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12"
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PHONICA 007EP
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Phonica's seventh release comes from Paul Woolford as he delivers a double dose of quality crossbreed dancefloor music. Opening this special double A-side 12" is "Can't Do Without," a bone-shaking track that is laced in originality. Building up slowly from a tape-hiss-laden break, a low-slung bassline and a deep yearning vocal, this track is sublime dancefloor material. "Bareback" treads into dark acid territory that is a hybrid of techno and dubstep in a similar vein to Actress and Instra:mental/Boddika.
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12"
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PHONICA 006EP
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Originally released in 1994, Bob Holroyd's effervescent, career-defining anthem "African Drug" is given a new lease on life with two breathtaking remixes. Using the African samples from the original, Four Tet builds a complex, glockenspiel-esque melody that slowly morphs into a feast of hypnotic percussion, pulsating sub-bass and dizzying, psychedelic FX. T.Williams retools "African Drug" for more leftfield dancefloors. An absorbing, off-kilter percussive intro gradually gives way to a heavy yet streamlined 4/4 groove -- a raw, powerful secret weapon.
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12"
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PHONICA 005EP
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Phonica Records calls upon Leeds-based producer Midland for its fifth 12" release, a four track EP that also includes a remix from Dexter. "Play The Game" begins moodily with ethereal vocal snippets à la Burial, Pangaea or Joy Orbison skirting the rhythm's surface. Dexter completely reinvents the track into big-room, electro-inflected techno. "Leitmotif" is even deeper, with spectral FX and panning, dubbed-out percussion, while "Head Down" continues Midland's penchant for melodic, echo-drenched chords and disembodied vocal textures.
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12"
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PHONICA 004EP
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Phonica Records presents the second platter from Hector, complete with two outstanding remixes from SIS and Alex Picone. "Orale" is a slow burner of a track, starting off with a smooth, chuggy groove, a pulsating bass line and carefully-placed vocal snippets. A tantalizingly long breakdown later, we're treated to a killer drop and then ushered into about 7 minutes of dancefloor nirvana. Simple as that.
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12"
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PHONICA 003EP
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"The third release on Phonica Records is a no-nonsense dancefloor burner from Matt Tolfrey and D. Ramirez, with a stunning remix from Lauhaus. 'Bounce To Me' is an exquisitely stripped-back jack track, propelled along by clipped vocal samples, deep chord stabs and funked-up percussion - as the title suggests, it's all about the bounce. That's really all you need to know: this piece of music has been built for the sole purpose of dancefloor devastation and will do the job every time. Matt Tolfrey is the boss of Leftroom Recordings and one of the UK's most compelling young DJ/producers, with releases on Crosstown Rebels and Viva Music among others. D. Ramirez is of course the Sheffield-based producer behind numerous hit tracks for labels like Four:Twenty and his own Slave Recordings. The flipside remix comes from underground hero Lauhaus, a Dutch producer who's made quite a name for himself with his muscular productions for labels like Remote Area and Intacto. Here he toughens and tightens Tolfrey and Ramirez's original 'Bounce To Me' into a rolling techno groove, adding real drama and forward thrust with crisp hi-hats and staccato percussion."
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12"
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PHONICA 002EP
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"Hot on the heels of Phonica Records' inaugural release comes a new 12" on the label from JC Freaks, with a very special remix from The Revenge. JC Freaks is the duo of Anthea Nzekwu and Werner Niedermeier; like Hector, who helmed Phonica 001 with Ben Bryant, Anthea is Phonica through-and-through, working behind the counter at the London store. An award-winning DJ, she produces with Werner as JC Freaks and has already released two acclaimed 12″s on Mojuba offshoot Wandering. 'Dub Praise' is a sultry, funked-up assault on the dancefloor, incredibly direct and immediate but full of subtle modulations and dub chords. There's a jacking, almost boompty feel to the track, but the blissed-out vocal snippets, rich synth-tones and burbling acid licks give it a timeless, rolling quality beyond that. This is seriously addictive stuff. On the flip there's a remix from The Revenge, AKA Graeme Clark."
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12"
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PHONICA 001EP
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"After five years as London's foremost retailer of dance and electronic music, Phonica is launching its eponymous record label with an original production from its very own Hector alongside long-time friend and collaborator Ben Bryant, backed with a remix from Appleblim & Al Tourettes. Over the past half-decade, Phonica has grown in stature to become something more than a record store -- an institution. Operating at the very heart of London's vibrant electronic music community, Phonica is a true tastemaker: committed both to nurturing homegrown talent and to seeking out the best new music from around the world, with the emphasis always on quality. One of the things that has helped Phonica stay so on-point is the expertise and intuition of its staff, many of whom are prominent DJs/producers themselves -- one such is Hector Murillo, who last year released his debut 12", La Raza, for Dinky's Horizontal imprint. Fittingly, it's Hector teaming up with Bryant who are behind the Phonica label's first offering. The aptly named 'Tension' is a masterclass in suspense and hypnosis; a sleek, brooding techno cut which doesn't so much attack the danceflooor as enfold it. It simply builds and builds, scooping the listener up on a wave of dubbed-out chords and intertwined synth melodies, under and over-scored with taut drum edits, a rolling bassline and strings which hang like mountain mist. On remix duty is Appleblim -- the Skull Disco co-founder and Apple Pips boss who has made the space where dubstep, house and techno overlap his own -- in partnership with Al Tourettes. Typically unconstrained by genre expectations, the duo sculpt an epic, adventurous re-version of 'Tension.' Propelled at first by a galloping steppa's rhythm and analogue bass stabs, soon echo-drenched vocal samples and deep dub flavours take hold, before the track climaxes in heads-down, thrillingly linear four-to-the-floor style."
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