20 Years Of Phonica

Phonica Records opened its doors in 2003 amidst a climate of closing record stores and splintering genres in electronic music. Founded by Simon Rigg, Tom Relleen and Heidi Van Den Amstel with backing from The Vinyl Factory, Phonica’s goal was to be a destination for all kinds of dance and electronic music and to be a welcoming, knowledgeable hub, open to all. In 2007, Phonica’s eponymous record label launched, initially to put out records by its enthusiastic DJ and producer staff members such as Hector, Anthea and Will Saul. It also quickly became a place to introduce new artists - putting out early releases on by now well-known producers such as Peggy Gou, Paul Woolford and Midland - as well as harnessing the talents of well-respected legends like Four Tet and Roman Flugel. Fastforward to 2023 and the label has gone from strength to strength, spawning a number of sub-labels; Phonica White, Phonica Records Special Editions, Karakul and the recently launched Phonica AM, each with its own musical flavour and direction. To celebrate the 20th anniversary of Phonica’s launch, we asked our favourite producers and friends to give us exclusive tracks for a brand new compilation, our second following 2013’s well-received ‘Ten Years Of Phonica’.