Red Axes return to Phantasy with a double A sided single that captures and expands on the creative relationship forged between the cult Israeli duo and Erol Alkan’s highly regarded London label. The single arrives in tandem with a new compilation ‘The Phantasy Collection (Part 1)’, collecting an enviable run of EPs between 2018 that have resulted in Niz Arzi and Dori Sadnovil’s deserved prominence in DJ sets spanning genres.

Carving a hypnotic path against the maximalism currently au-fait in club culture, ‘The Phone Calr’ is as peculiar as it is powerfully effective, a stripped back groove serving as the backdrop to the Axes’ playful deconstruction of an obscure broadcast concerning telephone area codes. A lesser staple of club culture, Sardnovik and Azri transform archival public information into club disorder, stretching a short burst of dialogue to absurd limits before releasing the tension with vampish pianos.

‘Sound Text XoX’ meanwhile finds the pair delivering a surprising alternative take on the lead track from their 2019 EP, retaining its central escalating countdown but adding a powerful, dystopian acid line. The resulting track transforms an already beloved club tool into a frenetic powerhouse.

STAFF COMMENTS

Matt says: A new record by Red Axes always causes a bit of a stir. Here they get seriously psychedelic with a whole manner of trippy sound design and granular delays across both tracks that are bound to cause damage in the big hangers at Sonar Festival or The Warehouse Project.

TRACK LISTING

A. The Phone Call
B. Sound Test XoX

Returning to Phantasy for a triumphant fourth single, ahead of a debut album to be released later in 2023, Josh Caffe dons ‘Meine Lederjeans’ for a gloriously tight squeeze of electro-funk, accompanied by an unapologetically gritty, stroboscopic remix from Caffe’s frequent collaborators, Paranoid London.

Dialing the tempo down from the frenetic club play of previous releases ‘According To Jacqueline’ and ‘Do You Want To Take Me Home?’, ‘Meine Lederjeans’ finds the British-Ugandan DJ and performer melting into a hedonistic slow jam of Prince-indebted grooves driven by drum machines oozing Chicago spirit with additional playing from Alex White of cult groups Fat White Family and Saint Leonard. Celebrating and subverting queer tropes in double measures, ‘Meine Lederjeans’ is an exquisite blend of soul and sexuality.

Paranoid London, the duo of Gerardo Delgagdo and Quinn Whalley (Caffe’s principal studio partner, and producer of ‘Meine Lederjeans’) deliver a characteristically merciless remix of Caffe’s original, looping their vocalist into an acid-soaked stupor. Throbbing, insistent, maximal yet minimal, this is PL in particularly raw form.

STAFF COMMENTS

Matt says: Phantasy Sound usher in the fresh and funky sounds of Josh Caffe - a mix of Cody Chestnutt, Prince and Funkinevin. Acid heads fear not! - Paranoid London are on hand to satisfy all your salacious needs.

TRACK LISTING

A. Meine Lederjeans
B. Meine Lederjeans (Paranoid London Remix)

Having co-produced Duran Duran’s acclaimed fifteenth studio album, ‘FUTURE PAST’, Erol Alkan returns to recent single ‘ALL OF YOU’ to deliver a very special Extended Rework. Paying tribute to the band’s pioneering ‘Night Version’ remixes that tipped their earliest material towards the dance floor, this grandiose reimagining equally recalls Alkan’s beloved reworks from over the years.

Recorded with founding members Simon Le Bon, Nick Rhodes, John Taylor and Roger Taylor, ‘All Of You’ also features lead guitar from Graham Coxon and backing vocals by Barli. Blessed with the raw material, Alkan distills each element into a glorious disco odyssey totalling nearly ten minutes, an epic but sensual dance floor trip that already ranks amongst his finest work. 

Phantasy is proud to release 'ALL OF YOU (Erol Alkan's Extended Rework)’ (backed with an instrumental version) on a limited run of 12” vinyl.

STAFF COMMENTS

Matt says: Massively over-ordered, so likely to have gone when you read this. But don't panic! The label have already ordered a repress. That's what our 'wish list' button is for. More copies due in a couple of weeks or so, so don't dismay!

TRACK LISTING

A. All Of You (Erol Alkan's Extended Rework)
B. All Of You (Erol Alkan's Instrumental Rework)

Phantasy's one hundreth release! "Automatic", by our favourite electro-dance ambassador, is gleefully fast, hard n squelchy (ahem..?- Ed). Possessing a squealing, wah-wah'd-ta-fuck leadline that'd make Mr. Oizo blush, it's pumping drums and excitable breakdowns only add to this monster of an electro-house banger.

Palms Trax keep energy levels high, diving down a French-touch super highway with elements of that tuff breaks era - think Les Rhythm Digitals, Chemical Brothers, Skint etc... satisfyingly large & fun without drifting to far down the cheesy river. I'll defo be giving this one a blast!

LA Priest deliver something a bit less obvious; a tasteful, lazer guided, late nite effort, smothered in a shimmering patina that simultaneously registers 10 on the Mogs scale... Every track's a belter here folks!

STAFF COMMENTS

Matt says: French Touch-esque, stadium slaying electro-house from three cats more than capable of blowing the roof off. Been a while since I've heard those filters squeal!

TRACK LISTING

A1. Automatic
B1. Automatic (Palms Trax Remix)
B2. Automatic (LA Priest Remix)

Red Axes continue their long-term dancefloor relationship with Phantasy and boldly embark down the ‘Rhythm Passage’, another triple-hitter of charismatic, out-there club music delivered only as they can.

