Phantasy

PHANTASYMIX returns with a fresh contribution from enigmatic producer Kiaki. Inspired by the ethos of our own Daniel Avery, alongside Aphex Twin and Detroit pioneers Drexciya, Kiaki specializes in deep, slow-mo, e-motional house and techno as well, punctured by the attitude and influences such as the gold-plated era of early 00s hip-hop. Having released on Man Power’s prolific, instinctive imprint Me Me Me and after fronting shows on Rinse and WWFM, Kiaki’s eclectic and thoughtful mix for Phantasy offers a journey from Kraftwerk through to Trikk, seamlessly linking Diana Ross and Acid Arab. Kiaki’s mix for Phantasy is now streaming on Apple Music and Mixcloud.

Already residents on Worldwide FM and one of Mixmag’s Breakthrough DJs of The Year in 2021, it’s a delight to welcome Dar Disku to Phantasy for a contribution to the #PHANTASYMIX series, eighty-three glorious minutes awash in the diverse, psychedelic fervor we can’t get enough, ranging from upfront, festival-ready disco to offbeat polyrhythms and boisterous folk mutations. Equally insightful and unpredictable, Dar Disku’s mix is a musical trip that keeps on giving.

This International Women’s Day, spend an hour deep in the passionate, versatile selections of Jay Carder. There are numerous sides to Jay Carder that demonstrate a DJ, promoter and radio host truly at ease with their own taste. Describing her selections as a “concoction of heavier, leftfield bass and lighter, psychedelic techno”, this is the sort of vibe that Carder delivers for her contribution to Phantasy’s mix series. For this bumping and classy hour, Carder connects her alignment with a resurgent UK underground transforming a legacy of garage and breaks - recent appearances on the decks have placed her alongside K-Lone and the Dr. Banana crew - with a trippy house aesthetic that’s more than familiar to Phantasy, just as Carder is to us. As you can see, she’s even repping the t-shirt.

Stream, download or buy 12" vinyl: http://lnk.to/TRODDPH114 Reuniting on record for the first time since 2015, The Rhythm Odyssey & Dr. Dunks arrive on Phantasy with a double-barrel delivery of legitimate weirdo disco, ‘El Cid’. Comprising of Chicken Lips’ own Dean Meredith and crate-digging DJ extraordinaire, Eric Duncan, both tracks come complete with additional playing from Andy Meecham, AKA, The Emperor Machine.

Stream, download or buy 12" vinyl: http://lnk.to/TRODDPH114 Reuniting on record for the first time since 2015, The Rhythm Odyssey & Dr. Dunks arrive on Phantasy with a double-barrel delivery of legitimate weirdo disco, ‘El Cid’. Comprising of Chicken Lips’ own Dean Meredith and crate-digging DJ extraordinaire, Eric Duncan, both tracks come complete with additional playing from Andy Meecham, AKA, The Emperor Machine.

Few artists have made as much of an underground impact in 2021 as Nikki Nair, and deservedly so. One of the most imaginative producers and DJs of 2021 polishes off a stellar year with a blistering contribution to Phantasy's mix series. Read the short accompanying interview here: https://shop.phantasysound.co.uk/blogs/news/phantasymix-42-nikki-nair

Manchester-based band W.H. Lung contribute to our #PHANTASYMIX with an outsider dance mix full of warmth & rich in knowledge. Music that continues to inspire the band & firm favourites on the tour van stereo. Read the short accompanying interview: https://shop.phantasysound.co.uk/blogs/news/phantasymix-41-w-h-lung

Nadia Struiwigh has been releasing her emotive, patient electronic music for nearly a decade, including albums for IDM institutions such as CPU, split-twelves with synth legends such as Legowelt and most recently, Pax Aurora, her latest and sublime release on the brilliantly curated Nous K’lear Audio. A long-time favourite at Phantasy, we’re delighted to welcome Struiwigh for the latest edition of #PHANTASYMIX, which guides listeners down a deep, even meditative wormhole of rich techno and waves of diverse electronic textures. Nadia took the time to speak to John Loveless via email about her upcoming projects, the changing scene and the risks and rewards of social media. Read the short accompanying interview here: https://shop.phantasysound.co.uk/blogs/news/phantasymix-40-nadia-struiwigh

