Best of 2015 Singles
Other websites such as RA, Fact etc have now switched to the ‘Top tracks’ chart where each track counts separately – perhaps more apt in these days of streaming and MP3s – but here at Phonica, we feature SINGLES – be they 7inch,10inch or 12inch – there has to be a physical release for it to be included in our chart…..its the hardest chart of all to compile. Whilst there is a general consensus amongst the staff of which are the strong albums – a single, be it 3 minutes or 10 minutes, usually divides opinion much more. This year has also seen a glut of reissues too and only a few have made it into our chart – these have been the choice ones. There are some Phonica releases here too which would feature much higher due to sales and staff picks but modesty keeps them low. Established producers such as Roman Flugel, Aphex Twin, Levon Vincent, SoundStream and DJ Koze sit alongside brand new up & coming producers , names to watch such as Mall Grab, PLO Man, Dorisburg, Jascha Hagen, Project Pablo. A great year for great singles. And what’s sitting at the top of the pile? Would you believe a double slice of obscure Turkish psychedelia remixed by the Messiah of Minimal House.?
Now of course a lot of these are sold out – this is the nature of record releases these days. We will endeavour to restock all these choice gems – although some may never get repressed!
Best of 2015 Albums
We are all in agreement that was a great year for the long-player in 2015. And we were all in agreement about the No.1 record this year too – it slowly worked its charms on all of us through its repeated plays in the shop, with shouts of ‘What’s this?’ with every play – and beautiful artwork too. In fact, Firecracker’s beautiful artwork is behind two of our top 10 albums of 2015 – a label still giving us both aesthetic and musical quality with all their releases. Some eagerly awaited albums here from Floating Points, Maurice Fulton as Boof, D5, Romare, Anthony Naples, Jose Padilla and some more obscure choices from Roland P. Young, Garth Be, Syracuse (on the excellent AntiNote label) and many more. Enjoy the selection. (Due to Christmas and limited stocks, we are sold out of a lot of these – we will endeavour to restock those that are available, just add your email on the albums’ page to get a notification!)
So how old does a record have to be before it is considered a reissue? Isn’t Lndrcry a vinyl reissue of a cassette anyway. As Phonica sees it, we care about vinyl releases (hence the inclusion of Four Tet’s Pink in the 2015 chart as it just got a vinyl release) . I’m sure a few of you will disagree with our designation of what is a comp and what is a collection. A reissue is a straight up reissue of an album (usually long-lost or obscure, rather than just a mainstream repress), a collection usually involves one artist (such as Gloria Ann Taylor) and a compilation is just that where a compiler such as Optimo Trevor Jackson or Hunee takes the time to select tracks for a label retrospective or one focusing on a particular sound or geographical place. Anyway, who cares? Just enjoy the lists….some gems here from every corner of the world.
We compile these charts as a combination of shop sales, Staff charts of the year and charts from customers and DJs. Its just a list – see it as a way of reminding yourself of some choice albums, reissues, compilations or 12inch singles. We are not saying that no 1 is better than no 100, more than it had more resonance with our staff & customers. It’s been a good year at Phonica too with some memorable in-stores from Richie Hawtin, Levon Vincent, Linkwood, Romare, Boo Williams, Ron Trent, Greg Wilson, Jovonn, Maceo Plex, Tapes and many more. Record Store Day was a roadblock – a memorable day were we were allowed to open the space below the shop for a huge party with Four Tet, Andres, Todd Edwards as surprise guests!! We even opened up a small concession in The Store in Berlin this year too. We’d like to say a huge thank you to all the continued support and custom both in the shop and online., to all the labels & artists who give us the music that makes it all worthwhile and to all the staff for all their hard work. Please enjoy our round-up of the year, let us know your thoughts and see you in 2016!!! We have also included a lot of these Best of 2015 records in our latest podcast, check it out here: http://www.phonicarecords.com/web-blog/official/post/101/phonica-podcast-episode-46