Beginning with the title track, ‘Rhythm Passage’ all but guarantees slowly escalating madness in disco spaces both vast and discreet. Weaponizing hypnotic percussion, dusty samples from rave eras gone by and all manner of classic Axes studio trickery, this seductive banger slowly, shrewdly unveils a visceral synth-pop melody that touches the heavens, before being quickly absorbed back into the bowels of the club.

In the hands of Red Axes, even a relative DJ tool is a cosmic journey, as demonstrated on the escalating ‘Oh My Arp’, which finds a collection of the finest analogue musical machinery in electronic music conspiring to fry synapses, with traditional Tel Aviv musicality unexpectedly emerging from deep in the mix.

Finally, ‘20Min’ sees the pair turn their attention to both percussive control and their penchant for suspense, using relatively minimal elements to conjure a liquified roller full of dense, subtle drum play and distinctly psychedelic touches.

STAFF COMMENTS

Matt says: Freewheelin', buckwild, technoid mayhem that sounds in parts like a freight train careering off its tracks. There's few compare to Red Axes and their much-lauded return to Phantasy is a triumph for both the ears and the dancefloor.

TRACK LISTING

A1. Rhythm Passage
B1. Oh My Arp
B2. 20 Min

“I’m in the middle of something I can’t wake up from. And you’re part of it” - Ache Ultra Truth finds me in a very different place to where I’ve been before. My previous albums have all focused on the idea of music being an escape or a distraction from the world but that’s not the case this time. For me this album is about looking directly into the fire, not running away from it. There’s a way through but it involves keeping the important people in your life close to you and navigating the darkness together. This is an intentionally heavy and dense album, the edges frayed by flames. There are hooks but finding them all requires effort from the listener. I want to be incredibly clear that this is not a club album made by a DJ - I couldn’t feel further away from that description right now. I’m no longer dealing in a misty-eyed euphoria. Ultra Truth is a distorted fever dream of a record: noisy, determined and alive. 

David Lynch, Nine Inch Nails, Bjork, David Fincher, Silent Hill, Wu-Tang, Chris Cunningham, Nick Cave, PJ Harvey, Deftones, Portishead, Massive Attack, Silent Hill, Hype Williams, Smashing Pumpkins, Kid A….

There’s a running theme through all of these influences, something that could crudely described as futuristic gothic noir. It all has a dark, often aggressive edge to it but, importantly, it all has a certain swagger that I was so captivated by in my younger years. That’s where the power lies: it says “this is a leftfield corner of culture but there’s a place here for you here if you want it.” That’s what I felt as a teenager and something I’m carrying through with Ultra Truth. A walk through the darkness together. In every way possible, I’d like to position this album in the world of artists and bands, well away from nightclubs.

“Beyond the silent shadow Under the weight of a collapsing sky Close your eyes, and look to the light”

- Ultra Truth

This is the first time I’ve brought together so many people to join me on the journey and each guest plays a crucial role. I’ve always loved Marie Davidson’s punk approach so she was an obvious choice to open the album; Kelly Lee Owens returns, ten years after being the voice of Drone Logic and now a bona fide superstar in her own right; HAAi is an amazing friend and supernova artist whose beautiful singing voice I’m incredibly proud to feature twice on the record; Matty Healy is a figure I feel isn’t afraid to publicly look into the darkness himself, despite being a huge pop star; Sherelle is probably the most exciting DJ in the world right now and someone who does things entirely on her own terms; Jonnine is the singer from HTRK, one of my favourite bands of all time - having her on Only feels like a dream; James Massiah is a poet whose words feel like they shake the floor when spoken - I needed someone to finish the record with that weight; AK Paul is a soulful force of nature in the studio and the track Ache is just one of the things we’ve been working on; James Greenwood aka Ghost Culture has been my writing/studio partner for over ten years and I’ve always wanted to get his saxophone playing on a track; Manni Dee’s inimitable, burning touch can be felt on literally every second of the record as can that of mixing genius Marta Salogni. This is a collective effort throughout.

“The reprise of promise is here Fresh with broken haze Atop the Shadow Mountain Burns the fire of better days”

- Chaos Energy

STAFF COMMENTS

Barry says: 'Ultra Truth' takes all of Avery's melodic expertise and subverts it beneath a crashing wave of shuddering percussion and sidechained pads. It's like some of Alessandro Cortini's fractured synth gloom rubbed off on Avery after their superb collaborative LP from 2020, and it's a wonderful divergence. Uncompromising and wholly mesmerising.

TRACK LISTING

New Faith
Ultra Truth
Wall Of Sleep
The Slow Bullet
Devotion
Only
Spider
Near Perfect
Higher
Ache
Collapsing Sky
Lone Swordsman
Overflowing With Escape
Chaos Energy
Heavy Rain
Trip (vinyl Only)
Time Takes A While (cd Only)
Out Of Silence (cassette Only)

Phantasy and Factory Floor's celebrated synth molester, Gabe Gurnsey returns with a new album entitled "Diablo". Reveling in the energy surrounding spontaneous connections, the album takes you on myriad twists and turns; all the while nurturing lustful, good time feelings.

Opening with a typically electronic, lyrically strong post-acid-house jerker: "Push", the album quickly deploys giddy echoes, teasing 808 boings and more vocals that are both sexy and menacing and suited to darkly lit areas of large warehouses and industrial spaces; injecting lascivious energies into environments once baron of human feeling.

