22nd June 2016
The Phonica podcast is back in town showcasing the latest essential releases and hidden gems! As per usual, our discerning staff take you on a mind expanding musical journey. With Callum at the helm on this occasion, we set sail under a baltic sunset and plot a course across the cutting edge of underground dance music. Tracks from Wolf Muller and Cass and Bartosz Kruczynski ease you into the voyage while the much anticipated Probe Into Static by Vactrol Park signals a shift in gear. Karamika - TON, fresh out on the up and coming Neubau label as well as Curl by Alien Jams' innovator in chief, Beatrice Dillon, explore machine rhythms. Finally, two of the most original reissues we've seen so far this year from Strong Souls (Produced by Larry Heard!) and Onirico set a pumping rhythm as the good ship Phonica goes into cruise control.
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01. Suso Saiz - Odisea [Music From Memory]
02. Wolf Muller and Cass - The Sound Of The Glades [International Feel]
03. Bartosz Kruczynski - Baltic Beat [Growing Bin Records]
04. Robert Lippok - Close [Raum Musik]
05. Das Ding - Intermission [Tear Apart Tapes]
06. Vactrol Park - Probe Into Static [Esp Institute]
07. Karamika - TON 13 [Neubau]
08. Beatrice Dillon - Curl [Alien Jams]
09. Waffles - Hankuri [Waffles]
10. Strong Souls - Sensual [Black Market]
11. Onirico - Tribal Echo [Flash Forward]
12. DJ Bert And Eagle - Import (Alessandro Adriani remix) [Mond Musik]
22nd June 2016
Huge thank you to Francois K for dropping in and rocking the in-store last Friday. It was an honour to host a living legend and a true gent to boot. Francois played a set exclusively made up of releases available at the shop that he had selected that day. He will be bringing the magic to this summer’s Odyssia festival alongside the Phonica crew and many other groundbreaking artists. We can’t wait to bring the vibe to their idyllic location!
Big up to Tonkotsu for keeping the party well hydrated and providing their finest craft ale on the house as well as Fran Hales for capturing the spirit on camera once again!
Check out the full gallery of snaps on our Facebook page.
15th June 2016
Bjarki first came to our attention with his contribution to the very first compilation on Nina Kraviz' TRIP imprint. Since then he's appeared on every TRIP compilation (with the exception of Ivan, Come On, Unlock The Box) and is also the only artist on the label to have a dedicate solo EP (Arthur And Intergalactic Whales).
Fast forward to Summer 2016, Bjarki is primed to drop the first part of a 41 track archive released over three LPs... whatever you do, don't call it an album. The three LP's will instead represent a snapshot of his genre-defying archive. Some of the tracks were produced months ago, a few even strech back to a years ago and in the case of the very last track, barely a fortnight has passed. The three LPs aren’t albums in the traditional sense - the concept was simply to release the contents of his burgeoning hard drives. The music might tie together like an album, but Bjarki doesn’t see it that way. It’s essentially an archive that sounds like an album but none of the music was made with an album release as the final objective.
The first part of the three part archive is cyrillic for "B" and although all the tracks are solid, there is one that stood out to us in particular. "The Lover That You Are" kicks off with some ethereal pads and filtered down percussion that slowly begins to reveal itself in full as the resonance gets turned up to eleven and you're suddenly dropped into a break-heavy moody Techno banger. One of the best qualities of this track is how skilfully it plays with tension and release and honestly we can't get enough of it. Listen to it in full down below and buy your copy here.
14th June 2016
This week's 'Staff Pick' comes from Sam (the newest addition to the Phonica crew). When Sam's not putting in work behind the counter or buying in stock in the office he's blending jams for his very own Balamii show (Subliminal Tape Club - 3rd Tuesday of the Month1-3pm co-hosted with Daniel Hallstorm) and heading up his own party called Spirit Level in Deptford and Danza Meccanica in Berlin... both off the chain according to their dedicated regulars which I might soon become one of. This week Sam's selected the first 12" from Danny P's new label called Bushes, which takes after his East London party of the same name.
"Bushes has been running small, special, parties in East London for a while now. I was a bit of a latecomer, but got a feel for Danny P’s selections and vision pretty quickly. Having seen a string of amazing guests in undercover venues, it makes sense that he’s putting a label together, to pool the international production talent he has around him. Ombu is, in all three of its guises, an undeniably catchy and hypnotic rhythmic experience. Strong simple percussion; squelchy, peculiar melodies, LL DJ’s style appears to draw from his residency at Salon Des Amateurs, and the other talents who call it home (Toulosse Low Trax, Forum, Jan Schulte). Its one I could hear over and over in the club, at the after party, in short, it’s pure heat!" - Sam
9th June 2016
Big news! Al Zanders has started his own label appropriately titled A-Z Records! We've been huge fans of his productions since his first release on Blind Jack's Journey and since then he's also done some outstanding work under his 'Lodger' alias for the mysterious Stamp Records imprint (if you haven't heard those, they're crackin' edits!). A-Z records will now be a new outlet for his distinctive yet eclectic output and we're lucky enough to be premiering the A-side in full! Story goes, Al was sharing a stage at Shambala festival with a seven piece Sheffield group called 'Hot Diamond Aces'. Just before his set he watching them send the crowd into a frenzy with their bombastic brass licks and Afro-beat inspired rhythms, he was so impressed that he approached them afterward with the idea of doing a remix and starting a label. The result is the Al Zanders rework of DSOMC on the A side and it's a certified scocher to say the least! Packed to the brim with brilliant live instrumentation and solid afro-grooves, this one is set to be soundtracking parties all summer. Listen to it in full down below and pre-order you're copy here.
7th June 2016
Joining us this month is one of the most consistent producers around at the moment. In the past six years Alex has been releasing exciting material through local Stockholm labels such as Abdulla Rashim's Northern Electronics, Bossmuik, and Aniara Records which put out his first record back in 2010. Aniara Records is also responsible for putting out the majority of his output as one half of Genius Of Time, the irresistible DJ/Live act he formed with his good friend Nils Krogh but the duo's punchy releases also found a home on Clone's Royal Oak and Gerd Janson's Running Back. The past two years have seen him focusing primarily on his solo output as Dorisburg and his most ambitious project to date arrived earlier this year on John Talobot's Hivern Discs in the form of the Irrbloss LP.
Today he's prepared a very special mix of mysterious and rare hypnotic House cuts which he recorded straight to cassette through a studio console and analogue outboard. He told us the mix is for "late night internet exploring...something to get lost within while browsing the unknown corners of the web... or possibly what a rave could sound like on an abandoned space station". Enjoy!
