The 50 Best Albums of 2016
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Other websites such as RA, Fact etc have now switched to the 'Top tracks' chart where each track counts separately – perhaps more apt in these days of streaming and MP3s – but here at Phonica, we feature Singles – be they 7inch, 10inch or 12inch – there has to be a physical release for it to be included in our chart. It’s the hardest chart of all to compile. So, what can be said of the ‘sound’ of the 2016 single?
Many trends have passed through the shelves of the shop this year. The ‘lo-fi’ house aesthetic continues to remain strong, with stellar releases from DJ Seinfeld, Ross From Friends, DJ Wave and Mall Grab all featuring highly, and belying recent journalism on the ‘death of ideas’ in house music. Meanwhile, a new group of labels have emerged which are exploring 90s breakbeat and the classic ‘ambient mix’ in a new context: Fantastic Man’s mind-bending Rhythm Algorithm features highly, as does Extra-Terrestrials downtempo and break-heavy grooves on 1080p, whilst Mood Hut’s continually developing sound counts four high charting singles this year.
In the end, this year there were four records our staff pitched for the top spot, ranging from a mysterious Norwegian’s 15 minute post-rave epic, to a euphoric downtempo three-tracker, to a wonky (read: very wonky) bassline disco banger. Though there are some conventionally feel-good releases that feature highly this year (who can deny that Lapsley and Peggy Gou’s melodies don’t come from a special place), most of the singles that stood out for our staff cannot be said to have a traditional dancefloor sound or structure, they appear to be made for other spaces: the bedroom DJ, the illegal warehouse, some imagined place. We feel this is a reflection of a tumultuous year in dance music, which witnessed the rise of ‘eclecticism’ and the ‘collector’ as marketable to wider audiences, expanding the possibilities of what counts for ‘dance’ music, whilst DJs and punters alike witnessed increasing attacks of traditional club culture as a result of gentrification. These are the singles helped us deal creatively with a peculiar year…
76
Three sparkling, island-hopping balearic house joints from the heart of a deep jungle-smattered paradise. 2016 was a big year for the fledgling label with an iconically hazy sound.
77
Ron Shiller teams up with his longstanding friend Foster for this delicate endeavour, combining for five tracks of utterly eclectic groove music.
78
The first US based artist on the label, Garrett David is already a prominent figure in the Windy City scene via his residency at Smart Bar. His Chicago-tinged-with-Detroit blend of clean, yet warm and occasionally raw bumpin' house really did it for us.
79
Dynamo Dreesen's imprint is always foward-thinking and gave us some haunting soundscapes with a blend of vintage electronics & retro-futuristic techno ambient with this release by Convextion, who also score highly in out list of top albums.
80
Sometimes great records need time to grow… It took a while to finally receive John Talabot's versions of the already stone cold classic from Sfire... but it was worth it!
81
Cosmic & earthy dubbed out house by Zarate_Fix from Narrabeen & DJ Sotofett of the ever reliable Sex Tags Mania.
82
Another revived obscurity thanks to our Brixton connection. Very nice sleeve artwork and some tight drum work on a release that absolutely flew off racks.
83
Vancouver killing it once again with ambient and beat focused 707 house.
84
Dekmantel upped the ante this year with a string of big releases. San Francisco's Matrixxman gave us some really solid rhythm traxxx on this one.
85
STL has been a firm Phonica favourite ever since his first releases surfaced in the early 2000s. The two tracks on ‘The Amplified Bleep Package’ EP marks his first contribution to Phonica’s white label series and we were extremely happy to welcome him on board.
86
Damiano von Erckert set up a new label with DVE Records this year and bagged the legendary Egyptian Lover as remixer.
87
Pearson Sound returned to his own label with the much (but not over) hyped 'XLB'.
88
Super solid 004-to-the-floor vibes by Suzanne Kraft from LA. All about the A-side!
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90
Rhythm Section looked to Poland once more for some of the most uplifting tracks of the year. Falling somewhere between the late night deep house excursions of Ron Trent (circa Morning Factory era) and more recent retro-leaning breakbeat driven output from the Pender Street Steppers et al, the Sax & Flute EP is a masterclass in sustain-release.
91
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Utopia Records is a label we collaborate closely with, not least because of who it chooses to work with. Dominic’s initial Modaji and Harvey Lindo releases garnered acclaim from luminaries such as Francois Kevorkian, Derrick May and Gilles Peterson and after 10 year away from releasing to concentrate on composing music for film and television Jacobson returned to the studio to delve further into his deep house and ambient soundscapes.
93
O’Flynn is quickly establishing a reputation as a bright young talent and has already had his releases supported by Ben UFO, Gilles Peterson, Bonobo, Pearson Sound, Bradley Zero, Joy Orbison and Four Tet to name but a few. How about we add Phonica to that list as well?
94
Gerry Rooney (of Black Cock fame) and Joel Martin's second release on Resista as Velvet Season & The Hearts Of Gold. ‘Love Coma’ was a surefire party starter this year with a pure groove for late nights deep in the disco.
95
Frak are Björn Isgren, Johan Sturesson and Jan Svensson, a trio of synthesizer lovers from Sweden. 30 years since forming a band, FRAK continue to release their bizarre brand of Scandinavian techno with their debut release on Dark Entries, one of our favourite labels.
96
Skatebard has been releasing records for over 15 years but is quite clearly still at the top of his game. We really enjoyed the late night rave funk on this ep this year.
97
The now Berlin based DJ and musician has really managed to carve out his own place in the landscape of electronic music and was rewarded with the acclaim for this release on Dekmantel Records.
98
Phonica's very own Karakul label returns to its roots with Omar Santis, whose release kick-started the label back in 2014. We don't want to blow our own trumpet too much but... his second offering is damn good too!
99
Another great year for British Columbia as Vancouver producer DJ Zozi gave us a faded, sample-based take on smoked out drum & bass.
100
Karen Gwyer and Beatrice Dillon joined forces for a limited 12" release on Alien Jams this year. Dillon expertly combined synthesised percussive effects with dubby analogue tones while Gwyer made synths wail into acid territory.