The album unashamedly makes us of Gurnsey’s girlfriend, Tilly Morris, whose role is that of both muse and collaborator. 'I wanted Tilly to dominate on "Diablo",' Gurnsey explains. Morris (who was also featured on "Physical") sings on most of "Diablo"s tracks as well as contributing to the lyrics, melodies and synths, and her image is the album artwork. An album with such a level of collaboration only feels this good when you can really trust somebody. “This record is formed out of a lot of trust and lust,” Gurnsey says. “And I think it's very honest in a lot of ways, in terms of letting go, in terms of exploring, just in terms of being a bit fucking happy.”

Keeping to a role of 'rhythm section first' - Gabe's previous roll as drummer has led to a very rhythmic-centric way of songwriting. That being said; we find most of the beats across the LP sequenced and programmed rather than played live.

Title track “Diablo” sees Gabe and Tilly deliver a disembodied duet, love-sparring like a postapocalyptic Donny & Marie Osmond - they reprise this routine on “So Sweet” (which is anything but): ‘I’m breaking at the thought of your love, I’m shaking at the thought of your mind.’ “Power Passion” has a touch of wine bar and a hint of Daft Punk and “You Remind Me” is all sharp little squelches, stutters, and swooning sunrise vocals. “Give Me” shifts from demand to begging in the sweetest and sexiest way, really highlighting the subtle but proficient lyrical urgency coursing through the LP. “To The Room” closes the record with a sinister softness, glimpses through a doorway into other possibilities.

You’ll hear all sorts of influences here, from Peaches, Detroit techno, deep house, electro, Suicide and Eurythmics. It’s a generous stew which shows its appreciation for his forebears without ever being overshadowed by them. Let’s face it, most of the best dance music has that minor-key sadness, channeled to perfection by Gurnsey and Morris.

TRACK LISTING

1 Push
2 Hey Diablo
3 Power Passion
4 You Remind Me
5 I Love A Sea On Fire
6 Give Me
7 Blessings
8 Higher Estates
9 So Sweet
10 To The Room

Phantasy are delighted to introduce the first taste of an exciting new signing, Ruby Goon, debuting with a limited-edition 7”, ‘Cold Wind/Leech’. Led by singer-songwriter and multi-instrumentalist Ivan Solimani-Lezhnev, these two tracks emerge from the previously bustling and forward-thinking live circuit of Moscow, Russia, where Solimani-Lezhnev’s youthful but timeless songwriting and performances have helped define a flourishing alternative underground.

Ruby Goon’s talents for melody and melancholy sweep in with rare assurance on ‘Cold Wind’, a plaintive and irresistible nugget of rock instrumentation, Solimani-Lezhnev’s guitar gently weeping, then subtly erupting alongside a yearning vocal and soaring brass.

‘Leech!’ embraces a distinct sensitivity at play within the collective, a sensual and lyrically speculative slice of contemporary blues that illustrates the talent and chemistry evident between Solimani-Lezhnev and his band. Recalling the softer avenues of seventies glam and soul, ‘Leech!’ seduces with a vulnerability that roots it firmly in the contemporary.

TRACK LISTING

A. Cold Wind
B. Leech!

Phantasy are proud to present the vinyl re-issue of Mystery Jets’ seminal 2008 album ’Twenty One’. Produced by Erol Alkan, the beloved LP includes hit singles ‘Young Love’ and ’Two Doors Down'.

“Of all the messages we’ve received from our fans over the intervening years, the single question that has come up more than any other, is ‘When will Twenty One will be released on vinyl again?’. Much to our frustration, our response has never been anything more than a helpless, resounding shrug. That is, until now.

The year being 2021, and all the band being firm believers in the powers of numerology, we felt there would be no better time of telling you that for the first time since its release, Twenty One will finally be available to own on vinyl again. As well as reissuing the original album, we have also dug through the archives and compiled a special selection of never-heard-before outtakes, demos and rarities from that era to accompany the deluxe version of the album.

We are delighted to be reissuing the record via Phantasy, the label founded by Erol Alkan, who produced Twenty One and mentored us to make an album we’re still immensely proud of. This is the record you have been asking for, and the one we always wanted you to hear.

TRACK LISTING

A1. Hideaway
A2. Young Love Feat. Laura Marling
A3. Half In Love With Elizabeth
A4. Flakes
A5. Veiled In Grey
A6. Two Doors Down
B1. MJ
B2. Umbrellahead
B3. Hand Me Down
B4. First To Know
B5. Behind The Bunhouse
C1. Hideaway (Home Demo)
C2. Metal Soul (Alternate Version)
C3. Pink Elephant (Live Demo)
C4. Flakes (Live Demo)
C5. The Girl Next Door (Home Demo)
C6. The Back Door
D1. Red Sock Rock (Unfinished Outtake)
D2. Jets Canned Jam (Unfinished Outtake)
D3. Girl Shaped Gun
D4. MJ (Live Demo)
D5. First To Know (Live Demo)
D6. Twenty One (Alternate Version)

‘Boot licking, piss drinking, finger frigging, tit tweaking, love biting, arse licking, shit stabbing, motherfucking, spunk loving, ball busting, cock sucking, fist fucking, lip smacking, thirst quenching, cool living, ever giving…’

There’s no fairer introduction to “Fist”, Joshua James’ latest contribution to Phantasy, than to advise one simply to prepare themselves. Sampling iconic performance artist, club promoter and designer Leigh Bowery, James connects the expert dancefloor pressure he exacts each weekend as one of London’s best-loved club residents with the unapologetic, defiant legacy of a personal hero. None other than Peaches then takes up the remix mantle for “Fist”, intertwining the provocations of two radical performers and connecting three generations of underground queer culture in one sonic menage-a-trois, perhaps the straight-up rudest club record in recent memory.

