Few people are onto great records as quickly as a great record store.
After years spent discovering gems in Phonica’s end of year lists, it made sense to give them a regular space on FACT. Every Saturday, staff from the Soho institution pick out the five vinyl records you should grab this week.
LINKWOOD
Expressions 3xLP
(Firecracker Recordings)
Edinburgh’s Linkwood returns to his native imprint for a meaty triple-disc selection of lush, trippy house for the sophisticated DJ (‘Object’, ‘Expressions’, ‘Ignorance Is Bliss’) and dog-eared ambient drifters (‘Sonrise’, ‘Coral’, ‘Minus 12’) to help you navigate the PM-to-AM mindfog.
JEANCY/ASTARIUS
‘U Turn Me On / Ancient Times’ 12″
(Invisible City Editions)
Canada’s Invisible City digs up a couple of forgotten wonders in the shape of Jeancy’s ‘U Turn Me On’, a crusted-up boogie gem built from spartan 808s, and two hypnotic spoken word mantras from Hawaii’s Astarius, which could work black magic on a dance floor in the hands of an adventurous selector.
UNKNOWN ARTIST
‘Muko Wapi (Joakim Edit)’ 7″
(Hello Sailor)
Brooklyn label Hello Sailor is a 7″ operation with a nose for disco, funk, afro and balearic antiques, so consider this remastered African jam and its subtly banging edit by French remix king Joakim a much-needed dose of vitamin D (if you’re in the northern hemisphere at least).
EROS
‘Eros 01 X’ 12″
(Eros Records)
The low-key Eros Records is back with more of what it calls “lost classics from the raw, decadent and formative birth of club music re-programmed for modern floors”, so listen up. Four classy, irresistible tracks from an anonymous someone or other, but never mind where it comes from, just get on down under the mirror ball.
I:CUBE
‘Cryptoporticus’ 12″
(Versatile)
The Versatile mastermind behind “M” Megamix shows the youngers how it’s done on the fist-pumping slow-house of ‘Cryptoporticus’, which comes in “cloudy” and self-explanatory “bleepapella” versions, and a Neu-like, smooth-gliding B-side named ‘Hovercraft’.
