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| Best Of 2014 |
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This was the year of the reissue - and not only long player reissues. We decided not to feature 7inch and 12inch reissues in this chart - as there were so many, but a special mention should go to the excellent 7inch reissues of the Athens of the North label.
Its very hard to compare a 1970s African reissue that not many people have heard with a reissue of the classic ambient album from Dj Sprinkles from only a few years back or the Boards of Canada re-issues from this year. All these re-issues have shown that the labels re-issuing them have done it with love : lavish artwork, 180gram vinyl and extensive sales notes have become what we expect in this area. Enjoy all these excellent re-issues!On to the albums though, and the label that won us over with their reissue gems was Music from Memory - two stunning ambient / Bealearic gens from Joan Bibilioni and Gigi Masin! Excellent african reissues from William Onyearbor, Mamaan Sani and Hailu Megia alongside little-known Greek gems from Vangelis Katzoulis and George Theodorakis. |
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20 . George Theodorakis - Rules Of The Game - Into The Light Into the Light Records continue to shine light on the undiscovered heritage of Greek electronic music, highlighting the work of prolific Greek composer George Theodorakis on the label's third archival release. |
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19 . Hailu Mergia & The Walias - Tche Belew - Awesome Tapes From Africa The long-anticipated re-release of “Tche Belew,” Hailu Mergia and the Walias’ 1977 instrumental jazz and groove recording set against the backdrop of post-revolution Ethiopia. |
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18 . Vangelis Katzoulis - Sleeping Beauties - Into The Light After featuring him on Into The Light's highly acclaimed 2012 compilation of Greek electronic music with one short track, Ilias Pitsios and Tako Reyenga go deep into the archives of Vangelis Katsoulis, to reveal his unique and visionary take on electronic music. |
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17 . Various Artist - 1970s Algerian Folk & Pop - Sublime Frequencies Sublime Frequencies is thrilled to present a 2nd volume of classic tracks from Algeria’s popular music history. Where volume 1 focused on the early to mid-1970s Rai scene in western Algeria, this album features a variety of pop and folk styles from that same period. |
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16 . Boban Petrovic - Zora - Diskos Extremely rare album of Yugoslav weirdo-disco from local legend Boban Petrovic as officially re-issued by Belgrade's Disco Not Disco crew and Boban himself. One of the most idiosyncratic and strangely captivating things we've heard in a while. These didn't last long in the shop! |
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15 . William Onyeabor - Box Sets 1& 2 - Luaka Bop We can't choose between the two box sets from the elusive Nigerian synth-funk pioneer William Onyeabor. All these albums were self-released between 1977 and 1985 — remastered and officially available for the first time. |
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14 . Jovonn - Goldtones - CLONE CLASSIC CUTS More then 20 years after their original release dates these tunes are still very relevant and stand for many things we love about house music! Stone cold classic Chicago house remastered by Alden Tyrell. |
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13 . Drexciya - Journey Of The Deep Sea Dweller Iv - CLONE CLASSIC CUTS Early catalogue of one of the most groundbreaking and influential techno acts ever... Raw, uncompromising music made with soul and creativity that has always been the trademark of Drexciya. |
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12 . Colin Potter - Entering Again - Sacred Summits Five tracks of drone and loopy minimalism, based on the cassette-only album out in 1982 on A Gain. The beautiful, mesmerising opener, On Entering York Minster, sets the stage. Gorgeous, silk-screened sleeves. |
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11 . Lewis - L'amour - Light In The Attic In 1983, a man named Lewis recorded an album named L’Amour, which was released on the unknown label R.A.W. And that’s about all we know. The record itself is a delicate, whispered album, reflecting the way the artist himself – spectral, movie star-like – almost disappears into the grey of the cover. |
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10 . Steve O'Sullivan - Mosaic - Sushitech Long-awaited Monster repress of Sushitech back catalogue from 2008! Sushitech and Yossi Amoyal brings more loved material to the surface again for those who missed out on these the first time or those who are new to Steve O'Sullivan's pure techno grooves. There was a remix album too! |
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9 . SND - Reissues - SND
A series of three extended reissues from SND, three x 2 LP, remastered from DAT tapes by Rashad Becker at D&M. Clickhouse? Microhouse? ESSENTIAL! 'Travelogue' is highlighted here but all 3 deserve a spot in the chart - also sek out 'TPlay' and 'Newtables'. |
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8 . Mamaan Sani - Tarritt - Sahel Sounds Cosmic synth. Polyphonic analog synthesizers and drum machines interpret ancient Saharan folk ballads in an imagined science fiction future. A proposed relaxation guide, sonically lying somewhere between ambient library music and minimal wave. If only they did a repress, this went with a blink of an eye in the Summer. |
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7 . Donna Mcghee - Make It Last Forever - Groove Line Records Donna McGhee’s only solo album was produced by Dance legends Greg Carmichael and Patrick Adams. To this day, the underground disco classic remains in demand with rare mint copies selling for up to £120 on eBay, etc. We where happy when Groove Line Records decided to release the first ever official vinyl reissue of the album in a deluxe 2xLP edition for Record Store Day! |
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6 . Keyboard - Hungry Man - Soundway Recordings Originally recorded for the EMI Nigeria label and produced by legendary producer Odion Iruoje 'Keyboard' was a one-off studio project formed by Brodricks Majuwa and Isaac Digha from circa 1978. Easily Phonica's favourite African album of the year. |
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5 . Jone Takamaki Trio - Universal Mind - Arc Light Editions Arc Light Editions follows up two successful vinyl only releases with Jone Takamäki Trio’s Universal Mind, a forgotten Finnish spiritual improv record from 1982, fully authorised by Jone himself . The soundtrack to many a morning at Phonica this year. |
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4 . Arthur Russell - World Of Echo - Audika Remastered from Arthur’s pristine original 1/4′′ sequenced masters, ‘World Of Echo’ sounds like nothing you have heard or will ever hear. 18 tracks are featured, including drumless versions of his disco classics ‘Let’s Go Swimming’, ‘Tree House’ and ‘Wax The Van’ along with four previously unreleased tracks. |
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3 . Joan Bibilioni - El Sur - Music From Memory Music from Memory give us two of our favourite releases of the year with this Ibiza-tinged 'El Sur' , a beautiful soundtrack to an Ibizan sunset. 'El Sur' contains tracks from six albums on his Blau imprint and have echoes of contemporary Jazz fusion of the time. Bibiloni really began to experiment with new sounds and technologies; fusing tape loops, drum computers and synthesizers. |
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2 . DJ Sprinkles - Midtown 120 Blues - Comatonse Overdue luxury CD re-issue on Comatonse of this amazing DJ Sprinkles album from 2009. Sprinkles himself releases his own house / ambient classic, complete with poster! |
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1 . Gigi Masin - Talk To The Sea - Music From Memory Repeated listens of this album never fail to dampen the beauty of this ambient / Balearic gem. Sparse and hypnotic often loop-based compositions seem to draw parallels with Detroit Techno's earliest beginnings, all at once conjuring those same feelings of both melancholic longing and ecstatic joy. With access to Masin's large body of work, far greater than that of the handful of released recordings, Music From Memory's new compilation covers a period of over 30 years! With 3 albums in our charts and the No 1 reissue, Music From Memory are one of our favourite labels of the year! |
*The gift cards or vouchers can only be used at www.phonicarecords.com, on any goods except Technics decks, additional gift vouchers or tickets. We reserve the right to add further exemptions on particular items in the future.
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