Phonica Records

With what was mostly a full and fruitful year for us with many beautiful moments, we now turn our eyes forward to what is looking to be a very exciting year for us at Phonica as we walk into our 20th year of being alive. 2022 saw our mix series get even more killer contributions from artists like Paramida, Sally C, Fred P, Eden Burns, Alex Kassian, Erol Alkan and more. 2023's series line up plans to keep moving up and we have opened this years mix season in the capable hands of two of the finest DJ/Producers doing it right now. Bringing nothing but powerful, euphoric and goddess energies it can only be Octo Octa and Eris Drew of T4T Luv NRG. Amazingly celebrated for their strand of psychedelic, rolling progressive, trancey-house and break rhythms we can't think of two better selector's to take on our series. With an excellently curated compilation and mix for our good friends at Fabric last year as well as two banging cassettes on T4T we can't begin to imagine what this year has in-store for Maya and Eris but we have no doubt it's even more on the upward trajectory! Most likely to the heavens and back! We had a chat with Maya and Eris to see what they have been up to lately and little about how they approached the mix.

For the next in our Off The Record mix series we invited DJ, radio host and music consultant Sam Don or known to his close friends and family, Sam Donnison. Sam is a DJ's DJ, having proved himself and the world over as a man of many styles, tempo and moods. Having shared the airwaves with highly regarded talent like Danilo Plessow aka MCDE and constructed mind soothing mixes for podcasts like Mr Bongo its quite hard to pin point what direction Sam will go in a set. This also shows the sign of a true digger and if Off The Record knows anything its deep diggers. This digging helped Sam curate one of the most captivating compilation series' to come out this year in our opinion; "For The Love Of You", a journey through Lover's Rock across two brilliant volumes on the ever amazing Athens Of The North. For this mix Sam has tapped into a deep dig of fun yet raw house numbers, stemming with vocals, hypnotic acid, heavenly kicks and cunning blends throughout. We had a quick sit down with Sam about the mix and what he has been up to lately. This is Off The Record 36: Sam Don!

Orphic, the London based duo made up of Phonica's Kieran Jandu & Babak Faraji join us for the latest Friends & Family Mix. These new talents have been bubbling up in the East London Underground. They recently joined us for a banging in-store for the launch of their Shelter EP on E2-E8 Records, which explores the depths of techno. A four tracker which moves through deep, dubbed-out moments to big-room offerings and vibrant, sophisticated electronics, rounded off with a remix from Bunker and Clone affiliate Marco Shuttle. Their Friends & Family mix gives us a glimpse into their musical influences and gives a look into their record bags. We sat down with the Orphic duo and had a brief chat about the mix, their approach to DJing and their plans for 2023.

Sally Caithness also known professionally as Sally C was born in Belfast, Northern Ireland and got into DJing while living in Dundee Scotland, but Sally has always had a strong foothold in her current residence of Berlin where she has lived since 2015. Having played all over the city it wasn't long before she was throwing out lengthy sets in Griessmuehle, Saule at Berghain and Melt! with sets at Panorama Bar and more worldwide ahead its become clear she is alot more than one of the new up and coming names in dance. Having taken early inspirations from DJ's like Fast Eddie, Tyree and K-Hand, her sets have a driving energy with a US pulse that almost feel like you have been lassoed on to the dance floor. This energy is definitely a big part of her production style too with her excellent imprint Big Saldo's Chunkers which were instant sell out's worldwide. We sat down and had a brief chat with Sally about the mix and the approach she takes to DJing. This is Phonica Mix 102 Sally C:

Transmigration means to pass into a different body after death and in terms of the labels policy it does just that, it takes something passed and gives it a new lease of life. David Fogarty aka Louis Satori has carefully curated the identity of his imprint using sounds of the past and with the name sake of the label, keeps that mind state in play. Fogarty has reissued such artists as Susumu Yokota(under his EBI alias), Drum Club, Alien Mutation, Downlink and more and this has seen these releases pass into some of the biggest DJ names giving them even more exposure that they may not of had the first time in some cases. As expected with such deep rarities given second life can only be exposed by someone who deep digs. Having played all around Berlin and recently after making his debut in Berghain we are honoured to have Louis Satori take over the Off The Record mix for a cosmic selection of EBM, industrial, ambient, acid and more. We had a quick chat with Fogarty about the label, Susumu Yokota and what he has coming up.

Phonica dives into a new era, or season if you will, of our long established mix series after a stomping 100th mix from London legend Erol Alkan.

