ly/PhonicaPremieres43
Swiss-born Turk Mehmet Aslan is up next for July’s edition of our Mix Series.
As usual, full feature, including tracklist and interview on offtherecord.net: bit.ly/PhonicaMixSeries38
The mysterious E. Myers embarks his 4th White label mission.
Pre-order your copy here: bit.ly/ESTY004 Full article on offtherecord: bit.ly/PhonicaPremieres41
The Phonica Podcast it’s back for its June edition! Juan aka @jonjewel delves into the racks to select the finest post-election releases.
As usual, full tracklist on our site: offtherecord.net/phonica-podcast-63-june-2017
Peggy Gou continues her meteoric rise with a mesmerising remix of Jimpster's second single from the acclaimed Silent Stars LP.
Pre-order your copy here: bit.ly/Peggy6AMmix Full article on offtherecord: bit.ly/PhonicaPremieres40
Phonica’s white label series returns with a real deep house excursion by Chilean producer Massiande in the form of his ‘Freedom EP’.
Massiande is an artist of multicultural roots. He was born in Santiago, Chile, yet he has lived most of his life alongside US American people and has Dutch family roots, which has greatly affected the way he perceives and lives music. Growing as a big fan of US Soul, Jazz and Disco, he found his way into music production through House and his biggest influences have been artists such as Larry Heard, Ron Trent and Chris Brann (aka Wamdue Project).
After a well-received, excellently-produced EP on Aroy Dee’s MOS Recordings and another on Rawax offshoot Housewax, the ‘Freedom EP’ is a strong 4-track conceptual record based on the feeling of freedom in life and, for Massiande, how it relates to house music.
The title track “Freedom” launches the EP attempts to recreate an aural scenery of flying exploration centred on a spacey synth line and an almost Detroit techno bassline. “Be With Me” starts with an almost Mr Fingers-esque groove before melodic elements take over.”Straight” is more of a straight-up dancefloor track with obvious elements from US house from the 90s, clipped Chandler-esque beats, nagging stabs and a vocal sample ‘Gonna take you to another land, where there is no race’, going straight to a place where you can allow yourself to be free on the dancefloor. Many ‘90s U.S. American House and Garage influences go through this track, which brings us to the final track, the epic “Ode To A Tortured Soul”. Deeply melancholic with an end-of-night feel with its own flute solo, channelling Frankie Knuckles ‘The Whistle Song’ or Flow’s Bottom Line classic ‘ Another Time’! Rounding off a strong EP.
RBMA alumni Alleged Witches delivers some fine voodoo drum work outs on Meda Fury. Vinyl only!
Pre-order your copy here: bit.ly/MFV-03 Check the full article on our blog: bit.ly/PhonicaPremieres39
Detroit legend Rick Wade steps up for this week's premiere with a jazz fuelled cut on vinyl only imprint @ShallNotFade.
Pre-order your copy here: bit.ly/SNF014 Check the full article on our blog: bit.ly/PhonicaPremieres38
Edit specialist and dj extraordinaire Jonny Rock revisits ORM's Muj Sampion, recently reissued by Little Beat Different. This one will be a surefire dancefloor favourite in many discotheques around the world!
Pre-order your copy here: bit.ly/ORMEdits Check the full article on our blog: bit.ly/PhonicaPremieres37
For April’s instalment of the Phonica Mix Series, Luca Lozano steps up with an impeccable selection of breakbeat infused house and bleepy techno.
As usual, full feature, including tracklist and interview on our blog -> bit.ly/PhonicaMixSeries36
Tbilisi's Gacha Bakradze debuts on Cin Cin with a summery deep house jam.
We have a few Test Pressings available for the early birds, but don't worry if you missed out, you can still pre-order the record here:
bit.ly/CinCin07 bit.ly/CinCin07TP
Check the full article on our blog: bit.ly/PhonicaPremieres36
The Phonica Podcast is back just in time for Easter weekend! Post Master Callum (@callummclean-1) selects the best vinyl that has landed recently on our shelves.
As usual, full tracklist on the blog -> bit.ly/PhonicaPodcast61
Africa Seven delivers this week's premiere, lifted from their forthcoming compilation Afrosonique Vol.1 - the first instalment of a series of compilations bridging African tracks from the 70s and 80s with the most talented artists of today.
