Phantasy 100: PH91 – PH99

Joshua James: “'Journeys In Love' became a bit of a family affair… After we got the mix right, getting the grit from 'Coarse', we started talking about remixes and I suggested Joe Goddard. He’d been one of my early supporters from The 2 Bears raves and he’s one of the reasons I started at XOYO, and he obviously delivered a total pump. I also wanted to stay true to my queer beginnings and asked the Super Drama guys to rework the record and it’s really sick!"

C.Y.M. introduced a new collaborative partnership to Phantasy, a union between British producer and DJ Mike Greene (otherwise known as Fort Romeau) and LA-based American musician Chris Baio, known for his work as Baio and for playing bass in the acclaimed band Vampire Weekend.

Their debut, self-titled EP, released November 2019, was an elegant hymn to the infinite possibilities of kosmische music, driven by a motorik strain of psychedelia. Three fluid and elegant compositions offer a subtle and modern update on imagined futures that are still open to interpretation. From the chugging fuzz of ‘Capra’, the knotty kraut rhythm of ‘Far Gone’ and the soaring, elegant ‘Super Cannes’, C.Y.M. 's self-titled debut is already a gem within the Phantasy back catalogue.

Released late in 2019, PH95 once again saw James Welsh continue his run of exemplary club singles on Phantasy with 'Sitting/Rubber Dog'.

With a rolling, dystopian bass line alongside a hypnotic and memorable vocal sample (courtesy of influential American composer Alvin Lucier) 'Sitting's initially clinical aesthetic blossoms masterfully into an intoxicating and emotive synth melody. It's a progression identified at the time of release by long-running Welsh enthusiast Midland as, “having a very classic Room One at Fabric feel.”

On the contrary, 'Rubber Dog' stays true to its absurdist title, as Welsh dials his analogue assistance to a head-spinning maximum, pulping out an unwieldy jam that blends industrial and electro influences to riveting and darkly psychedelic effect.

'Sitting/Rubber Dog' is available to stream and download here




PH96

Erol Alkan: "I've known Paul since the mid 00's, I can't recall exactly which nights we shared the bill on, but there were a definate few Wax On parties in Leeds we'd both played at, and I always saw him as a brilliant Dj first and foremost. It wasn't until he made 'Erotic Discourse' (one of my favourite records of 2006? or it could have been 2005 as I bought it out of Phonica as a white label) that I realised his love of psychedelic, electronic music was informing such simple, yet effective dance music. It's really hard to make records like 'Erotic Discourse' as they seem so obvious, but as the same time, nobody had made that record before. That's the beauty of music, you're sure you've known a track the very first time you hear it, but can never place quite where or by whom.

Paul’s releases as Special Request have served me very well indeed as a DJ ever since the alias first came to life, and I’m far from the only one. The first ever Special Request release was in fact a remix of Daniel Avery's ‘Taste’ on Phantasy itself, back in 2012. It’s a record I still love, and Paul has been consistent and innovative ever since. He's also a really decent human being.

By late 2019, ‘Spectrum’ had taken on a life of its own, so it felt right to invite Paul back to reinvent it once more. The original track has its roots in both acid-house and krautrock, whereas the foundation of Special Request is harder techno and DnB. I wasn't expecting two but both these remixes arrived exactly as I’d wished; a powerful mix of all those elements and more, expansive tracks that are still full of character and nuance. I first played it out at Printworks exactly a year ago, in the main hall, and simply writing this is making me a little wistful to get back to nightclubs. Hope we aren't too far now."

Special Request's 'Spectrum' remixes were our first release of 2020, on 24th January. We've got just 5 copies of the 12" left on our web store here

PH97

Joshua James: "It was a friend of mine showed me the film 'The Blue Angel' when I first moved to London and I’ve been in love with Marlene Dietrich ever since. Her voice has always captivated me and I wanted to incorporate it into a record when I found the Dietrich interviews! The delivery and the subject were perfection so I built the record around it. Old Hollywood and techno…the dream."

Joshua James continued a run of infectious singles on Phantasy with a brooding, dreamlike turn into the night on ‘Marlene’, accompanied by two contrasting remixes from Swiss master, Deetron.

The record was released 28th February 2020, and we've got a couple of the 12"s left in stock on our web store here




PH98

It had been some years since Andy Meecham and Dean Meredith last collaborated as Chicken Lips, best known for their relentlessly odd house anthem, ‘He Not In’. As such, it’s with no little delight that Phantasy welcomed them back into the fold in the equally odd summer of 2020 with one of their most mind-bending tracks yet, accompanied by a remix from a fellow stalwart of the underground, DJ Sotofett.

‘Goldenlips’ unrolls like euphoric licorice over ten blissful minutes, mining an undercurrent of post-acid house euphoria, a mastermind session of tension and release from two individuals with decades of experience in tipping dancefloors upside-down. On the flip, DJ Sotofett continues to deliver the unexpected with a compelling ‘Golden Funk’ mix. Suddenly rolling back the musical clock to the sun-drenched West Coast of the mid-nineties, the result is an oozing, bottom-heavy rework so delicious, it might even have united Puffy and Snoop.

Released on 29th May 2020, copies of the 12" are back in stock over on our web store here