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12"
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COLDR 011EP
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Across three tracks, Berlin based producer Phon.O demonstrates his ability to combine UK bass influences with techno sensibilities. "CLU5T3R" opens with a swinging 132bpm rhythm that sits somewhere in between classic UK-funky and a cracking Shed/Heads High techno anthem. "V3R5U5" progresses the mood into a more ethereal space, building layers of pads and texture as the track develops. "H4NDCUFF3D" takes the mood into a more dramatic backdrop. Chilling pads swell up from the ground like mist in a graveyard, while the broken rhythm sets pace, creating a moody ambiance.
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12"
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BPC 326EP
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Berlin-based producer Phon.o presents Fractions EP. The hypnotic drive of "Run" has a dramatic arrangement of the partly frisky, partly menacing Detroit strings evoking nostalgic memories. "Brooklyn Shuffle", with its swinging flow at 128 BPM, builds another bridge between London, New York, and Berlin by unfolding his UK garage sound, including 2-step drums, melodic synths, and the well-known vocal bits. The subsonic bass lines and reduced percussion of the emotional title track "Fractions" creates a dark and gloomy atmosphere that is counteracted with contemplative melancholy thanks to those manipulated voices.
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12"
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TEC 092EP
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Established Berlin-based producer Carsten Aermes aka Phon.o kick-starts the Afterglow EP at 137bpm with "Mercurial," melting the boundaries between techno, dubstep, and footwork with effortless grace. A strange, cosmic journey with polyrhythmic layers of percussive interplay; kick drums bounce, snares crack, and the melody builds with mysterious intent. Recalling echoes of jungle music alongside techno sensibilities, "U8 Phunk" follows on again at 137bpm with a series of hyperactive drum hits and twisting percussive man oeuvres. The spacious "Bell Blender" further develops themes of broken breakbeats and grimy sci-fi atmospherics, this time at a tempo more accessible to techno dancefloors.
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12"
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50 037EP
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Here comes Cracking Space Pt. 2. The second half of Phon.o's journey into the deeper end of dance music is slightly darker than its counterpart. The working title for this record was Pri5m, as it is dedicated to whistleblower Edward Snowden, and doing this title justice, the three tracks are full of suspense and captivating sounds. Phon.o's signature stacked percussions are met by playful UK garage-esque bass lines, driving 4x4 kickdrums, and slowly-evolving melodies that are coated in delicate layers of beautifully haunting atmospheres. The outcome is a subtle dancefloor killer that will work its way into ears and legs without big gestures.
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12"
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50 035EP
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Phon.o's new EP continues his quest into the deeper zones of club music. Combining influences from UK house, garage and Berlin techno, he manages to further define his very own sound. Featuring guest appearances from Malaysian duo Bass Sekolah and additional keyboards from San Franciscan mastermind Joshua Kit Clayton, this record has a strong narrative that manages to work on the dancefloor as well as on the home stereo. This EP is intimately tied to the forthcoming #037, Phon.o's next EP. Together, they make a killer couple and you won't be able to decide which one to take home with you.
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12"
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50 027EP
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Genre-bender Phon.o finds new perfection in merging UK bass music with techno, garage and even house music. Not in a wild mash-up kind of way, but very organic and natural-sounding. "Schn33" is a guaranteed floor-filler for all kinds of dance music DJs. No matter where, no matter when, no matter what it's mixed with, this is an anthem. Perfectly supplemented with a strong B-side, this might be the strongest Phon.o single yet.
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2LP
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50 007LP
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CD
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50 007CD
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Phon.o, the boy with the dubby background, started to play records with his buddy Apparat in the early '90s, far in the darkest reaches of the ruff'n'tuff Harz mountains, in former East Germany. In 1997, seeking new and bright horizons, he moves to beautiful Berlin and is given the keys to his first apartment. During the wet autumn of 1998, he started to create his own music and emerged in the spring of 2000 with his first release on Cytrax (Kit Clayton and DJ Jasper's itchy, noisy, dubby California techno label). Phon.o then found himself "misled, used and abused" by the notorious big rock'n roll swindler, T.Raumschmiere, who connives him into joining his gang, Shitkatapult. Chris De Luca and Phon.o joined forces in spring 2006. This unconventional combination of intergalactic hip-hop, ghetto beats, sexy booty IDM and dirty techno goes beyond typical contemporary genre boundaries. In 2008, the results of CLP's dirty collaboration got released as the EP Ready Or Not on Boysnoize Rec., including remixes by Diplo and Mixhell and as an eclectic, genre-blending hip-hop album called Supercontinental on Shitkatapult. In 2009, Phon.o did remixes for the likes of Modeselektor, Boys Noize, Schlachthofbronx and Robot Koch. In 2011, Phon.o started to release on Modeselektor's 50 Weapons label with a new sound somewhere between the grooves of UK-Funky and dubstep and the classic Berlin dub-techno school of Basic Channel/Hardwax. For many, Phon.o has been producing some of his dopest material of late. His two singles in 2011 have been compared to the best moments of Burial and expectations for Black Boulder are high. The album delivers exactly what the two pre-singles Slavemode/Abbey Road and ABAW723/Sad Happiness hinted at. A fresh blend of bleepin' technoid garage, the usual dub elements and even two ear-catching vocal tunes featuring Pantasz of Bodi Bill fame and Tunde Olaniran. While the first four artist albums on 50 Weapons have all been debut albums, this one isn't. On the other hand it feels like one, since this is the successful reinvention of an artist who has been active in various styles for over a decade.
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12"
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CYTRAX 19
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"This is the first full length album on Cytrax Records, the label of DJ Jasper. It is written and produced Phono.o (an artist from Berlin who has already released some 12"s on Cytrax). The tracks are mastered by Kit Clayton. Phon.o brings out Partition B -- a very nice and beautiful, crispy, dubby CD with a lot of new fresh experimental, glitchy sounds. All tracks have a deep and mind blowing own feeling."
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