Welcome to our selection of our favourite records of 2024. As you might expect, it is the discovery of new, exciting records that makes life rewarding at Phonica, as we open boxes from labels and distributors to find mind-blowing music from all over the world.
Albums are a little easier to choose for a year best-of than singles & tracks, as there is some consensus as to what constitutes a ‘good’ album There was far more agreement here than in other categories. Here you will find staff favourites, bestsellers and those records we just couldn’t get enough of, both in appetite and physically, no doubt, due to small vinyl runs of some of these great releases……so, sadly, some of them are no longer available.
Sitting at the top of our the year’s albums (and RA’s too!) is Loidis‘s ‘One Day’ – a pseudonym of Huerco S – it’s a stunning album of minimal dub techno that slowly shows its charm on repeated listens – one for both the dancefloor and for listening at home.
Nala Sinephro’s sophomore album, titled Endlessness, expands her scope from the inward journey of Space 1.8 into widescreen orchestral ambient jazz compositions – a stunning listening experience.
Midland finally gets to release his album ‘Fragments of Us’ – we are a little biased here as Midland put out his first 12inch on Phonica back in 2010 – and the long-awaited release showcases both his mastery of the dancefloor with a more introspective edge.
Reliable, solid names in the electronic scene such as Four Tet, Floating Points, Caribou and Jamie XX gave us strong albums this year and feature highly in our chart but there are lots of lesser-known gems such as Astrid Sonne‘s stunning ‘Great Doubt’, otherworldly soundscapes from Alexander Melzak, Ezra Feinberg‘s beautiful ‘Soft Power’ or Fergus Jones aka Perko with his surprising and stunning debut.
Rather than focus on particular tracks, we prefer to focus on entire singles here at Phonica, be they 7inch, 10inch, or 12inch – there has to be a physical release for it to be included in our chart. It’s the hardest chart of all to compile, as these short tracks or EPs are far more subjective than an album and far less consensus amongst us. So here, we are looking at those singles or tracks that made an impact, that provided us with the soundtrack to nights, those that sold a lot at the shop, and, most importantly, those loved by our staff members here.
There was an undoubted winner here – easily our bestseller of the year and liked by everyone – but is it a reissue or a new record. Ostensibly, it is a cover version – its Alex Kassian‘s version (a reference!) of Manuel Gottsching‘s ‘E2 E4′ and it sits atop our chart by its sheer popularity! Alex Kassian’ also gets a mention with his ‘Elastic’ follow-up as Opal Sunn with Hiroaki Oba.
The other anthem of the year was Joy Orbison‘s ‘Flight FM’ but unfortunately, its now out of press, but still featuring on many dancefloors (and winning the Best of British best track award). Quiet Village returned with a jazz-flavoured downtempo release that make us ask ‘Why did it take the so long to return?. The album should be out late next year.
Gerald Mitchell aka Los Hermanos gave us the huge Jaguar-like anthem that was ‘Family’ – the track isnt new but this was the first time it was released – a euphoric techno track!! Or how about Tyla‘s pop hit ‘Water’ with its US-house style remixes, featured here, or K-Lone‘s Aus anthem ‘yeah yeah yeah yeah’ on ‘Catching Wild Part 2’!
Although there are far fewer compilations around these days, those vinyl compilations that do get a full release have been elevated: lavish artwork, extensive histories, and sleeve notes all showing off the hard work put into the art of the compilation. Playlists and mixes have become the standard way for DJs to show off the gems that lie in their sets, so these days, there is no need for a commercially produced mixed CD with only the established series such as Fabric, Late Night Tales and DJ Kicks still releasing mix CDs these days.
We were honoured to get a nomination at the DJ Magazine’s Best of British awards for our compilation ’20 Years of Phonica’ which was still our biggest seller this year – you can still get the CD or we have a few bundles left. Thank you to all those who voted for us.
We were also up against our favourite Scottish DJ Duo – the Optimo boys – who gave us the excellent ‘Optimo 25: We Love Your Ears‘ set of two vinyl compilations. Well worth checking out….
On top of the pile this year were Paramida & co’s celebration of a decade of her ‘Love on the Rocks‘ label – 8 tracks for the dancefloor from the likes of Sweely, E-Talking, Massimiliano Pagliara and Paramida herself!
John Gomez & Nick The Record’s club night Tangent also got a celebratory compilation that highlighted the unique sound of the party. Soundway Records consistently showcase music from all four corners of the world and their recent Ayo Ke Disco compilation shows us the wealth of music from South East Asia and the countried bordering the South China Sea !
The excellent Music from Memory label continues Jamie Tiller’s stunning legacy with the second volume of ‘Virtual Dreams‘, we love this one!! Other notables to mention include mix compilations (with unmixed vinyl) from heavyweights Honey Dijon & Laurent Garnier – the latter on quadruple vinyl and cd!
