Few people are onto great records as quickly as a great record store.
After years spent discovering gems in Phonica’s end of year lists, it made sense to give them a regular space on FACT. Every Saturday, staff from the Soho institution will pick out the five vinyl records you should grab this week.
DELANO SMITH
‘Cascade (Delano Smith Unreleased mix / Ryan Elliott remix’ 12″
(SUSHITECH)
Much deepness and dubbiness awaits on this soon-to-be-rare 10″ from Sushitech, with Detroit’s Delano Smith taking you down a well-worn but expertly tended path of bleary-eyed techno on his new mix of ‘Cascade’. Ostgut Ton’s Ryan Elliott brings the hi-hats and godzilla-stomping bass on the remix. Only 500 copies.
LEN LEISE
Music For Forests EP
(International Feel)
Several years ago International Feel boss Mark Barrott picked up a mysterious cassette in a Parisian charity shop that appeared to be by a library composer named Len Leise. When he eventually tracked Leise down in Australia the original masters for the tape were long gone, so Barrott persuaded him to record a whole new set of songs, which is what you have here: gorgeous, sun-breaking-through-the-clouds new age vibes sure to be loved by fans of Sounds of the Dawn.
ZIAD RAHBANI
‘Abu Ali’ 12″
(Music Gallery Recordings)
Lebanese composer and political commentator Ziad Rahbani (son of the great Arabic singer Fairuz) released one disco project for the Zida label in 1978, now virtually impossible to find. ‘Abu Ali’ is the timeless pick, pairing the cheekiest funk bass with wisps of sax and strings, while ‘Prelude’ is the disco option and a surefire wedding reception smasher (possibly).
JORDAN DE LA SIERRA
Gymnosphere: Song of the Rose LP
(Numero Group)
This 1977 record has a fascinating back story that’s too detailed to summarise in this handy consumer guide, but suffice to say it’s a double album of breathtaking piano sonatas in which notes are left to shimmer and reverberate around each other almost endlessly, creating vast, ethereal pieces that hark back to Erik Satie and La Monte Young.
VLADISLAV DELAY
Visa 2xLP
(Ripatti)
Vladislav Delay’s first ambient album in over a decade is the product of a two-week burst of creative energy after being bummed out by a visa denial and cancelled tour, hence the title. No background-y ambient slop here – this is an hour of beatless analogue goodness designed to be played loud.
