There’s something quietly magnetic about Duncan Thomas. A London-based producer, live performer and lifelong digger, his sound sits at the crossroads of warm soul, deep groove and harmonic richness. From his early work with TR Trio and Size 8 to recent solo outings on The Check In and his forthcoming label Slam Duncs, Thomas has steadily carved out a space that favours feeling over formula. Whether behind a keyboard or a pair of decks, he approaches music with a jazz musician’s ear and a selector’s instinct — patient, playful, rooted in depth.

His Phonica Friends & Family mix is a love letter to that ethos. Rather than chasing dancefloor peaks, this is a set built on timelessness — music he wants to return to in ten years and still feel connected to. These are deep, soulful cuts that lean into warmth and atmosphere, curated from both dusty crates and digital rabbit holes. True to form, the mix resists trend in favour of tone, inviting you into a space where melody, memory and movement meet. It’s subtle, emotive, and unmistakably Duncan Thomas.

For this edition of Off The Record, we’re honored to host a mix from Rob Sevier, co-founder of the legendary archival label Numero Group. Known for its meticulous approach to uncovering and reissuing lost gems across soul, funk, punk, ambient, and beyond, Numero has earned its place as a gold standard for crate diggers and curious listeners alike. Sevier, a tireless researcher and selector, brings that same curatorial depth to his exclusive mix—a deep dive into self-released and small-label funk-adjacent singles from Ohio, Texas, Michigan, and Georgia. Alongside the mix, we caught up with him to talk DJing in hidden corners of Japan, the joys of non-allegiance to any one digging method, and what’s next for one of the most important archival projects in music.

Phonica mix 135 comes in hot from one of the slickest names making waves at the moment.

Wallace – the enigmatic alias of UK producer Jimmy Wallace – continues to assert himself as a quietly formidable force in underground house music. Since his 2023 breakthrough Ripples EP on Rhythm Section International, packed with sway-inducing grooves like “Whirl,” “Pump Up The Volume” and “Cenotes,” he’s maintained a remarkable creative and club presence. In 2024, he followed up with Papertrip on RS, a magnet for DJs and dancefloors alike, and later the Tanzanite EP on On Loop, where “Red Velvet” and “M’bira” earned serious praise for their visceral propulsion.

Wallace’s latest chapter includes a headline slot at Panorama Bar, alongside touring Japan, and support from tastemakers like Moxie, Gilles Peterson, Hunee and Bradley Zero – the latter reportedly playing “four or five Wallace tracks per set” across the past year. Stop-start grooves, pumping electro and acid licks, interwoven with percussive breakdowns and bursts of raw energy, define his DJ sets— for this mix: a cerebral yet unrelenting fusion of house, electro, acid and more, made for physical, late-night immersion.

We had a quick chat with Wallace about what he has coming up:

The Sustain-Release co-founder steps up to the Phonica mix just ahead of the acclaimed festival’s 11th year.

New York has an iconic history when it comes to club music, and over the years has seen many great names emerge from its underground scene. In modern times, Aurora Halal is undoubtedly one of those names.

Aurora has become a staple at forward-thinking institutions like Berghain, De School, and her home base, Nowadays, where she holds a residency. Alongside her international touring, she’s carved out her own vital space through the long-running Mutual Dreaming parties and Sustain-Release, the DIY-rooted festival she co-founded, which continues to push boundaries as it enters its second decade.

Her Phonica mix offers a vivid snapshot of her deep, intuitive approach to DJing—captured live at Mansions, a cozy NYC wine bar turned house party haven. Known for her genre-fluid sets that blend hypnotic techno, house, acid and experimental textures this is the perfect calling card to showcase why she can hold it down with a range of greats like DJ Nobu, Vladimir Ivkovic and more.

We had a chat about the mix with Aurora as well as touching off Sustain and some of her favorite moments at the festival.

Our Off The Record mix series returns with a radio-show like hour long mix from Music From Memory affiliated Berlin based Electronica / Jazz trio The Zenmenn.

The Zenmenn are a genre-blurring trio known for their lush, escapist soundscapes that blend ambient, Balearic, and cosmic funk influences. With a flair for vintage textures and laid-back grooves, their music conjures a sense of timeless serenity—equally suited for sun-drenched afternoons or introspective nights.

The Zenmenn debuted in 2021 with Enter The Zenmenn on Music From Memory, a dreamy blend of ambient textures, soft rock, and global influences. They followed up with Hidden Gem in 2022, a collaborative album with John Moods shaped by loose jam sessions and warm, nostalgic tones. Both releases highlight their signature fusion of cosmic calm and crate-digger sensibility.