On the original production, James shifts his sound in a heavier direction still since last summer’s euphoric “Amber Rush”, which was remixed by labelmate and friend Daniel Avery. A bouncing industrial tilt underscores the heavy-duty production, as Bowery, originally recording alongside Richard Torry in their band Minty, espouses a catalogue of sexual acts - some specialist, all sensational - as James pushes dancers further down into the belly of some revolting rave beast.

A multi-faceted match to Bowery themselves, Peaches continues a decades-long journey dedicated to genre and gender deconstruction with her wild and playful take on ‘Fist’. Dripping in cybernetic club juice, Peaches wraps herself around Bowery’s own teaches on the mic, easily matching his demands as she careens towards a system-rattling techno conclusion.

STAFF COMMENTS

Matt says: Certain to make even the most potty-mouthed gawp and blush at the lyrical content. I have to say though it works! Think Modeselektor meets Sophie meets Soulwax. Engineered for the big rigs and with a hook so filthy it'll need 3 washes to get outta ya head. I'm expecting a tik tok video to accompany it soon!

TRACK LISTING

A. Fist Feat. Leigh Bowery & Minty
B. Fist Feat. Leigh Bowery & Minty (Peaches Remix)

‘Fleuves de l'Ame’ is the debut album of Paris-based Tunisan artist Houeida Hedfi, produced with Olof Dreijer of The Knife. Originally a percussionist, ‘Fleuves de l' me’, is an elegant marriage of traditional folk music and contemporary sound design drawing references from Hedfi's drumming expertise and the textures of Tunisian music alongside a startlingly broad array of global genres.

Hedfi came to music late, getting her first drum kit aged 27 when she was already established as an academic in the field of economics / mathematics. Alongside teaching she toured playing a contemporary spin on stambeli, a genre of Afro-Arab sufi trance music heavy on rhythms. “I loved it,” she recalls, “but I had this need for melody. There was no room for that within our group, so I realised I had to start my own project.” She enlisted the help of Tunisian violin player Radhi Chaouali and Palestinian bouzouk player Jalal Nader and began rehearshals. Over nine years of travel between Tunisia, France, and Dreijer’s Berlin studio, Hedfi refined each composition with a perfectionist’s ear and found a home in melody.

During composition it was essential to Hedfi that the songs contained the quarter tones characteristic of Tunisian/Arabic music. “I wanted it to sound like me. In my mind, if you delete these quarter tones, it’s like deleting all the verbs from a sentence.” While her musical influences are not limited to Tunisia, she still views her album as a modern take on Tunisian music. “It’s not just Tunisian,” she adds, “it’s also made by a woman. That makes a difference. My music doesn’t take up so much space, it has nuance. If I had to put a nationality to my music, I would also put a gender to it.”

Each track is named for a different river, referencing both the safety found in the sound of water and the sinuous drama of each composition, which often starts peacefully, before evolving to encompass drama and tension, conflict and resolution. 

STAFF COMMENTS

Barry says: A beautiful marriage of swooning modern classical and traditional Tunisian folk music, with moments of elegiac pensiveness and more exuberant, shimmering beauty. A wonderfully written and beautifully crafted masterpiece.

TRACK LISTING

Side A
Souffles Du Nil
Namami Gange (Obéissance Au Gange)
Side B
Envol Du Mékong
Appel Du Danube
Side C
Baisers Amers De L’Euphrate
Les Cloches De Yamuna
Echos De Medjerda
Side D
Cheminement Du Tigre

London-based DJ and producer Jay Duncan collaborates with saxophonist Ben Vince on her debut release for Phantasy, introducing two wildly imaginative compositions alongside a simmering remix from Ricardo Villalobos.

From the first notes of brass, quickly melting into a lucid shuffle, it’s clear that ‘In Limbo’ exists on its own terms. Vince's virtuoso playing, a feature of former collaborations with the likes of Joy Orbison and Mica Levi, is here gradually manipulated by Duncan into a hugely ambitious trip. This meditative and mysterious approach draws listeners deeper into a liminal, minimal space somewhere between the Fourth World as imagined by Jon Hassell and four AM on a dancefloor in South London.

Duncan deftly raises the tension for the title track’s more percussive and arguably club-ready sibling ‘Anti-Purgatorio’, drawing out almost impossibly taut and inventive rhythms constructed around wormholes from which spill Vince’s instrumentation, washed downstream amid slippery modulations and a distinctive
analogue atmosphere.

Ricardo Villalobos adds to his own superlative history of remixes with a characteristically trippy take on ‘In Limbo’. Spanning nearly fifteen-minutes, the legendary Chilean-German innovator subtly reimagines this ambitious record in form true to both his own musical heritage as well as Duncan’s futurism.

STAFF COMMENTS

Matt says: Recommended if you're into hi-tek bass, smudged garage and future-breaks. Think Sunklo, Aiwo, Eclipse Tribez & Hessle Audio etc.

TRACK LISTING

A1. In Limbo
A2. Anti-Purgatorio
B1. In Limbo (Ricardo Villalobos Remix)

Love + Light arrives unexpectedly, following Avery’s recent collaborations with Alessandro Cortini on the critically acclaimed Illusion of Time LP (“a record that suggests Godspeed You! Black Emperor in drone mode, reimagining Music For Airports as if the runways were covered in gravel and air traffic control was on strike,” said Loud & Quiet, while Q hailed it “lush mood music to get lost in”) and alongside Roman Flügel under the alias of Noun. Avery’s previous solo album Song For Alpha was released in 2018 to similar acclaim.