Check the full feature on our blog: bit.ly/PhonicaPremieres35 Pre-order your copy here: bit.ly/Afrosonique01
Next up on the Mix Series, German maestro Move D !!
From his left field, experimental beginnings in the late 80s through to his live techno jams with Magic Mountain High and disco-inflected DJ sets, David Moufang has cemented his reputation as one of the most versatile artists on the scene.
As usual, full feature, including tracklist and interview on our blog -> bit.ly/PhonicaMixSeries35
Introducing @reachrecordz, a new UK based imprint aiming to bring you atmospheric and emotional treats that toe the line between bass heavy, electro leaning, house & techno and everything in between.
The label’s first outing comes from the duo Thread. We've picked the final cut on the EP for this week's premiere: Heavy bassline, crunchy electro percussions and sci-fi atmospheric pads rounding off the first release in style.
Check the full feature on our blog: bit.ly/PhonicaPremieres34 Pre-order your copy here: bit.ly/REACH001
The Phonica Podcast is back just in time for the weekend! Our very own Sam (@djinsanedeelay) woke up really early yesterday to get ahead of the curve and grab the freshest wax outta the plant.
As usual, full tracklist on the blog -> bit.ly/PhonicaPodcast60
The Casino Edits series continues with more disco-inspired DJ tools. For this week's premiere we have picked the A-Side of the third instalment on the label: an early blues classic converted into an unconventional 'flamenco-italo' hybrid by London-based duo Casino Times.
Check the full feature on our blog: bit.ly/PhonicaPremieres33 Pre-order your copy here: bit.ly/CasinoEdits003
British electronic music composer and producer Luke Vibert delivers the latest instalment of the Phonica Mix Series!
Full feature on our blog -> bit.ly/PhonicaMixSeries-34
This one may sound familiar if you checked Lone's excellent contribution to our Mix Series. Speed Boat's Tool 003 was one of the highlights of the mix and we have been waiting eagerly since to get our hands on The Nail Shop first offering.
Check the full feature on our blog: bit.ly/PhonicaPremieres32 Pre-order your copy here: bit.ly/NAIL001
The Phonica podcast is back!! For the second instalment of 2017, Callum has selected some of the finest wax that has landed recently on our shelves.
Full tracklist on our blog -> bit.ly/PhonicaPodcast59
Barcelona's finest Hivern Discs presents a spooky jam by Romanian duo Khidja.
Check the full feature on our blog: bit.ly/PhonicaPremieres31 Pre-order your copy here: bit.ly/HVN-039
Phonica Records is extremely proud to unveil the next release on its Special Editions imprint; the stunning debut album ‘Vuduwave’ by Niños Indigo.
Niños Indigo is the alias of audiovisual artist Valeria Hernandez. Developed over the course of a month, the album was recorded in Hernandez’s home country of Chile and recorded in a single week, resulting in a flowing, organic yet otherwordly listening experience.
Valeria explains; “This record is a compilation of influences that have been inside me a long time... they keep coming back; Afro drums, Hindu instruments, Candombe, Psychedelia in South America. The rhythm of what surrounds me; the lake, the forest near where I live, the calm that surrounds it, the love of my friends and daughter. All of these feelings are what I like to put in my songs, a reminder to value the simple, to seize the resources that I have and to try and free myself of what’s on my mind.”
Originally released on digital and cassette label Discos Cetaceos in 2014, it’s a recording that truly deserves to be given a new lease of life on vinyl.
After a string os successful releases by the likes of Mall Grab, Hugo Jay or LK, label co-founder Viers returs to Hokkaido Dance Club for the fourth instalment of the Leeds based imprint.
Check the full feature on our blog: bit.ly/PhonicaPremieres30 Pre-order your copy here: bit.ly/HDC-004
Next up on the Phonica Premieres the London-based imprint @eglo_records delivers a sweet 7" of modern boogie/funk.
Check the full feature on our blog: bit.ly/PhonicaPremieres29 Pre-order your copy here: bit.ly/EGLO54
For the premier appearance of the year on the Phonica Premieres, we have selected a certainly soulful track by one man band Sofa Talk.
Pre-order your copy here: bit.ly.com/ANMA004 Check the full feature on our blog: bit.ly/PhonicaPremieres28
Stockholm’s finest Henrik Bergqvist delivers the first instalment of the year for the Mix Series!
