Category Archives: Switched On

Let’s Dance – Various Artists: 20 Years of Phonica (Phonica Records)

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by Ben Hogwood

What’s the story?

When Phonica Records opened in 2003, Soho was a very different place to what it is now. I was working just round the corner, and my initial scepticism at another record shop opening was quickly found to be misplaced. Because Phonica is not just an ordinary record shop, and in fact it has outlasted almost every vinyl-selling neighbour, to our great disappointment. What a treasure it is, though, one of those establishments capable of giving you a musical rush as soon as you step foot in the door. The number of times I have had to enquire to the patient staff what the current tune is (because it’s too new for Shazam!) I could have been saddled with a restraining order. Instead the staff are always helpful and enthusiastic, because they are working in a shop they love.

Why the long intro, you ask? It is because Phonica’s enthusiasm for their art and craft translates directly into the music they sell on their own label, and the tracks appearing on this packed compilation. In their 20 years they have responded to new trends while keeping the old ones happy, and again that is reflected in the music.

What’s the music like?

This is a treasure trove of dance music, a joy from start to finish – and with the added benefit of a fresh track selection that will fill the listener with joy. 18 new tracks is nothing to be sniffed at, and if you read the detailed commentary on the label’s Bandcamp page you’ll see exactly what fits where.

The many highlights can be condensed – only slightly – but include some lithe drum & bass from Tim Reaper & Comfort Zone‘s Subterranean. Daniel Avery contributes the typically brilliant Bells, then the jittery Read My Lips zips along with rushes of euphoria from Paramida & E-Talking. Nyra‘s Broken Needs is a cracker, no messing – while the shuffling beat of Gene On Earth‘s Club Jacket mining the best of 90s garage house. Dam Swindle‘s Alright (Just A Tribute) is also a mid-90s update, a kind of cross between Grace and Crystal Waters. Dauwd‘s Slam is superb, with hushed vocal and leading drum track, while System Olympia‘s Mezzonotte breaks towards 80s electro to very good effect.

The high standard continues, with nocturnal shades from Willow‘s Willbush, and an excellent disco-house hybrid from Austin Ato, Song For Mr Lewis with a great spoken bit in the middle. There is some classy, nippy deep house from Felipe Gordon & Bob The Egoist – Get Your Body Movin’ complete with tasteful flute solo. Eli Escobar‘s FindAWay2Day is a really good, zippy track while, Will Saul‘s For Joanie is superb, with vocal displacement and a slightly glitchy house beat and atmospheric pads.

Does it all work?

It does – nothing to quibble with here, other than electronic excellence and energy that translates from the big city to the bedroom studio.

Is it recommended?

Without doubt. Compilations like this are few and far between in electronic music these days, but Phonica have filled the gap with some aplomb.

For fans of… all sorts of house, garage and techno!

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Published post no.2,073 – Wednesday 31 January 2024

Switched On – Dau: Gilly’s Wood (Spirituals)

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by Ben Hogwood

What’s the story?

Gilly’s Wood is the name for a plot of hawthorn woodland in East Kent – and now it shares its name with an album made by Phil Self in the same spot. This is in complete contrast to Self’s previous record under the Dau moniker, for Zed Zed was made in isolation indoors, with just four walls for company.

No, Self has used his connections with instrumental sextet yndi halda to bring to life a set of improvisations he recorded in the woods two weeks after the Smugglers Festival on the same spot in 2021. The recordings feature Self playing the reed organ alone in the woods, with nothing but a Tascam field recorder for company.

What’s the music like?

There is a rich, pastoral beauty to the music here, and a sense of the slow moving passages of time the trees have taken in Gilly’s Wood itself. The sonorous reed organ lends a stately air to proceedings, especially with the slow moving chord progression of Neu. Not only does the organ feature but the birds and other natural phenomena are round about, giving space and perspective especially on headphones.

Self constructs his portrait in six parts, four of them tracks over eight minutes in length, which gives the music plenty of time to plot its slow course and development. There is a fuzzy, out of focus production which gives the music a soft, grainy texture that proves appealing through Camping and the title track, whose slow progression is a beautifully ambient one.

Only The First Of The Month sounds a little more ominous, with two sonorous tones from the reed organ close together – but this is soon past and we return to fuzzy ambience with Mulberry, which uses musical layers to make a vivid collage of consonant sound. Finally Mary is the most expansive of Self’s musical ideas, its broad canvas reaching to the tops of the trees.

Does it all work?

Effortlessly so. Self’s music does not ask a great deal of the listener other than a suitable environment in which to listen. If you find a restful spot in which to enjoy Gilly’s Wood, the benefits are clear.

Is it recommended?

It is. This is a lovely and rather beautiful suite of English pastoral ambience, a celebration of the outdoors and a positive shot of musical mindfulness.

For fans of… Bibio, Loscil, Kit Downes, Erland Cooper

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Published post no.2,069 – Saturday 27 January 2024

Switched On – Robag Wruhme – T.O.R. LP001 (Tulpa Ovi)

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by Ben Hogwood

What’s the story?