Ambient Babestation Meltdown, otherwise known as Rachael Williams, is a true character. Her sets gravitate towards records old and new that pulse with energy, irony and intelligence, a sort of thinking-person’s party DJ, yet far less annoying than that might sound. As one half of DiASKi, alongside Joe Brooke-Smith, she produces sci-fi tinted trippers that will soon emerge on a debut record from DBA, and recently provided some different dystopian flavours to the newly maskless masses at Gala Festival. After delivering the mix, Ambient Babestation Meltdown briefly spoke to John Loveless about her musical heritage and selection. Read the accompanying interview here: https://shop.phantasysound.co.uk/blogs/news/phantasymix-39-ambient-babestation-meltdown

A fixture of Italian club culture, Tropical Animals founder Ricardo Baez delivers a beautifully paced sixty-minutes of recent dancefloor heat for the latest #PHANTASYMIX. Read the short accompanying interview he did with John Loveless: https://shop.phantasysound.co.uk/blogs/news/phantasymix-38-ricardo-baez

Having already released on underground labels such as Livity Sound and Trule, Bakongo has made a serious impact over the past year or two, capturing the ears of dancers and collectors even without the benefit of a sub-heavy dancefloor to showcase his productions, which blend elements of “techno, garage, dub and broken beats’, spun and reinterpreted with understanding and imagination. Better known as Roska, in a recent, wide-ranging interview with Beatport, Goodlitt pondered “What happens to funky the other nine months of the year when there’s no sun shining?”. Just as it begins to appear again, Goodlitt switches to Bakongo and answers this question fair-and-square, generously gifting Phantasy an hour full of upcoming material, collaborations and edits, as well as material from the likes of Chrissy, DJ Gregory and LSDXOXO. Collectively, it amounts to irresistible body music, brightly beaming down but not without a touch of grit and darkness. Accompanying the mix, Bakongo spoke to John Loveless in May 2021, v

Out now on 12" vinyl + digitally: lnk.to/UPH102 An infrequent but invigorating contributor to Phantasy, U returns with a beguiling new single entitled ‘Ecstasy’. Initially available as a limited pressing with a sleeve designed and printed by U themselves, this haunting return promises to draw the curious into two divine rhythms, transferring unknowable forces and mysterious energies. The first side of the artefact portrays ‘Ecstasy’, a wide-eyed and spectral incantation rich in intimacy, whispering voices and earthy psychedelia. Somewhere between machine funk and folk canticle, a sonic gift perhaps for a field in England bathed in moonlight, else a dire basement dripping in energy, ‘Ecstasy’ leaves the system almost spiritually. On the contrary, ‘Morpheus’ presents a tougher meditation, a creeping jam with an analogue consciousness, ghostly rave echoes and a conundrum at its heart. The dream seems so real, but what if you can’t wake from it after all?

Out now on 12" vinyl + digitally: lnk.to/UPH102 An infrequent but invigorating contributor to Phantasy, U returns with a beguiling new single entitled ‘Ecstasy’. Initially available as a limited pressing with a sleeve designed and printed by U themselves, this haunting return promises to draw the curious into two divine rhythms, transferring unknowable forces and mysterious energies. The first side of the artefact portrays ‘Ecstasy’, a wide-eyed and spectral incantation rich in intimacy, whispering voices and earthy psychedelia. Somewhere between machine funk and folk canticle, a sonic gift perhaps for a field in England bathed in moonlight, else a dire basement dripping in energy, ‘Ecstasy’ leaves the system almost spiritually. On the contrary, ‘Morpheus’ presents a tougher meditation, a creeping jam with an analogue consciousness, ghostly rave echoes and a conundrum at its heart. The dream seems so real, but what if you can’t wake from it after all?