Avery shares, “This record has been a real positive force of energy in my life, to the point where it almost formed itself in front of me. In that same spirit, I wanted to share it with you now, as soon as it was finished. As I started to collect the pieces together, it was apparent that the album would be split into two distinct halves but halves that were inexorably tied together. One could not have existed without the other. Music has always been a source of personal strength for me yet I remain fascinated by the power it can possess of its own volition. Releasing the record in this way, just a couple of weeks after the final note had fallen, felt like a decision made by an outside force yet one I agreed with entirely. Stay safe, friends and I’ll see you on the other side soon. DA xxx”

STAFF COMMENTS

Barry says: You only need to stop paying attention for a few short months (since Avery's stunning LP with Allesandro Cortini), and Daniel Avery surprises us with exactly the sound we need to bring us through the cold winter months. Glacial atmospherics mix perfectly with warm saturated synth lines and euphoric pads. Classic Avery and as ever, essential.

TRACK LISTING

CD
London Island
Dusting For Smoke
Dream Distortion
Katana
Darlinnn
Depth Wish
Searing Light, Forward
Motion
Infinite Future
After The Fire
Into The Arms Of Stillness
Fuzzwar
Pure Life
A Story In E5
One More Morning

LP
London Island
Dusting For Smoke
Depth Wish
Searing Light, Forward
Motion
Infinite Future
After The Fire
Into The Arms Of Stillness
Fuzwar
Pure Life
A Story In E5
One More Morning

With his now sold out, seated and socially distanced live show Together In Static set to take place at London’s recently restored Hackney Church on 29th May across two sittings, matinee and evening, Daniel Avery announces an 11-track album of the same name, comprised of music created exclusively for the performance.

The London-based artist and producer also announces a live stream from the church on 27th May, allowing more fans to experience the immersive performance of previously unheard music combined with the refined and creatively ambitious production Avery has become renowned for. ‘As with many things this past year, the project took on a power and a life of its own right in front of me,’ he explains. ‘The original idea was to simply play a couple of intimate gigs at Hackney Church during the last lockdown. I started to make music specifically for the shows yet, as plans continued to shift, I fell deeper into the waves. I considered a 12’ or an EP but by the time I came up for air, I realised I had a complete record I wanted to share. I feel it’s some of my best work and I’m gassed for you all to hear it.’

“Together in Static” comes almost a year to the day after Avery’s surprise third studio album “Love + Light”, released last June in the midst of the coronavirus crisis. Where his previous record was hailed by NME as ‘a heartfelt eulogy for the hedonism we’re missing this summer,’ hope and expectation course through the new album. There is joy in communion, and change is coming.

STAFF COMMENTS

Sil says: A live performance specially written and performed during the madness of the last 18 months gets a nice vinyl release for anyone who couldn't witness it live. I love Daniel Avery so this is a must-listen for me.

TRACK LISTING

Side A
Crystal Eyes
Yesterday Faded
Nowhere Sound
The Pursuit Of Joy
Fountain Of Peace

Side B
Together In Static
A Life That Is Your Own
Hazel And Gold
Endless Hours
The Midnight Sun

Renowned UK producer Daniel Avery and acclaimed experimental musician and Nine Inch Nails synth artist Alessandro Cortini release their debut full-length collaboration, ‘Illusion Of Time’, on Avery's long time home Phantasy Sound.

Beginning as a collaborative experiment before the pair had even met, Avery and Cortini then worked remotely and free of concept or deadline over several years. The result, finally completed when both artists were touring with Nine Inch Nails in 2018, is a quietly powerful album rooted in trust, process and experimentation.

“It was very much a shared process,” notes Avery. “I would like to credit Alessandro with his belief that music has a life of its own, as well as the importance he places on the first take... That even something that may be considered out-of-step by some should be respected. Some of the tracks were borne simply out of a tiny synth part, or a bit of tape hiss that we had recorded. And that approach taught me a lot. It’s a record that’s been worked on hard, but not laboured over.”

“I was a big fan of Daniel’s, and his work always spoke to me in a certain way,’’ explains Cortini. “Then, when we started working together, it just clicked. It’s very hard to explain, but I can always hear the love in his work, and that is true on this record. After our first collaboration, we just kept sending each other music and maintaining that dialogue. Next thing you know, we’re sitting in a hotel room in New York and had finished the record in three hours.”

TRACK LISTING

Sun
Illusion Of Time
CC Pad
Space Channel
Inside The Ruins
At First Sight
Interrupted By The Cloud of Light
Enter Exit
Water
Stills

Five years after his critically acclaimed debut Drone Logic, London-based producer Daniel Avery announces his highly anticipated second album Song For Alpha, set for release on March 9th 2018 through Phantasy. The album is preceded on January 19th by a 4-track limited edition 12” vinyl EP titled Slow Fade.

The new long player, on which the track ‘Slow Fade’ will appear, follows 2013’s incendiary debut Drone Logic. Upon its release the latter was called “A mesmerising debut" by Mixmag, “Exceptional” by the Times and "A benchmark for so many other dance albums to aspire to" by Dummy, while Pitchfork proclaimed “Avery owns this space.” “Underground dance music with this sort of ambition hasn’t been heard in quite a while", noted Resident Advisor, and Q hailed  "The arrival of a new left­field dance superstar."

In the years since, Avery has helmed a DJ-Kicks mix CD, resided over a monthly radio show for NTS Live, curated an extensive remix compilation and collaborated on a series of side-projects including a recent collaboration with Nine Inch Nails synth specialist Alessandro Cortini; he has toured relentlessly, cementing a reputation as one of the defining techno DJs of the decade. He has also worked studiously on what he wanted to say next as a producer. 

With newfound energy and time to develop, Avery’s sonic vocabulary has expanded. Here, the booming sound of the big room is brilliantly countered by the music of the small hours. Where celestial ambient lullabies ‘First Light’ and ‘Days From Now’ sit perfectly next to the mesmeric techno assault of ‘Diminuendo’ and ‘Sensation’; where both ‘Projector’ and ‘Clear’ evoke early rave records, only ones engulfed by waves of beautiful cyclonic distortion. William Basinski, Warp’s Artificial Intelligence, Brian Eno plus his own excursions with Alessandro Cortini all serve as touchstones for a record that sees Avery take his signature psychedelic-electronic sound to new dimensions, a sound that plays to the head as much as the body.

STAFF COMMENTS

Barry says: Delicately presented electroacoustic compositions, supported with a finely honed backbone of melodic suggestion and hypnotic rhythmic pulse, Avery once again proves he is one of the masters of his craft.

TRACK LISTING

First Light
Stereo L
Projector
TBW17
Sensation
Citizen // Nowhere
Clear
Diminuendo
Days From Now
Embers
Slow Fade
Glitter
Endnote
Quick Eternity

Phantasy release ‘Reworks Volume 1’, a comprehensive collection of remixes from prodigious DJ and producer Erol Alkan.

‘Reworks Volume 1’ is a musical overview of what makes Erol Alkan one of his generation’s most iconic remixers. Framing a corner of his career in perspective - a success in taking on any source material and melding it into something of his own. Alkan’s philosophy towards a remix is to ‘re-produce’ work as if the original never existed. Avoiding methods like the transplanting of a vocal on a contemporary dance beat, or adding a four-to-the-floor 808 kick drum underneath a rock band, Alkan instead takes a considered approach to build something new that offers a fresh and divergent take on the music in front of him.

This collection of reworks illustrates that his distinct style of remixing is just another layer in what makes Erol Alkan unique to dance music. Unpredictable but equipped with a Midas touch - you never quite know what’s coming but you can count on it to be special, a quality shared between both his DJ sets and his production work. Erol Alkan is a dance music artist with an alternative sensibility, a psychedelic approach and a punk outlook - what makes him stand apart in dance music is what makes him one of the genre’s most enduring and influential artists.

The vinyl box set includes ten classic reworks remastered and spread across five pieces of vinyl, an exclusive interview and download code to the full digital album containing a further 10 reworks. The box is covered in linen with a red foil print.

TRACK LISTING

12” 1
Justice - Waters Of Nazareth (Erol Alkan’s Durrr Durrr Durrrrr Re-Edit)
Tame Impala - Why Wont You Make Up Your Mind (Erol Alkan’s Extended Rework)
12” 2
Scissor Sisters - I Don’t Feel Like Dancing (Erol Alkan’s Carnival Of Light Rework)
Metronomy - The Bay (Erol Alkan’s Extended Rework)
Tracklisting
12” 3
Hot Chip - Boy From School (Erol Alkan’s Extended Rework)
Connan Mockasin - Forever Dolphin Love (Erol Alkan’s Extended Rework)
12” 4
Franz Ferdinand - Do You Want To (Erol Alkan’s Glam Racket)
Yeah Yeah Yeahs - Zero (Erol Alkan Rework)
12” 5
Daft Punk - The Brainwasher (Erol Alkan’s Horrorhouse Dub)
Gonzales - Never Stop (Erol Alkan Rework)

Phantasy release ‘Reworks Volume 1’, a comprehensive collection of remixes from prodigious DJ and producer Erol Alkan.

‘Reworks Volume 1’ is a musical overview of what makes Erol Alkan one of his generation’s most iconic remixers. Framing a corner of his career in perspective - a success in taking on any source material and melding it into something of his own. Alkan’s philosophy towards a remix is to ‘re-produce’ work as if the original never existed. Avoiding methods like the transplanting of a vocal on a contemporary dance beat, or adding a four-to-the-floor 808 kick drum underneath a rock band, Alkan instead takes a considered approach to build something new that offers a fresh and divergent take on the music in front of him.

This collection of reworks illustrates that his distinct style of remixing is just another layer in what makes Erol Alkan unique to dance music. Unpredictable but equipped with a Midas touch - you never quite know what’s coming but you can count on it to be special, a quality shared between both his DJ sets and his production work. Erol Alkan is a dance music artist with an alternative sensibility, a psychedelic approach and a punk outlook - what makes him stand apart in dance music is what makes him one of the genre’s most enduring and influential artists.

‘Reworks Volume 1’ looks back on over a decade of realigning other artists, including his classic versions of Justice’s ‘Waters Of Nazareth’, Connan Mockasin’s ‘Forever Dolphin Love’ and Death From Above 1979’s ‘Romantic Rights’, remixes that have added new perspective and dimensions to the originals, at times performing alchemy, turning rock into dance music on reworks for Franz Ferdinand, Interpol and the Yeah Yeah Yeahs and he’s just as comfortable taking on fellow dance music producers like Lindstrøm, Daft Punk and Hot Chip - a connection which lead to the classic rework of ‘Boy From School’.

