If you have ever been to Soho’s Phonica Records then you will know what the fuss is all about. It’s a great environment with a complete lack of pretence, where the discovery of new music is always a priority, and where you can frequently expect to part with your money for whatever they’re playing when you walk in! That spirit and approach feeds directly in to the compilation celebrating their first decade, available on three CDs of unmixed excellence that covers a lot of ground in dance music. The quality threshold here is extremely high, especially as the opening two heavyweights are Joe Claussell’s smoky ‘Them Days Are Gone’ and regular visitor Henrik Schwarz’s wondrous ‘Synthphonica’. Picking highlights out of the list is almost churlish, but we cannot pass without mentioning North Lake’s atmospheric ‘Marlborol Noir’, the chattering electronica of Joakim’s ‘Eahr’, the big kick drum and cosmic sounds of Legowelt’s ‘Lovecraftiannature’, Lord of The Isles’ blissful ‘Forkx’ and my personal favourite, DJ Kaos’ ‘Bufflo Dub’. The spirit of the underground is close throughout the set, as is a keen eye for a good production. Many of them hover around the deeper house and techno areas, but are not exclusive to either – so the compilation proceeds without disappearing up a particular genre. All of which captures their philosophy for an open musical policy perfectly. Happy birthday – and here’s to another ten years of musical excellence!
5 out of 5
Reviewed By Ben Hogwood