Lupini has slowly, quietly established herself as a pivotal figure in Liverpool’s alternative music scene. Recently introduced to a wider audience via her recent NTS residency (already a firm favourite at Phantasy HQ), she’s known in Merseyside as a DJ, promoter, radio station manager and all-round enthusiast of no small repute. As is obvious, Lupini’s life revolves around music, and in turn, music revolves around her. This sincere eclecticism, reflected in her typically thoughtful contribution to #PHANTASYMIX, soaks up dubby overtures, dreamy new wave and escalating percussive jams, switching between energy modes with open-mindedness but rare authority. Accompanying the mix, Lupini spoke to John Loveless about the post-COVID challenges and opportunities in the Liverpool music scene, warping between genres and the joy of a big, silly acid line. Read the interview here: https://shop.phantasysound.co.uk/blogs/news/phantasymix-36-lupini

Brimming with energy and optimism, Kasper Marott contributes to our #PHANTASYMIX series with a high-energy techno trip full of character. Kasper Marrott has been fascinated with dance music since his teenage years in the Danish countryside, programming music since the age of ten and dreaming of big, bouncing dancefloors. Far removed from the Deadmau5 copycat tunes he made on Fruity Loops throughout his teens, Marrott saw his dream come true some years later, when he became one of a number of DJs spearheading the so-called ‘fast techno’ scene emerging from Copenhagen a few years ago. Alongside the mix, Kasper spoke to John Loveless about the Swedish scene, capturing emotion and the importance of country and folk music. Read the short accompanying interview: https://shop.phantasysound.co.uk/blogs/news/phantasymix-35-kasper-marott

One of the most prolific and charismatic producers emerging from the US underground, Sepehr trips fast through the fringes of electro, acid and DnB in the latest electrifying contribution to our #PHANTASYMIX series. Read the short accompanying interview here: https://shop.phantasysound.co.uk/blogs/news/phantasymix-34-sepehr

Yr Lovely Dead Moon does not do things as one might expect. The performance and production project of Rachel Margetts travelled alongside it’s creator to far flung corners of Europe, from the North-East of England to the DIY art scene of Estonia, before landing in Berlin, where this engrossing and occasionally head-spinning contribution to #PHANTASYMIX was recorded. Yr Lovely Dead Moon transfers her formidable talents to a remarkable new entry to the #PHANTASYMIX with avant-garde electronic selections from the Berlin underground. Read the short accompanying interview here: https://shop.phantasysound.co.uk/blogs/news/phantasymix-33-yr-lovely-dead-moon

One of London's finest club DJs, Josh Caffe rounds out 2020 in our #PHANTASYMIX series with an hour of seductive house and techno pleasure for your end of year enjoyment. An imaginary dark room soundtracked by the likes of DJ Hell, Carisma, Violet, Lady Blacktronica and former collaborators Paranoid London. Read the short accompanying interview with Josh Caffe here: https://shop.phantasysound.co.uk/blogs/news/phantasymix-32-josh-caffe

Lou Hayter has been a recognisable face on the London music scene since the mid-noughties, when she rose to prominence as part of the ludicrously stylish Mercury nominated electro-pop band, New Young Pony Club. Since then, she has maintained a presence at the always-evolving intersection between music and fashion, building a reputation as a DJ as comfortable at peak-time in the basement of XOYO as at the launches of some of the world’s most desirable brands (Chanel, Miu Miu, Chloe and Paul Smith all have Hayter on their books). Lou Hayter’s contribution to the #PHANTASYMIX series weaves similarly singular gems against a steady thread of disco and deep house, featuring music from Moodymann, Maria Minerva and Dream 2 Science. Read the short accompanying interview here: https://shop.phantasysound.co.uk/blogs/news/phantasymix-31-lou-hayter

One of Berlin's most diverse and talented DJs and resident at the cult RIOT queer party series, we're pleased to welcome Ady Toledano as the thirtieth contributor to #PHANTASYMIX. Read the short accompanying interview here: https://shop.phantasysound.co.uk/blogs/news/phantasymix-30-ady-toledano