The double CD edition brings together 20 reworks across two CDs and comes with a booklet which includes an exclusive interview with Erol Alkan.

TRACK LISTING

CD1 
Tame Impala - Why Won’t You Make Up Your Mind (Erol Alkan’s Extended Rework)
Death From Above 1979 - Romantic Rights (Erol Alkan’s Love From Below Re-Edit)
Justice - Waters Of Nazareth (Erol Alkan’s Durrr Durrr Durrrrr Re-Edit)
LA Priest - Engine (Erol Alkan’s Transonic Re-Edit)
Gonzales - Never Stop (Erol Alkan Rework)
Kindness - Gee Up (Erol Alkan’s Extended Rework)
Hot Chip - Boy From School (Erol Alkan’s Extended Rework)
Scissor Sisters - I Don’t Feel Like Dancing (Erol Alkan’s Carnival Of Light Rework)
Klaxons - Golden Skans (Erol Alkan’s Ekstra Spektral Rework)
Connan Mockasin - Forever Dolphin Love (Erol Alkan’s Extended Rework)

CD2
Franz Ferdinand - Do You Want To (Erol Alkan’s Glam Racket)
Yeah Yeah Yeahs - Zero (Erol Alkan Rework)
The Emperor Machine - RMI Is All I Want (Erol Alkan Extended Rework
Daft Punk - The Brainwasher (Erol Alkan’s Horrorhouse Dub)
New Order - Singularity (Erol Alkan’s Stripped Mix)
Metronomy - The Bay (Erol Alkan’s Extended Rework)
MGMT - Congratulations (Erol Alkan Rework)
Nightworks - Long Forgotten Boy (Erol Alkan’s Extended Rework)
Beyond The Wizards Sleeve - White Crow (Erol Alkan’s Extended Rework)
Todd Rundgren, Emil Nikolaisen, Hans-Peter Lindstrøm - Runddans (Erol Alkan’s Extended Rework)

Way back when (approx 12 years ago), in those glory days of dingy basements and gaffa taped trainers, a whole new genreration of dancers were taking a journey of musical discovery at the the invitation of one Erol Alkan and his banging clubnight Trash. Electroclash, nu-disco, post-punk, punk-funk, nu rave, techno, there was a fair bit of techno, and indie cuts all rubbed shoulders, pogoed and made out in the middle of the dancefloor, getting totally fucked up as Erol threw them into the blender. This series sees the Phantasy man showcase his ear for a tune and hand for a killer rework with retrospective series of his best reinterpretations.
Hey, remember "We Are Your Friends"? That Simian cut those French guys turned into the happiest, electro pop winner you'd ever heard. Yeah man, Justice are softies. Oh..wait..no..argghh...what the fuck? This is some heavy shit...yeah...yeah mate...YEAH...this is the new sound!... So went many a conversation when Justice erupted onto the scene in 2006 with the headbanging electro of "Waters Of Nazareth". Not wanted to be shown up by a couple of Frenchies, main man about town Erol snatched the stems and cut the track into a non stop riot of balck metal synths, over-compressed drums and horrorshow organ. Hot shit! Flip the disc and take savour another side of Erol, the mushroom chomping, sunbathing, woodland dwelling psychedelic side which birthed the excellent Beyond The Wizard's Sleeve project. Presumably dressed in some sort of cape, Erol worked his magic on modern-day Aussie nugget "Why Won't You Make Up Your Mind", creating a slice of dancefloor psych you'd expect Todd Rundgren to turn out if his fusion cuts were ever any good.

Way back when (approx 12 years ago), in those glory days of dingy basements and gaffa taped trainers, a whole new genreration of dancers were taking a journey of musical discovery at the the invitation of one Erol Alkan and his banging clubnight Trash. Electroclash, nu-disco, post-punk, punk-funk, nu rave, techno, there was a fair bit of techno, and indie cuts all rubbed shoulders, pogoed and made out in the middle of the dancefloor, getting totally fucked up as Erol threw them into the blender. This series sees the Phantasy man showcase his ear for a tune and hand for a killer rework with retrospective series of his best reinterpretations.
There's a bit in the CD booklet for this series about 'rework vs remix', and Erol's Scissor Sisters remix is a case in point. It's not a makeover, it's a full on Kylie Jenner facial overhaul. Aptly dubbed "Carnival Of Light" rework, Erol replaces the disco sparkle of the original with Goa electronics, festival ready beats and a sort of Michael Mayer in Rio levity. VG. Turn the page and Erol takes on Metronomy single "The Bay" from the AOR-tinged "English Riviera", upping the electronics, pushing the bassline to the fore and coating the whole things in sequins. Disco delight!

Way back when (approx 12 years ago), in those glory days of dingy basements and gaffa taped trainers, a whole new genreration of dancers were taking a journey of musical discovery at the the invitation of one Erol Alkan and his banging clubnight Trash. Electroclash, nu-disco, post-punk, punk-funk, nu rave, techno, there was a fair bit of techno, and indie cuts all rubbed shoulders, pogoed and made out in the middle of the dancefloor, getting totally fucked up as Erol threw them into the blender. This series sees the Phantasy man showcase his ear for a tune and hand for a killer rework with retrospective series of his best reinterpretations.
It was 2006, synth-pop kings Hot Chip had just dropped "The Warning" and made their ascent to god-emperor status. They drop a heart-rending melancho-disco single called "Boy From School", and enlist London's premier party starter Erol Alkan to transform it into an extended, kraut-tinged, lightly scuzzed take on the classic Kompakt sound. The B-side provides another bittersweet spectacular via Erol's hair-raising, chill-prompting take on Connan Mockasin's indie winner "Forver Dolphin Love". Offering euphoria, optimism and melancholy on a widescreen scale, this cinematic rework became a must have for festival DJs and anyone looking to tug at some club heartstrings.

