Headless Horseman by Phonopsia
Included in Daisuke Matsumoto's Favourite Discs 2021: https://moreproject3776.blogspot.com/2021/12/favorite-discs-2021.html?m=1
"Beautiful deep techno!" - Ralph Lawson
"Digging the pure tones and vibe of these tracks, especially Luna and Lumina." - