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 morning, Phonica staff will pick out the five vinyl records you should grab this week.
TELEPHONES
The Ocean Called EP
(Running Back)
Born in Norway, based in Berlin and forever dreaming of sand dunes and spritzers on some glittering Mediterranean bay, Henning Severud brings his island fantasy to life on this EP for Running Back. Free-spirited balearica meets dreamy, feel-good house over three tracks and a ‘rhythm tool strip’.
MONA FINNIH
I Love Myself/People Of The World 12″
(Voodoo Funk)
Cosmic, sun-scorched funk from late ’70s Nigeria led by Mona Finnih, reckoned to be the country’s first female bandleader, whose stint in the US at the start of the decade shaped The Sensationals’ soulful, jazzy sound. The only thing wrong with this record is that it ends after two songs. Bonus point for the very literal artwork.
MARCELLUS PITTMAN
Do You Like Music EP
(Downbeat)
Lachrymose pads and crackling analogue percussion are the order of the day on the gorgeous A-side of this EP from Detroit veteran and 3 Chairs bod Marcellus Pittman, while the flip contains an MPC-made hip-hop curio that’s as raw as they come.
LARAAJI
Celestial Music 1978-2011 3xLP
(All Saints)
Finally a vinyl outing for the first career-spanning collection of music by electronic mystic, ambient pioneer and laughter guru Laraaji. The three-LP set includes rarities from private press cassette releases and collaborations with the likes of Brian Eno and Bill Laswell, while an illustrated 24-page booklet tells the inimitable composer’s life story in his own words. How can you resist ‘Unicorn In Paradise’, ‘Eternity or Bust’, or ‘Laraajingle’?
MY RULES
My Rules 002 (‘Yah Yah’/’Woman’) 12″
(My Rules)
More goods from NYC’s anonymous edit crew My Rules (akin to the likes of Keep It Cheap and C.O.M.B.I.) who deliver a pair of stonking leftfield disco edits on their second release. Nonsense vocal meeps and oohmps bring the addictively bubbly ‘Yah Yah’ to life, while the flip goes full-fat funky to frame a husky-voiced ode to a special lady.