Their contribution to the Off The Record mix series showcases their crate-digging sensibilities and deep reverence for global sounds, weaving together a meditative journey that’s both soulful and transportive.

We had a brief chat with the band (fronted through the words of their Keyboardist Magnus) about the mix and about what they had coming up in the rest of 2025.

Jennifer Loveless steps up to the Phonica mix with a charged hour of sculpted house — poised between deep groove and melodic resonance.

Born in Toronto and musically forged in Melbourne, she relocated to Australia in 2012 and quickly became a central figure in the country's underground electronic scene. Now based in Berlin, her fluid DJ style — steeped in queer dancefloor energy and late-night catharsis — has lit up some of the world’s most respected booths, from Panorama Bar and De School to Body Movements, Maricas/Mxricas, and Boiler Room’s Discwoman showcase in Sydney.

As a producer, her discography speaks in rhythms both personal and expansive. The debut Hard/Soft (Pure Space, 2020) blended meditative percussion and fragmented spoken word; 1.5m (Planet Euphorique) offered a pandemic-era pulse of emotional urgency. In 2021, the Water EP (Butter Sessions) landed with immersive, club-primed textures and was hailed by Resident Advisor as “career-defining.” Its 2022 follow-up Around the World expanded that sound with driving drums and psychedelic tones — its standout tracks appearing in DJ sets by Jayda G, D. Tiffany, and more.

Loveless’s mix here flows like her best sets: deep, intuitive, and full of movement. Sensual grooves fold into one another — not showy, just sharp. A warm, high-fidelity hour from a DJ who knows how to guide the floor from dusk to afterglow. We had a brief chat with Jennifer about the mix and what she has coming up:

If you’ve been to Phonica in the past 15+ years, you likely know Nick Williams—an integral figure behind the counter, sharing his deep and eclectic musical taste with everyone from global DJs to underground newcomers. As founder of Meda Fury Records, he’s championed soulful, leftfield sounds, discovering artists like DJ Seinfeld along the way. A seasoned DJ himself, Nick has played iconic clubs like Fabric and Corsica, known for genre-defying sets that span ambient, house, techno, post-punk, jungle, and beyond. His latest mix reflects this wide scope—layered, emotional, and full of unexpected gems.

Dee Diggs joins us for Phonica mix 132, a 90-minute session that traces a fluid line through U.S, deep house and disco. Based in Brooklyn, Diggs is a DJ, producer and curator whose work foregrounds the Black and queer roots of dance music. Her sets balance emotional depth and rhythmic precision, drawing from a wide palette while maintaining a strong sense of narrative. First emerging through New York’s queer party circuit, she’s since built an international profile through thoughtful mixes for platforms like Honcho and Dekmantel, as well as her own event series, House of Diggs. With each project, Diggs makes clear that dance music is both personal archive and political practice.

Hashman Deejay stands out as one of those DJ's and producers where he lets the music do the talking. Like fellow collaborators PLO Man & C3D-E you won't see many interviews, let alone photos - they show up to the party and do their thing.

With a vast range of alias' and collaborative projects Hashman has been responsible for some of the rawest sounds in experimental, breaks, house and techno. As well as a DJ his vast taste can expand anywhere from shoegaze and punk, disco and raw chicago sounds, to dubbed acid and techno.

For this mix the selector has dug deep into the tape hiss sounding crates covering oldschool beats that could be mistaken for an OG Ras G tape, dub flowing onwards into some select acid house and more synth focused club sounds all working together with the most seamless touch. We had a very brief chat with Hashman about his mix but this one is all about the sounds and he lets that do the talking.

The Phonica series drifts Amsterdam way for the next addition in its series with not one but two of the cities most prominent artists. Kamma & Masalo supply separately in their sets nothing but magical moments so when you have the chance to see them play together it is that times two and some. Never knowing what the direction and vibe their set will go - having roots in eclectic and disco vibes as well clubbier house, techno and acid sounds (a vibe they cement firmly at their Brighter Days party in Amsterdam) - they have firmly placed themselves on top shelf list of some of Europes finest selectors. Appearing regularly at festivals like Dekmantel and Japan's Rainbow Disco Club to name a few, the duo have played some of the best clubs around the world. For Phonica 131 Kamma and Masalo have the dancefloor in mind with a mix focused on their beginnings in the underground club scene of their upbringing. We had a quick chat with them about the mix and what they have coming up!