Who's got that Friday feeling? Here's a little throwback to the party with Little Louie Vega on Monday night. Big shout out going out to everyone that helped make it happen and especially to Leave No Trace for capturing these moments for us. We've got another party tonight at The House of St Barnabas with Alex Egan at the controls from 8pm. It's guestlist only so make sure you're names on the list before 6pm! http://mgl.io/2lX1S

Making the selection for this weeks Staff Pick is another one of our trust Interns - Leny!

"One of my favourite records from earlier this year is the Jervis Pump Station EP. It was born from an interesting collaboration between two of Vancouver’s children, the mysterious Wolfey and the Montreal-based Project Pablo. This 12’’, released on Church, leads us through a journey full of contrasts.

Starting smoothly with a lightly distorted pad, Jervis Pump Station offers us a solid kick accompanied by a throbbing synth. A rich work on synths panning and filtering makes this track really heady and leaves us quite stunned when it stops.

Fortunately the second track, ‘Duatang’, keeps us in the trip. A snatch of male voice and a raw kick/sub bass combo introduce the track, this is then livened by a nostalgic pad and a flighty melody. An unexpected combination that is as heavy as it is subtle.

Finally, the last track, ‘Whatitis’, probably my favourite, definitely anchors us in a beautiful melancholy which grows through the EP. Groovy drums made from a skilful mix of TR909 and 707, a warm baseline, a cleverly-filtered lead and some distant horns all culminate in what becomes the recipe for a very emotional masterpiece."

Welcome back to the Phonica Podcast! This month's edition was recorded by Callum aka 'Callumander' and Juan aka 'Slowpez' and it's packed to the brim with the best vinyl we have at the moment. Noteworthy selections include Robert Aiki Aubrey Lowe's newest 12'' on Demdike Stare, Environmental Studies from African Head Charge, A tropical excursion from Velvet Season & The Hearts Of Gold on Resista (highly recommended!), A 'Burger Trip' from DJ Fettburger, A quality collaboration between Tim Sweeny & Philip Lauer on Beats In Space, Peggy Gou's debut on Phonica White, Helsinki House Hero Lil' Tony on House Party Sounds and finally some expertly crafted Techno from Vakula on ARMA! Get stuck in! Full tracklist down below with links to the release pages. Enjoy!

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TRACKLIST:

Yes! It’s been a week already since the last edition of 'cover of the week'. A tough one actually. My boiler broke some days ago and it’s freezing outside. Thankfully, we got this timely release of Cold Wave classics from The Vinyl Factory camp. Get your long johns handy, the temperature is So Low!

As usual, VF has done an excellent job with this caringly produced double gatefold LP. Katie Shannon's hand screen-printed artwork uses different densities for the background, the title and the tracklist, giving the album an incredible tactile sensation. Her post-punk aesthetic matches perfectly the impeccably curated selection by Optimo’s main man JD Twitch, making this 16-tracker a highly collectable piece of wax. #PhonicaCOTW #CoverOfTheWeek

This week's selection comes from another one of our trusty interns. When Will's not working with us here at Phonica he host a radio show on Balamii and also records some pretty great music (one release in particular will be on our own Phonica Records imprint) which you can hear on his soundcloud. You can catch will playing next at The Bussey Building in Peckham opening up for Patrick Forge and Alexander Nut on Friday the 19th of February. More info here.

Mr Bongo continue their string of wicked reissues with one of the latest from Mulatu Astatke and Ayalew Mesfin on their Africa 45 Label. Both are legends in their field and this record acts as the perfect entry for anyone wanting to explore the Afrobeat/Ethiopian Jazz world.

Gedawo by Mesfin is a dancefloor groover which is carried by claps alongside soaring horn lines, and call and response vocals whereas the flip, Gedawo, is a darker, smoother and more laid back track with gorgeous guitar lines and beautiful touches of flute.

The record is a perfect balance between a track which would work great on the dancefloor and one which i'd save for relaxing at home (or a smokey basement bar), which is why it has become one of my favorite recently released Mr Bongo 7"s.

They're a label to watch and constantly churning out great music, so keep an eye on them.

Big thank you going out to Hotflush Recordings, Scuba and Lando for bringing their A game tonight! Check out the newest Hotflush release from Monoloc -->here. 

Photos by Leave No Trace (Facebook/Instagram)