There’s something quietly magnetic about Duncan Thomas. A London-based producer, live performer and lifelong digger, his sound sits at the crossroads of warm soul, deep groove and harmonic richness. From his early work with TR Trio and Size 8 to recent solo outings on The Check In and his forthcoming label Slam Duncs, Thomas has steadily carved out a space that favours feeling over formula. Whether behind a keyboard or a pair of decks, he approaches music with a jazz musician’s ear and a selector’s instinct — patient, playful, rooted in depth.
His Phonica Friends & Family mix is a love letter to that ethos. Rather than chasing dancefloor peaks, this is a set built on timelessness — music he wants to return to in ten years and still feel connected to. These are deep, soulful cuts that lean into warmth and atmosphere, curated from both dusty crates and digital rabbit holes. True to form, the mix resists trend in favour of tone, inviting you into a space where melody, memory and movement meet. It’s subtle, emotive, and unmistakably Duncan Thomas.
Hey Duncan, thanks for joining us! Can you tell us about your mix and what the idea behind it was?
Thanks for having me on, its such a pleasure to do a mix for you guys. This mix is really just a collection of deep tunes I love. Often mixes drift toward the club or what you might play out in a certain venue, but this is just house tackle that I think is timeless, soulful and super warm and fuzzy. I wanted to record something that I could come back to in 10 years and listen to without it feeling dated. I hope I’ve achieved that here aha.
What are your preferred methods for finding new music—do you still enjoy digging around in dusty crates, or do you prefer to buy online?
I love digging the dusty crates, but you have to be committed and in the mood, its time consuming business, often a weekend activity if I have the time. You get out what you put in. There is always a digging window of Discogs tabs, Youtube tabs and more open on my laptop which only ever gets added too, so I guess you could say there is a kinda constant dig going down on my laptop which just evolves. Sometimes its easier digging online as you don’t have to buy it straight away you can come back to music and see if your still feeling it a couple of days later.
What are five records you couldn’t live without? In terms of influences?
Its soo tough. I think that this would change in depending on the day I was asked. This is whats coming to mind straight off the bat today.
Max Graef – Rivers of the Red Planet
This was the first record which opened up the box of sound design in 3D. The whole album tells such a story through sound, it creates a whole world, and is actually very trippy. It breaches music and film scoring and challenged a lot of the concepts I thought had to be followed in music. After this I thought, why make music in one genre or with traditional sounds and arrangement, you can literally do anything you want if you think its good.
Brian Bennet – Voyage
This record I was actually shown by Phonica’s own Luther Vine. He was talking about it and I said I hadn’t heard so he virtually sent me home to listen to it there and then, I can tell you it was worth it, it now is a staple in my collection. Another journey through sonics.
Bill Evans – Like Someone in Love
I could pick so many jazz records, and so many Bill Evans tracks but this is the one that came to mind today. I will never be far away from grabbing something focused on piano. Its the most inspiring acoustic instrument to me and continues to teach me about harmony and melody, and Bill Evans mastered it.
iO (Mulen) – MOi 3
This goes a completely different direction, again I could choose quite a few iO(Mulen) tracks, but today I went for MOi 3 as it is perhaps the most moving of the Moi series. iO gave me my minimal house moment. The concept of understanding why repetition in music is so important, that its actually a canvas to create journeys and transcendence. I went on to focus on writing more minimal dance music from then on really, exploring micro sounds and subtlety in more detail.
Hiroshi Yoshimora – Music for Nine Post Cards
This is one from the ambient shelf of course. I love ambience in general, as its a musical medium directed towards harmony and space. This album by the godfather Hiroshi Yoshimora is pretty extreme in how stripped back it is, but it personifies the importance of space in music, the importance of the gaps between the notes and the notes themselves. I feel like producers these days are trying to fill up all the space and make it a loud as possible, this album reminds us of the contrary.
What has been one of your most memorable sets over your career?
I think playing in Hoppetosse in Berlin was one of my favourite sets. It was my first time playing a peak time slot in Berlin, and it was the first time I experienced being listened to by a Berlin crowd and it slightly blue my shoe laces off. Being attentively listened to by a crowd who were so ready go wherever you wanted to take them was unique as I find you have to slightly win crowds over in London. Also, add the fact that people drink less in Berlin and smoke on the dance floor, then you see the same faces in the crowd from the start of set to the end.
What do you have up your sleeve for 2025?
Lots of cool plans incoming, I am really excited about my new label Slam Duncs, of which the first record will be out early 2026, alongside a mailer I am starting to go with it. A place to write about musical moments, inspirations, silly times on the dance floor and more. There is also an album on the way which I am mega excited about but also very nervous about too, as its less focused on the dance floor, its much more experimental, so fingers crossed people will dig it.
Thanks Duncan!