The number of quality reissue albums doesn’t seem to be abating despite the high cost of vinyl manufacturing and still seem to span across many genres.
Top of the pile in 2024 (and a no-brainer as to what would be our No.1 reissue album) is Aphex Twin‘s ‘Selected Ambient Works Part 2’ – originally released in 1994 and has been in-demnd ever since – now re-issued in an extended edition with brand new unreleased tracks. Classic! And for those of a funkier persuasion, and out of press for a few years, was one of the best hip-hop albums of all time – ‘The Low End Theory’. A Tribe Called Quest‘s 1991 opus – stands as a cornerstone of hip hop, blending minimalist jazz-inspired production with sharp lyricism to create an album that redefined the genre. ‘The Low End Theory’ remains a defining moment in hip hop, solidifying A Tribe Called Quest as true innovators.
There were also many classic back catalogues released this year – all of Sade‘s back catalogue got a much-needed repress, Orbital‘s iconic ‘Green Album’ (the album that gave us both ‘Chime’ and ‘Belfast’) was available again to us mere mortals who couldn’t afford those hefty Discogs prices and Wolfgang Voight’s Gas albums got a much needed re-issue too.
For lesser-known gems, we are huge fans of the magnificent & beautiful Golden Ivy repress – two gems reissued together as a double album and the stunning ambient lo-fi of Albinos‘ Bamboo Night (although technically a reissue, it was only on a cassette run of 25 copies previously!)
The number of quality reissue albums doesn’t seem to be abating despite the high cost of vinyl manufacturing and still seem to span across many genres.
Top of the pile in 2024 (and a no-brainer as to what would be our No.1 reissue album) is Aphex Twin‘s ‘Selected Ambient Works Part 2’ – originally released in 1994 and has been in-demnd ever since – now re-issued in an extended edition with brand new unreleased tracks. Classic! And for those of a funkier persuasion, and out of press for a few years, was one of the best hip-hop albums of all time – ‘The Low End Theory’. A Tribe Called Quest‘s 1991 opus – stands as a cornerstone of hip hop, blending minimalist jazz-inspired production with sharp lyricism to create an album that redefined the genre. ‘The Low End Theory’ remains a defining moment in hip hop, solidifying A Tribe Called Quest as true innovators.
There were also many classic back catalogues released this year – all of Sade‘s back catalogue got a much-needed repress, Orbital‘s iconic ‘Green Album’ (the album that gave us both ‘Chime’ and ‘Belfast’) was available again to us mere mortals who couldn’t afford those hefty Discogs prices and Wolfgang Voight’s Gas albums got a much needed re-issue too.
For lesser-known gems, we are huge fans of the magnificent & beautiful Golden Ivy repress – two gems reissued together as a double album and the stunning ambient lo-fi of Albinos‘ Bamboo Night (although technically a reissue, it was only on a cassette run of 25 copies previously!)
Reissues continue to shine a fresh spotlight of records that were overlooked when they first surfaced or were so limited that they instantly became sought-after. In 2024, we are back with another collection of outstanding singles, lovingly re-issued and repressed, saving us from those Discogs sharks or listening to these records only on YouTube. The number of quality reissue singles doesn’t seem to be abating and seems to have spread vastly across many genres including several very hot dance reissues.
Top of the pile is the previously unreleased 12inch from Arthur Russell – the remixes of ‘In the Light of the Miracle – had a chequered history and never made it to a full release until the guys at Be With Records finally perservered and gave this magnificent Loft classic to the world. Thank you Be With for this gem! The other slice of dance music history that got a repress this year (and more copies coming in early January!) was ‘The Final Frontier’ from Underground Resistance, a towering achievement in techno, released in 1991 as the third record on the UR label. Crafted by Jeff Mills, “Mad” Mike Banks, and Robert Hood, the track marked the next wave of techno and one of the greatest ever techno records ever created—a timeless anthem of defiance and visionary sound.
And talking of classic techno records, how about Aphex Twin ‘ Didgeridoo’ – the legend has it that Richard D James created this track and others to finish off his Cornish raves – to ‘kill everybody off so they couldn’t dance’. Released on R&S Records in 1992, Didgeridoo blends acid techno, breakbeat, and ambient influences, reflecting James’ flair for blending the experimental with the danceable. The track not only became a rave classic but also helped establish Aphex Twin as a boundary-pushing figure in electronic music. And then to another modern-day messiah with the reissue of Ricardo Villalobos‘s ‘808 The Bass Queen’ – his 1999 odyssey and one of his best singles! Thanks to Rawax for the reissue!
You can of course check out all our Best of 2024 highlights via our Spotify playlists below too:
