Phantasy Sound Schallplatten & CDs

Review: In recent times Daniel Avery has been busy collaborating with the likes of Alessandro Cortini and Roman Flugel (the latter as Noun), so few expected him to drop a new solo album in 2020. Yet Love & Light, his surprise third full-length, could well be his most sonically stunning set to date. Beginning with the gaseous ambient opaqueness of 'London Island', the set sees him blaze a trail through 1990s style Sabres of Paradise/Sabresonic techno, hazy dub techno, beatless soundscapes and intense drone tones, before switching focus to deep, gentle and melodious mutations of breakbeat, IDM and electronica.

Review: While Daniel Avery's earlier LPs were deemed by the artist to be dissociative exercises - either working in dance or ambient escapism - his new album 'Ultra Truth' faces up fearlessly to life. Through mega washed out and blurred breaks and, it's the sonic expression of Avery "staring into the fire" of life, however dreamy and indistinct the experience of it may be, and living mindfully, completely in the body he finds himself housed in and controlling. Of course, dance music is embodied music, so we're more than blown away by this representation; Avery pulls it off by going in a direction we've not heard him move in before.

Review: Phantasy Sound's main man Daniel Avery has linked up with modular wizard Alessandro Cortini for a debut full length, "Illusion Of Time". It came together over many years, with no real concept or constraints but it has still managed to make a powerful impact despite its spare, lo-fi, ambient vibes. There are heavier, darker tracks like "Inside The Ruins" that are brilliantly bleak, but also thoughtful meditations like the title track, which has some magical piano playing at its core. It's the rays of light amongst the darkness that make this such a beguiling and beautiful listen, and a perfect soundtrack to long lost days at home during lockdown.

Review: Pioneering and mercurial DJ Erol Alkan and former Grid man Richard Norris have been spinning discs together for well over a decade, and remixing other outfits for almost as long, after bonding on a love of '60s psychedelia and classic acid house - yet this marks their bona fide debut as recording artists, and it's a glorious collision of both these passions - fuelled by crate-digging acumen and exemplary taste, and reflective of a magpie spirit that renders these third-eye-massaging gems more than mere psychedelic pastiche, rather a bold and joyful reinvention of lysergic glories of yore for a new aeon.

Review: Erol Alkan's faultless Phantasy Sound is one of the most high-quality but musically hard to predict labels out there. British Ugandan DJ Josh Caffe has dropped a few killers here before and has a full length coming later in the year but first is 'Meine Lederjeans'. It's a slow-motion electro-funk cut which vocals that drip with Prince-style sexuality and soul. The Paranoid London remix then does what Paranoid London remixes do - bring the grit, grime and sleaze. It's a raw and frazzled remix with early Chicago acid-house vibes. A superb EP with two very different but equally standout tunes.

Review: A genuinely magical meeting of musical minds, here, as Erol Alkan delivers his interpretations of Chemical Brothers' 'Goodbye', a bleep-speckled slab of soul-seeped electro-breaks first featured on the long-serving duo's 2023 album For That beautiful Feeling. Available in vocal and instrumental mixes, Alkan's revision replaces the pair's electro breaks with a new wave synth-pop-meets-analogue techno groove. Bubbly and melancholic - even more so than the Chems' original version - Alkan's takes also throw in additional lo-fi synth lines, counter melodies and raw, electroclash influenced sounds. It's tasteful and surprisingly poignant whilst still having all the ingredients of a fully fledged peak-time workout.

Review: Former Factory Floor flummoxer and drummer Gabe Gurnsey grabs us by the groin on this gargantuan groveller of an LP, 'Diablo', his new album. Blending influences from Detroit techno, minimal post-punk and krautrock, it's an impressive follow-up to Physical, his debut solo album for Erol Alkan's Phantasy Sound. It hotly heats our hearing with high-octane hygge, and develops nicely out of his former one-off EPs and singles.

Review: UK-based DJ and producer Wallace makes his Phantasy Sound debut here with a captivating double A-side on 12" . Both tracks pulse with sensuality and help to cement Wallace as an exciting new force in electronic music. Featuring the evocative vocals of Love Letters, 'Cravings' starts with a deep bass line that builds into a celebration of desire, risk and release. Love Letters' queer perspective intertwines with Wallace's immersive production to create a universally resonant experience. On the flip, 'Concourse' takes a darker and more expansive approach by blending epic techno elements with Wallace's masterful production for a track fit for the terrace or the rave fields.