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.
VELVET SEASON & THE HEARTS OF GOLD
Long Black/Love Generation 12″
(Resista)
Better known as the disco edit duo of Black Cock co-founder Gerry Rooney and Quiet Village member Joel Martin, Velvet Season & The Hearts Of Gold return with a killer plate for Resista. As you’d expect from artists with such a pedigree, ‘Long Black’ and ‘Love Generation’ are a pair of longform disco odysseys with cosmic touches that go well beyond the usual edit fodder.
SOUND STREAM
Bass Affairs 12″
(Sound Stream)
Nobody does disco house bangers quite like Sound Stream, and Bass Affairs – his first for two years – is well worth the wait. The title track’s looping guitar lick and bass twang is a clear winner, but the elastic synths of ‘Starstrike’ make for one of the most enjoyably weird tracks he’s produced.
LIFTED
1 LP
(PAN)
Comprised of Max D, Baltimore sampler Co La, ambient maestro Gigi Masin and Juju & Jordash’s Jordan GCZ, the rollcall for Lifted’s debut should say it all. If not, the fact their “improvised fusion” sounds like a cross between Sun Ra and Plaid by way of the tropical house of Future Times should be enough to convince you to investigate further.
ANOM VITRUV
Anomie LP
(Total Stasis)
Even by the standards of underground music’s fraternity of anonymous producers Anom Vitruv is an enigmatic figure. His essential records for Tabernacle and Going Good have shown little regard for the dancefloor, and the Anomie LP is no different, exploring the murky world of found sounds and offbeat techno with an even stranger ear than before.
PARALEL DISCO/AFACAN
Disco Hamam 2 12″
(Disco Hamam)
Baris K and Jonny Rock’s first Disco Hamam 12″ was highly sought after. Here they return to the Ottoman discotheque with the second 12″ in the series, highlighting five of the the finest Turkish disco, folk and psych tracks from the vaults in edited form.