Check out the full feature + interview on our blog -> bit.ly/PhonicaMixSeries32
For the last premiere of the year we bring you an excerpt of The Mystic Jungle Tribe's first ever live performance, recorded in Naples back in 2015 and forthcoming on vinyl as a mini-album on the ever reliable Going Good records. Find out more on our blog: bit.ly/PhonicaPremieres27 Pre-order your copy here: bit.ly/GOOD09
The latest Phonica Premiere is from Jesse Futerman, part of a wave of artists hailing from Toronto that are really starting to hit their stride. Find out more on our blog: bit.ly/PhonicaPremieres-26
San Francisco collective Honey Soundsystem step up for the last instalment of the year of our mix series!
Tracklist and full interview on our blog: bit.ly/PhonicaMixSeries31
The White Man & The Arab step up for this weeks premiere. Comprised of Ben Micklewright aka BLM (of Fear Of Flying fame) and Phonica's very own Souhail Zaatari aka Soho, the two have spent months back and forth between London & the Derby countryside crafting their fifth release, the exchange ep - a four-track selection of hypnotic deep cuts.
Pre-order your copy here: bit.ly/WMA-005 Check the full feature on our blog: bit.ly/PhonicaPremieres25
Happy days! This week we have an extra installment in our mix series as we're celebrating the re-instatement of Fabric's licence with a very special mix from Jamie Jones.
Jamie has been a regular at the shop pretty much since we opened back in 2003 and also a Fabric stalwart for over 10 years now, so it felt natural to join efforts for #saveourculture.
Check out the mix and read the full interview with Jamie on our blog: bit.ly/PhonicaxSaveourculture
As 2017 fast approaches, Apollonia Music drop their latest release courtesy of iO Mulen, the Ukrainian prodigy who first appeared on the label at the beginning of 2016. Eleven months on and he's back with a hefty six-track package that's sure to keep you moving right thru to the new year.
Pre-order your copy here: bit.ly/APO026 Read the full article on our blog: bit.ly/PhonicaPremieres24
The Phonica podcast is back for its November edition! Simon and Michal taking the reins this month, selecting the best wax that have landed recently on our shelves.
Full tracklist and info on our blog -> bit.ly/PhonicaPodcast57
The latest Phonica Premiere features Liem and Eddie Ness on Banoffee Pies Records. The duo are no strangers to reducing dancefloors to smouldering rubble with their Lehult imprint. Bristol based Banoffee Pies seem like the perfect host for their back to basics approach. Formula Rossa is a space-bound analog jam for the lovers and the dancers. But let's allow the music to do the talking...
This month’s Phonica Mix Series is presented by UK producer, Lone.
Over a production career spanning nearly 10-years, Lone – AKA Matt Cutler –, has carved a reputation as an old-school beat-maker with prodigious production talent. His latest album, Levitate, is a breakbeat-heavy belter, transcending the boundaries between drum and bass and classic UK House. It’s a tasty throwback to the nineties and, akin to his previous work, is peppered with several contemplative, downtempo tracks – just enough to let you relax before being swooped back to a Hacienda-headspace.
Check the full article and interview (including track list) on our blog: bit.ly/PhonicaMixSeries30
This month's Phonica Premiere sees California-native Urulu step up with the inaugural release for brand new label South Street.
Pre-order your copy here: bit.ly/SOUTH001 Read the full article on our blog: bit.ly/PhonicaPremieres22
The Phonica podcast is back for its October edition! This month we have our trusty companions Vangelis and Callum on the controls taking you on an enlightening musical odyssey with some of the gems that have landed recently on our shelves.
Full tracklist and info on our blog: bit.ly/PhonicaPodcast56
Amsterdam-based duo Beesmunt Soundsystem step up for this week’s premiere with a peak time track on San Francisco’s label Honey Soundsystem.
Pre-order your copy here: bit.ly/HNY-13 Read the full article on our blog: bit.ly/PhonicaPremieres21
Youandewan on the controls this month for the latest addition to the Phonica Mix Series!
Ewan Smith has been consistently forging his own tender brand of deep house since 2009. Thanks to some first-class remixes and some skilled original productions on well-regarded labels such as AUS Music, Hypercolour, secretsundaze or Simple, the Berlin via Yorkshire DJ and producer is compiling an increasingly impressive discography.
