Founded in 2007 by Erol Alkan, Phantasy is fast approaching it’s 100th single.
With this landmark on the horizon, the label heads deep into their already rich legacy of releases on ‘A Psychedelic Sensibility’, a new full-length mix and digital compilation. The collection is curated and mixed live by John Loveless, the Berlin-based DJ who has been a creative force within the label since 2014.
You can buy the whole compilation for £7 (or pay more if you want) and get all the tracks and the mix included OR buy each track individually (mix will not be included).
Beginning with the wistful guitar of Connan Mockasin and later concluding with the chaotic, futurist energy of Late of The Pier, the journey in-between takes in every facet of Phantasy’s unusual musical vision. Focusing on some of the label’s more unexpected and esoteric releases, Loveless threads a fluid eighty-minute patchwork of tempos and textures that builds from organic beginnings to outright rave pressure and catharsis.
Alkan’s own touch set the scene, both as half of Beyond The Wizards Sleeve as well as remixing early Phantasy signing Fan Death into a grandiose disco mode. Red Axes’ stirring, feedback drenched edit of Cowboy Rhythmbox tops In Flagranti’s undeniable ‘Toiletries For Bottoms’, bumping with Gabe Gurnsey’s hymn to hedonism, ‘You Can’, resulting in an alluring vision of neon-drenched disco energy.
Recent signings Terr and C.Y.M. coax open a wormhole of sonic bliss informed by krautrock and kosmische, before revisiting Four Tet’s 2010 remix of cult Brazilian talent Babe, Terror, soon overwhelmed by U’s triumphant and powerful ‘Ascension Hymn’, blended with Patrick Russell’s brooding take on Daniel Avery’s techno bomb, ‘Diminuendo’.
Following spells of contrasting contemporary electro from label mainstays James Welsh and Ghost Culture, the final act of ‘A Psychedelic Sensibility’ unfolds as a barreling trip through some of Phantasy’s finest remixes. Bok Bok’s hammering, UK funky inspired edit of Switch & Erol Alkan’s ‘A Sydney Jook’, dating from 2012 slices into hi-NRG courtesy of Jacques Renault’s vision of Future Four’s ‘Phase 2’, while the vibrant queer underground of New York meets it’s match in London, via Justin Cudmore’s remix of Joshua James’ ‘Coarse’. Wilted Woman’s brutal techno funk and Special Request’s recent take on Erol Alkan’s ‘Spectrum’ blend for a dramatic conclusion.
Founded in London in 2007 and neither rooted in electronic or alternative music, Phantasy's spirit instead follows a lineage of celebrated independent imprints, with each artist working closely alongside the label to achieve the best possible sound and vision.
John Loveless is the founder of Berlin based party and label, Hot Concept, as well as a longtime resident on the city’s independent underground radio station, Cashmere Radio. As John Thorp, he has written extensively about electronic and alternative music for publications including Mixmag, The Guardian and Bandcamp, and currently contributes an ongoing, in-depth interview series, ‘The Forum’ for Phantasy.
Cover art by pokies.design. Additional mixing by Gramrcy.