Few people are onto great records as quickly as a great record store.
Phonica’s end of year lists are always a treasure trove for undersung gems, so we realised we ought to just give the shop’s learned staff their own slot on FACT. Every Saturday, the team behind the counter at the Soho institution select five vinyl records you should pick up this week.
BJÖRK
Lionsong (Mica Levi Remix) 12″
(One Little Indian)
Mica Levi’s “karaoke version” of ‘Lionsong’ strips out Björk’s harrowing vocal to leave the swooning string arrangements standing tall, surreptiously making a link with Micachu’s woozy orchestral work on the Under The Skin OST. This single-sided translucent 12″ is available in very limited numbers.
JEX
Good Timin’ EP
(Running Back)
Jex Opolis of NYC label Good Timin’ arrives on Gerd Janson’s esteemed imprint for four cosmic dancefloor belters that move from a simmer (‘Laxmi Tool’, the balearic ‘La Casa’) to boiling hot on the bolshy ‘Harpa’.
Audio / Buy here
AUNTIE FLO & ESA PRESENT
Highlife World Series Uganda LP
(Highlife)
After covering Cuba and Kenya in previous instalments, Auntie Flo and Esa take the Highlife World Series (released on Huntleys + Palmers offshoot Highlife) to East Africa, showcasing three original songs produced with local musicians, with Esa tweaking Santuri’s ‘Min Kula’ into a luscious 12″ mix while Dusseldorf producer Behr delivers an alluring slow-house version of Bantu Clan vs Sarabi’s ‘Africa Ni Leo’.
DYNAMO DREESEN, SVN & A MADE UP SOUND
Acido 20 LP
(Acido)
Berlin’s Acido label offers up an EP of untitled collaborations between label boss Dynamo Dreesen, SVN (SEUD, Kontra-Musik) and A Made Up Sound (aka 2562). Wonky pitched drums lead the way on the trippy techno of the A1 before the trio slow it down on two increasingly frazzled outer-space explorations.
ALBINOS
Santa Barbara EP
(Astral Soda)
Three cuts of moonlit house from Antinote associates Albinos, who team up with French label Astral Soda for a very limited four-track release. Final track ‘Facing The Sun’ is a highlight, with snake-charming saxophone sampled, we believe, from Fela Kuti’s ‘Everything Scatter’ cutting loose over a shaky rhythm.