A simple quote from the author puts this new release in perspective. In it, Robag Wruhme (aka Gabor Schablitzki) has listened to his audience and released the Tulpa Ovi releases all together on vinyl. His biography accompanying the collection is simple:

My music and I in the spirit of the times? But not before and neither behind? More like in between somewhere? A side street maybe; I like these better than the busy main streets anyways, as you can still discover things. That’s exactly where I want to be.

What’s the music like?

As minimal as the fuss surrounding its release – but rather beautiful too. Wruhme’s approach is very much a ‘less is more’ aesthetic, where details of percussion come through to play a big part in his writing, alongside very subtle but heart-softening keyboards.

That much certainly happens on the intimate confines of Robellada.22 and the intricate Beta Gora, while the tougher beats of Quokka Supra work really well and generate plenty of forward momentum. These are tracks for the shadowy corners of the underground, and the sublime Avo Thal typifies that approach, a track that begins as a closed shop but opens out wonderfully well to reveal a bright, ambient canvas, drawing back the dark curtain on a much brighter painting behind. The textures of Spoddy Spy reach for the stars, twinkling keyboards and all, while there is an exclusive song included, the bumpy beats of Loss Breda cutting away to reveal the dappled vocals of Lysann Zander.

Does it all work?

It does. Wruhme’s use of colour and structure is pretty much impeccable, though keeps an instinctive approach too.

Is it recommended?

Yes, enthusiastically. These are darkly tinged pieces of minimal electronica that reveal warmth and intimacy with repeated listening.

For fans of… Kompakt, Recondite, Max Cooper, Rival Consoles

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Published post no.2,068 – Friday 26 January 2024

Let’s Dance – Ratier: Ritual (D-Edge)

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by Ben Hogwood

What’s the story?

This is the launch of a new moniker for Brazilian producer Renato Ratier, the man behind Sao Paulo’s D-Edge and Surreal Park clubs.

He already has two albums under his belt, but with Ritual he makes a conscious reboot.

What’s the music like?

There is some excellent, vibrant house music in the course of Ratier’s album, made by a producer who keeps things moving, doesn’t overstay his welcome with any of the tracks, and keeps a really strong concentration on the dancefloor throughout.

Aura is a brilliant deeper house cut with vocal hits, taking influence from Chicago in its execution. Bamboo really hits the spot too, a bouncy track with a woozy chord pattern that leans towards trance. There are a couple of powerful spiritual tracks, with Mantra featuring a guest vocal from L_cio that talks emotively about divisions, ultimately pleading to ‘teach us how to pray’. Profeta is of a similar ilk, with a great low bass underpinning the vocal. Meanwhile Ritual is a winning cultural blend, and you can feel the heat shimmering over the house beats as the indigenous chants play out.

Does it all work?

It does. Ratier works his crowd to excellent effect.

Is it recommended?

Heartily. One the house music heads will certainly enjoy, especially if they are of a Chicago or Detroit persuasion!

For fans of… Floorplan, Carl Craig, Marshall Jefferson

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Published post no.2,067 – Thursday 25 January 2024

On Record – Rone: D’Argent et De Sang (Original Series Soundtrack (InFiné)

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by Ben Hogwood

What’s the story?

The InFiné press release for this soundtrack does a fine job of setting the brief for the most recent soundtrack release from Rone. The French musician and composer has been tasked with writing a score for D’Argent & De Sang (originally titled Tikkoun), produced by Curiosa Films and directed by multi-César winning showrunner Xavier Giannoli.

Rone mixes orchestral textures with electronic elements to ‘symbolize the heterogeneity of the worlds that intersect on the story’. The story is that of the Carbon Tax scam, and Rone talks about how ‘we needed repetition and redundancy to highlight the theme of obsession, which is central to Xavier’s work – and to support the developments in the investigation and its characters’.

What’s the music like?

There is no doubt that Rone is a composer to watch, as his skill in blending orchestral and electronic music is becoming ever more accomplished and imaginative.

With D’Argent & De Sang he succeeds comfortably in following the brief, and the theme of obsession is hammered home. It helps for the listener to know the plot beforehand, as it explains Rone’s continued return to the main theme – but he is clever enough to set it in different context and give it different musical meaning.

The twinkling, shimmering opening pages of Tikkoun present the recurring theme, imaginatively scored. We here the sequence in various guises, from forthright string quintet to steely piano, expressively played by Vanessa Wagner. Rone’s pair of Electronic Variations are serene, in contrast to the grainy strings that darken the mood on Stress, with the use of creeping quarter tones. dRONE03 is ominous, while Jackpot is a powerful climax, combining the strings and electronics to good effect.

Does it all work?

It does – though there is the familiar issue with listeners to soundtracks that some ideas do not get developed as much as you would like, simply because Rone is following the brief. That said, his work is consistently rewarding, from the orchestra that bloom on headphones or widescreen, or the intimacy of the single piano.

Is it recommended?

It is – this is impressive stuff from the Frenchman, who is really carving a name for himself as a composer of some repute.

For fans of… Max Richter, Daft Punk (the TRON soundtrack), Jean-Michel Jarre and Vanessa Wagner

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Published post no.2,061 – Friday 19 January 2024