Review: In 2003, amid a shifting landscape of closing record stores and evolving electronic music genres, Phonica Records emerged as a haven for dance and electronic music enthusiasts. Founded by Simon Rigg, Tom Relleen, and Heidi Van Den Amstel with backing from The Vinyl Factory - Phonica aimed to be a welcoming hub for all genres. Starting quietly, the shop gradually gained a strong reputation, fueled by the founders' ties to Koobla Records. Phonica thrived in its early years by championing emerging genres like electro house and minimal-micro house from labels like Kompakt and Perlon. In 2007, the Phonica record label was born, evolving into a platform for both staff and emerging talents, featuring early releases by now-established artists such as Peggy Gou and Four Tet. In 2023, celebrating its 20th anniversary, Phonica showcases its journey with 20 Years Of Phonica - a compilation boasting 18 exclusive tracks from established and rising artists across the label's diverse musical spectrum. Hot tips include tracks by Willow, Dorisburg, Ron Basejam, Roman Flugel and more!
Review: Throne of Blood continue their sixteenth anniversary celebrations with this fine compilation. Feted UK producer Daniel Avery gets the ball rolling with the deep, textured techno of "Ricochet", while on "Nylon Future", Heidi Sabertooth pushes in a different direction. Powered by a bruising sub-bass and chopped up percussion, these combined elements make for a rousing workout. Que Sakamoto & NT pursue a different electro path; while the rhythm is stripped back, their use of vocal samples and jittery chords sets "Kakegae" apart from typical electro sounds. Shifting gear again, Hoshina Anniversary lower the tempo on "Eiroku", a chugging slice of disco noir.
Review: The Cocoon compilation series has become an unofficial state of the nation statement for modern house and techno, and the latest instalment is no exception. It features deep, Detroit styled grooves from Damiano van Erckert and Stephen Brown alongside more accessible minimal house from Claude Von Stroke and murky, analogue jams, including the layered, dubbed out Daniel Avery track, "Your Future Looks Different in the Light". The compilation series has also been successful in spotlighting emerging artists, and volume T is no exception, as it shines a light on Yokto's bass-heavy deep house and the swaggering electro-techno of Defekt's "Terraform".
Review: Headman's Relish label have been turning out the angular, leftfield disco-not-disco grooves for nearly 20 years now. So it's no surprise that such are in abundance on this 10-track compilation; what's more surprising is that two decades in, far from the label's quality standards slipping they actually seem, if anything, to be getting better at it! Fans of the likes of ESG, A Certain Ratio, Liquid Liquid, Fischerspooner or Cabaret Voltaire will find much to enjoy here, with Moscoman's dub-inflected 'Wet Shoes Everywhere', Bozzwell's Talking Heads-ish 'I'm Emotive' and Retriever's hypnotic, gothic-tinged 'Murder (NUN Remix)' among the highlights.
Review: This is not the first compilation to drop whose sole aim is to raise funds for NHS Chartities Together - R&S Records and Bass Agenda both delivered similarly epic sets - but "Care4Life" may well be the strongest and most diverse. As you'd expect, each one of the 45 tracks is previously unreleased, and the cast list reads like a who's who of dance music culture. Notable highlights include an ultra-deep, saucer-eyed number from Daniel Avery, an unheard rework of the Chemical Brothers' "Catch Me I'm Falling", a superb revision of Harvey's Locussolus project by Kiwi, Matthew Herbert in jazzy broken beat mode, a rare solo outing from Optimo's JD Twitch, a rip-roaring rave workout from Jas Shaw, and thumping peak-time bangers from Dusky, Eats Everything and Patrick Topping.
Review: Daniel Avery and Roman Flugel are Noun! Initially recorded some years ago at Flugel's former Frankfurt studio, the pair's collaboration descends deep into dubby, minimal and warehouse techno territory. Taking the best of Flugel's musical prowess with Avery's drum machine signatures, "Team Silent" embraces elements of '90s blueprint dub techno while "Meeting Of The Minds" leans more towards a sound you could expect to hear in Berghain; deep, cosmic, booming and sci-fi. An exciting new project on the books Live At Robert Johnson!
Review: This second 20 Years Of Fabric compilation presents a new arranged selection of the defining network of artists that have come to call fabric home. Taking in deep and atmospheric loops from Groove Armada to the light and sprinkled chords of Call Super, the sound of the Farringdon trips through the live and acoustic percussions of Margaret Dygas, the devastating hardcore cuts of Special Request and pure strads of drum and bass by Source Direct and J Magick. More recent tracks include the epic classicalisms of B.Traits acid-flecked "Mameya" to the industrial and dubbed out techno from Marcel Dettmann and Imogen. And not to be overlooked of course are bonafide classics from Unkle, Shackleton, Cassy and Sascha with "Comet Chaser".
Jr Seaton - "Azklementyne" (Brassica mix) - (7:38) 126 BPM
Review: For 'BORIV' read 'Best Of Relish 4', as Headman's label serve up another best-of collection, this time drawing mostly on the years 2009-2011. Featured artists include Daniel Avery, David Gilmour Girls and JR Seaton, as well as label boss Robi Insinna in both his Headman and Manhead guises, and the album comes packed with exactly the kind of angular, new wave-y nu-disco and electro you'd expect, complete with some new mixes to tempt long-term fans. What's most interesting, though, is that these tracks don't sound half as experimental or out-there as they did 10 years ago, which speaks to just how influential a label time has proven Relish to be.
Review: On New Energy, an impressive cast of artists remix UK producer Daniel Avery's original material. Representing German house music is Roman Fluegel, whose dubby, expansive version of "All I Need" fuses jittery keys with blissed out vocal samples. Surprisingly, Volte Face from the BleeD club delivers a similar deep house take on "Platform Zero", its chiming keys unfolding over sweeping filters. There is also an unexpected remix from Token's O [Phase], whose version of "Naive Response" favours a blissful, percussive workout rather than his usual, abrasive sounds. Silent Servant's take on "Spring 27" is one of the few real techno remixes with an insistent, stabbing chord and a rumbling bass prevailing, while Factory Floor's version of "Drone Logic" is a mutant disco dub, laced with bubbling acid and detached vocals.
Review: Hot on the heels of the album that has cemented his presence on the house and techno circuit, Daniel Avery has been foisted up onto Phantasy Sound's mast one more time with the All I Need single providing a few useful alternative cuts to the original long player tracks on Drone Logic. "All I Need" comes in a clean form that sounds largely like that on the album, all bold punches of synth and solid drum machine hits. Danny Daze takes a radical new route with his version of "Naive Response" that takes the playful bleeps and blurps of the original and strips away the warmth to leave a cold and grubby roller in its place. The "Club Edit" of "Free Floating" does well to keep the wistful qualities of the original intact and simply work some extra limber beats into appropriate junctures.
Review: This could be a match made in heaven. On one side, rising star Daniel Avery (aka Stopmakingme), on the other, veteran producer, DJ and all round legend Justin Robertson (here appearing under recently-adopted Deadstock 33s pseudonym). Musically, "Nylon Icon" and "New Moon" are typical of Robertson's recent work, offering a dark but addictive fusion of bubbling electronic disco, vintage dark wave synth-pop and analogue house. "Eric Zann Revisited" flips the script slightly, touching on Italo whilst retaining a bouncy electronic groove. Remix wise, there's an acid-flecked tweak of the latter track by Filthy Dukes, whilst People Get Real deliver an off-kilter, cowbell-heavy version of "New Moon".
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