Way back when (approx 12 years ago), in those glory days of dingy basements and gaffa taped trainers, a whole new genreration of dancers were taking a journey of musical discovery at the the invitation of one Erol Alkan and his banging clubnight Trash. Electroclash, nu-disco, post-punk, punk-funk, nu rave, techno, there was a fair bit of techno, and indie cuts all rubbed shoulders, pogoed and made out in the middle of the dancefloor, getting totally fucked up as Erol threw them into the blender. This series sees the Phantasy man showcase his ear for a tune and hand for a killer rework with retrospective series of his best reinterpretations.
On the A-side here we have Erol's "Glam Racket" take on "Do You Want To", the lead track from Franz' sophomore LP. Repeating the Mick Ronson styled guitar riff way beyond the point of sanity, Erol spends three minutes building dance floor tensions to fever pitch before unleashing an earbleeding drop of rabid, Justice-style distorto bass - huge! If that wasn't enough, when he eventually reinvents the ear-worm hook as a sort of backwards organ thingy, it totally flips ppl out. Flip it for "Zero", a spangled technoid reshape of Yeah Yeah Yeah's disco tinged single, which sees Erol utilising jacking drums, gnarly synths and tons of vocal echo to spin the dancefloor out into a narcotic frenzy - MDMAzing!

Way back when (approx 12 years ago), in those glory days of dingy basements and gaffa taped trainers, a whole new genreration of dancers were taking a journey of musical discovery at the the invitation of one Erol Alkan and his banging clubnight Trash. Electroclash, nu-disco, post-punk, punk-funk, nu rave, techno, there was a fair bit of techno, and indie cuts all rubbed shoulders, pogoed and made out in the middle of the dancefloor, getting totally fucked up as Erol threw them into the blender. This series sees the Phantasy man showcase his ear for a tune and hand for a killer rework with retrospective series of his best reinterpretations.
On the A-side, Erol rips apart the abrasive electro snarl of Daft Punk's "Brainwasher" and stitches it back together with a series of rib rattling breakbeats, gloomy keys and tremulous bass. Hard hitting, head-fucking electro tackle which predated the current breaks revival by a decade. Flip it for an Erol rework of Chilly Gonzales' "Never Stop". This dancefloor mauler works from a standard electro set up of kick+snare+hats before dropping into bleepy keys, pitched down vocal flips and a rampant electrodisco bassline. 'Ave it!

Trip. A simple arrangement of four letters that has many associations: a trip to the seaside, a drug trip (and so a journey into the unknown), a trip is to suddenly fall.

"The Soft Bounce" is a trip album in the widest sense: containing nearly 45 minutes of carefully programmed music, it sets off into to the unknown, it contains pleasure and pain, doubt and transcendence, and it ends somewhere that is different from where you started.

Beginning with expansive synth washes and "Love To Love You Baby"-style oohs, "Delicious Light" is immediately uplifting: we’re off on a switchback journey that will pass from light through darkness and confusion and pain to transcendence and acceptance. Darkness of a sort is forged in explosive motion ("Iron Age") before passing through sunshine pop ("Creation"), first wave UK psych ("Door To Tomorrow" with its invocation of "Emily", beloved of both the Pink Floyd and the Piccadilly Line), and the blissful Balearic emotion of "Diagram Girl". This passes into the American Gothic of "Black Crow" - that traditional avian harbinger of doom - and then we’re down the rabbit hole.

“Tomorrow, Forever" begins in the sound of nothingness and slowly unfolds into beatless cloud reveries that are at once solemn and hopeful. Weightless, blown with the wind, you come down to earth with the skipping afro beat of "The Soft Bounce": a soft female voice pleads for connection, but she is almost swamped by the stinging, shocking guitar reverb. The positive moods of "Finally First" and "Triumph" put everything back together before the all-out acid assault of "Third Mynd": from life to death to rebirth, ‘you throw the sticks up in the air, and they come down in a different pattern.’

“Is it the history of human kind or a personal, individual odyssey? With guest appearances from Blaine Harrison (Mystery Jets), Euros Childs (Gorky’s Zygotic Mynci), Jane Weaver, Holly Miranda and Hannah Peel, Erol Alkan and Richard Norris have constructed an album that is both highly enjoyable and on a deeper level, perceptual and psychological. Growth is necessary, as is adaptation to change: neither are achieved easily or without some kind of sacrifice. Operating on a level that can be verbal but is more often non-verbal, music can ease that passage.” - John Savage.

STAFF COMMENTS

Barry says: This is indeed a trip. Melodic but psychedelic rock music to get up and dance to. Anthemic choruses and stoner guitars hide behind swirling synths and softly delivered vocal harmonies before smashing into the foreground with a riotous burst of distortion and glam. Exciting and groovy, gleefully nostalgic ('Emily' he sings, I was fully expecting Barrett to walk in and tell me about how she plays), but resolutely modern. A trip through all the best bits of all the things you should like. Ace.

TRACK LISTING

01 Delicious Light
02 Iron Age
03 Creation
04 Door To Tomorrow
05 Diagram Girl
06 Black Crow
07 Tomorrow, Forever
08 The Soft Bounce
09 Finally First
10 Triumph
11 Third Mynd