Check the full article and the interview on our blog: bit.ly/PhonicaMixSeries29
Spooky J, the mask hiding a man of rhythm. An internationally experienced Jazz percussionist and composer based in Leeds, whose originality and experimentation has spearheaded Blip Discs' darkest, most outlandish and hands-on dispatch to date.
No samples, only original recordings and found-sounds, and Spooky-J's fascinating approach to Doepfer synth, tam-tam, field recorded Avignonese cows and burgled suburbs in Leeds, kalimba, brush snare... entirely originally recorded tracks seamlessly synthesised and orchestrated - dancefloor gelignite, handle with care as it may cause spontaneous combustion.
Phonica have the privilege of premiering flipside 'Pfer'. We really love the freaky alien soundscapes contrasted with down-tempo jungle beats. It makes us think of what Soichi Terada soundtracking the ritual sacrifice of humans by alien apes that had successfully taken over the planet would sound like... Dayum!
http://bit.ly/PhonicaPremieres20
After a sell out release with the man of the hour – Mall Grab, Hokkaido Dance Club return with a Various Artists 12" featuring four deep and dusty cuts from up and coming producers from New York to New Zealand.
Solid third offering from the Leeds-based label run by Viers (aka LK) and Don Found that includes the standout 'Call You' by Hugo Jay, a deep, mellow house track with soft pads and a catchy vocal sample that serves as the perfect end of the summer soundtrack.
The Auckland producer has recently released his debut LP via London-based collective Coastal Haze - available only on cassette or digital, and we foresee that his second release is going to sell quickly so make sure you reserve your copy ahead of the official release on the 23th of September. http://bit.ly/PhonicaPremieres017
Following his acclaimed debut, "Radio Days", Danish producer Uffe Christensen returns to Tartelet Records whith his second LP “No!”. Every bit as abundant as his first LP, it's a record that scales polyrhythmic percussion, improvised jazz, & billowing ballads.
His new record is cut in the same spirit as the last: a borderless approach to music-making with organic instrumentation at its heart. Genres collide peaceably – off-beat soul with jazz, hip-hop with the heft of house – and are melded smooth with an earthy warmth. Uffe enjoys his place on the perimeter – an outlier searching critically for something closer to a timeless groove. Far from a churn of simple dance floor fodder, the album is a journey through a consummate narrative.
Phonica Records get the scoop on one of the LP's standout tracks - "Lesser Known Values", featuring an irresistible warbling jazz breakdown.
“No!” will be available on 2xLP (with bonus 7”) plus digital download and streaming formats from 14 October but you can pre-order your copy here to make sure you don't miss out. bit.ly/TARTALB6 bit.ly/PhonicaPremieres19
Phonica are proud to premiere a remix from Detroit hero Andrés reworking the trademark low-slung house of Bristol duo Outboxx. With previous releases on fellow West Country labels Futureboogie and Idle Hands, Outboxx debut here on Hypercolour, completing their Bristol label hat trick.
Andrés requires little introduction, with timeless releases on his own La Vida label and Kenny Dixon Jnr’s Mahogani Music and KDJ labels. The revered producer stamps his signature all over his version with gentle adjustments of the original, putting a greater focus on the scintillating pads and offering a beach-side alternative to the more melodic Original Mix.
You can reserve your copy here to guarantee not missing out on another future classic: bit.ly/PhonicaPremieres18
Stepping up to the decks this month for the latest addition to the Phonica Mix Series is Melbourne's Bell Towers. We were first introduced to Rohan's records back in 2013 when he released 'Tonight I'm Flying' for Prins Thomas' Full Pup sub-label. Since then he's become one of Public Possession's most prolific producers. Before relocating to London he cut his teeth throwing the infamous Bamboo Musik parties that were legendary for their elaborate themes and hedonistic atmosphere and now Rohan seems to bring the Bamboo vibe with everywhere he plays. Earlier this year the Phonica crew were lucky enough to catch him playing for ReviveHER and his set is still fresh in our minds for the good-time vibes, daring track selection and bold dance moves. From that night forward we knew we had to get him on-board. Listen to the mix and check out the mini-interview and the full tracklist on the blog ---> j.mp/PhonicaMixSeries28