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Its an impossibility to pick one track that represents the year and we would say this stands here due to its inclusion in many staff and Dj charts submitted to us and healthy sales too. Both sides from producer TJ Hertz have become anthems of the year! The two tracks on Objekt #4 pay tribute to two of the many musical facets of Basement Q (a formative and beloved haunt in Berlin’s Schöneberg district which quietly but profoundly shaped the musical identities of TJ Hertz until its final closure in 2012). A-side “Needle and Thread” aims to condense several hours of a Thursday night in the Basement into 9 minutes and 26 seconds, embellishing a hypnotic rolling techno backbone with hyper-detailed atmospherics, enchanting melodies and tight, strident breakbeats. B-side “Theme From Q” is Hertz’s reinterpretation of a Basement Q anthem, owner and founder DJ Bogdan’s own “Love Inna Basement (Morning Dub)”, which never saw an official release despite providing the soundtrack for 20 years. Together, the two tracks offer an illustration of one of the most idiosyncratic and overlooked clubs in Berlin’s recent history.

Youandewan returned in 2017 with a debut a four-track EP on his own label, The Brane. The high tempo kick drums lay a foundation for the celestial synths which are carefully perched on top. A sensational sell out on the first release cemented its position as one of the most favourable releases this year.

Whities have been pulling out all the stops this year with a stream of successful and varied releases. A highlight for us in the shop and for our customers was Whities 011 by up and coming UK producer Lanark Artefax. The EP lures you in with the sweltering pop-ambient anthem 'Flickering Debris' which sounds like a large robot changing gears.. amazing. Followed by 'Touch Absence', an emotional electro bomb that has been keeping dancefloors joyous for the latter half of this year. A symphonic and other-worldy release.

'Ratio' first landed in store as a top secret white label named ‘PL03DJ’ which had been circulating around the 2017 festival season. Floating Points transformed the track into an epic, 19-minute long anthem which harks back to his earlier, more dancefloor focused days. There’s a killer dub version on the flip side too!

Perhaps one of the most played tracks for us in the shop this year from German-based bass label Version. Full throttle tribal bass that rolls and rolls.. 'Darunia' on the flip is slower but no less exciting with cavernous sub bass and a restrained, elastic rhythm. We've loved sharing this track and hearing it out over the past few months

We were particularly proud to deliver this one on our Phonica Records Special Editions in 2017! A Quiet Village remix is always one to get excited about and their magic remix touch on Danish songstress Agnes Obel's haunting vocal makes it a surefire future classic!

Emerson’s sole release (so far) of 2017 is a well valued two-tracker released on the London based label Whities. The A-side ‘One More Fluorescent Rush’ has strong Eastern influences and is certainty a dance floor favourite.

‘Glue’ was the second single taken from Bicep’s debut album on Ninja Tune in 2017. It’s a euphoric, breakbeat anthem which flooded the festival circuit all summer. The duo also ended their in-store DJ set with it - which was a very special moment!

Ecuador's rising son Nicola Cruz’s ‘Canto De Vision’ was on repeat all year at Phonica, slowly (and we mean slowly) working its charms on all the staff and customers alike! A truly visionary EP of psychedelic dancefloor chuggers! Mostly about the 'Tzantza' lead track - what stands out most, other than the sampled lead Marimba, is the sheer mass of the kick drum, the immense pushing power of this 102 bpm chugger. It may have been coined 'Folklorica' by some, or 'ethno-house' by others (an awful term) but its just excellent electronic music from Ecuador!

Store favourites Beatrice Dillon and Call Super released a killer two track 12” of leftfield techno on Hessle Audio earlier this year. The collaborative project saw the gentle attributes of Dillon and Super flourish as Inkjet and Fluo are both packed with immersive textures and an arrangement that rarely conforms to conventional electronic patterns.

Azura’s mysterious gem 'Paraiso 89' finally saw the light of day via World Building in the latter end of 2017. Essential Balearic business!

Kieran Hebden’s ‘The Question' first landed in store as a mysterious test pressing, hand-delivered by the man himself! It very quickly flew off the shelves and there was even a queue for it! The official release soon followed and it quickly became one of our best selling records of 2017!

Multi instrumentalist and deep house master Lars Bartkuhn returns to Utopia Records. With its musicality, complex arrangement and phrasing ‘Massai' is a timeless and personal statement from Bartkuhn as he seeks the essence in what dance music can and possibly should be.

Mark Seven stepped up with 4 powerful, uplifting, deep and bouncy club tracks on World Building. Solid house music!

Jan Schulte aka Bufiman made his Dekmantel debut with Peace Moves; an EP of percussive soul and tribal swing, produced to perfection!

Again, again and again. Undoubtedly, Omar S is one of the most consistent producers releasing faultlessly paced pieces of house music. The vocal mix featuring Nite Jewel is no exception and has been a hot tip of ours throughout the summer season.

Joe’s latest 2 tracker on Hessle Audio is packed with obscure tribal vibes. Plenty of bass thrown in for good measure!

Kink takes Unit 2's piano-happy soulful UR anthem from 1992, which in itself was a sought-after record, but he takes the piano lead and builds it to a crescendo, for complete dancefloor devastation. Unit 2, the classic Mad Mike production for the seminal Detroit house label Happy Records (a subdivision to Underground Resistance, distributed by Submerge) remixed some decades later. Blasphemy, you might cry, a sacrilege, others might say, Discogs police sirens everywhere. Begotten during a KiNK live set, successfully identified by the Running Back CEO, extracted and road tested as a phantasmal endorphin-producing staple in his DJ sets, later released as a limited, stamped white label at Phonica and then properly issued by popular demand.

Dope two tracker on Shanti Celeste's newly ripened Peach Discs from the lady herself. An emotional and energetic breakbeat track on the A with a tougher bass-heavy cut on the flip but both soaked in melody. Excellent stuff.

The pairing of DJ Normal 4 and Bufiman was never going to be anything short of spectacular! This five tracker from the pair on AIWO drifted effortlessly through all matter of house beats and percussive breaks!

Denis Sulta gave us a couple of bangers this year..but its 'Nein Fortiate' that became an anthem, undoubtedly helped by its inclusion on Jackmaster's DJ Kicks!

It was a Gerd Janson set at the Panorama Bar that inspired him to write some tracks that became the first release on the Regraded label so its only fitting that Gerd (with Shan) gets a release on it - and what a barnstorming disco house anthem it is!

Four Tet’s SW9 9SL was a big one, packed with dreamy synth licks and uptempo, shuffling beats, this was always destined for great things.

Artwork’s long-awaited single ‘Let Go of This Acid’, his first 12” since 2002, has filled the club and festival scene throughout the year with many well-respected names supporting the release.

The Black Acid EP began life in 2013 when we were sourcing material for our ‘Ten Years of Phonica’ compilation. Some years later we were delighted to present the release of the Black Acid EP; an outstanding demonstration of restless minimal techno, riddled with an indisputable dark intenseness throughout. The four-track EP is one of the label's most well-constructed releases to date.