We jump into our 101st mix from one of our most recent Phonica releasee's; French born and Swiss based DJ & producer Lea Lisa. If you some how managed to miss Lea's most recent outing with us we highly recommend it. Taking inspiration from legend Mark Goddard's (aka The Truth) classic "The End", Lea's "Love To The End" is her own various takes on this 1992 UK gem! And thus is what we see in Phonica mix 101, a crossing of time, styles and blends. Passing through elements of deep, cosmic, tech and jacking styles of house Lea Lisa shows that she shares the divine skills of legends like Kerri Chandler and Ron Trent. We have a quick chat with Lea about her recent projects and to see what she has in store for the future.

Brian Not Brian is a man of many stories, I enjoy someone with many stories. In the short time I've been in his presence I have been given countless facts, stories and been spread a wide variety of the musical encyclopedia to which of chapter's I didn't even know existed. Brian is a man who lives and breaths this industry, from digging in the furthest crates in the vast corners of the world reissuing never before seen or forgotten gems on his Midnight Drive, or more noticeably to finding some of the most interesting new talents coming up via Going Good.

On top of all this he's an excellent DJ, a skill which has seen him play worldwide alongside underground greats like DJ Sotofett and Hashman Deejay to name a few. For his Off The Record Brian brings us on deep dive of various club sounds in house, disco and more. So get your pint of Guinness and have a quick once over of the chat we had with the man emself here:

After beginning his career with roots in Drum & Bass, Russian producer Nuage shifted his sound to embrace a wider range of styles while maintaining an emotionally charged sound and finding a home on labels such as Anjunadeep and 20:20 Vision. For our 32nd Phonica Records Label release, we are proud to present four stunningly euphoric works from Nuage.

Kicking off the ‘Pink Television EP’ is the title track, a floaty and playful melodic House excursion that reminds us of Floating Points’ synth work on his ‘Crush’ album. Next is ‘Ninety High’ which swaps the four to the floor for an intricate breakbeat, highlighting Nuage’s history in break heavy music. A cleverly reconceptualised Disco vocal sample and subtly withheld synth lines are combined with a sub rattling and pulsating bassline.

Maintaining the breakbeat on the B-side, ‘Don’t Forgive Me’ recalls classic Trance and Progressive House with haunting vocal reverberations and a warehouse wall shaking bassline as the track meanders through tension and release of euphoric energy. Lastly, ‘Glances’ opens with a skittish Rhodes riff and unites it with rich and perky melodies that weave in and out of focus.

After beginning his career with roots in Drum & Bass, Russian producer Nuage shifted his sound to embrace a wider range of styles while maintaining an emotionally charged sound and finding a home on labels such as Anjunadeep and 20:20 Vision. For our 32nd Phonica Records Label release, we are proud to present four stunningly euphoric works from Nuage.

Kicking off the ‘Pink Television EP’ is the title track, a floaty and playful melodic House excursion that reminds us of Floating Points’ synth work on his ‘Crush’ album. Next is ‘Ninety High’ which swaps the four to the floor for an intricate breakbeat, highlighting Nuage’s history in break heavy music. A cleverly reconceptualised Disco vocal sample and subtly withheld synth lines are combined with a sub rattling and pulsating bassline.

Maintaining the breakbeat on the B-side, ‘Don’t Forgive Me’ recalls classic Trance and Progressive House with haunting vocal reverberations and a warehouse wall shaking bassline as the track meanders through tension and release of euphoric energy. Lastly, ‘Glances’ opens with a skittish Rhodes riff and unites it with rich and perky melodies that weave in and out of focus.

After beginning his career with roots in Drum & Bass, Russian producer Nuage shifted his sound to embrace a wider range of styles while maintaining an emotionally charged sound and finding a home on labels such as Anjunadeep and 20:20 Vision. For our 32nd Phonica Records Label release, we are proud to present four stunningly euphoric works from Nuage.

Kicking off the ‘Pink Television EP’ is the title track, a floaty and playful melodic House excursion that reminds us of Floating Points’ synth work on his ‘Crush’ album. Next is ‘Ninety High’ which swaps the four to the floor for an intricate breakbeat, highlighting Nuage’s history in break heavy music. A cleverly reconceptualised Disco vocal sample and subtly withheld synth lines are combined with a sub rattling and pulsating bassline.

Maintaining the breakbeat on the B-side, ‘Don’t Forgive Me’ recalls classic Trance and Progressive House with haunting vocal reverberations and a warehouse wall shaking bassline as the track meanders through tension and release of euphoric energy. Lastly, ‘Glances’ opens with a skittish Rhodes riff and unites it with rich and perky melodies that weave in and out of focus.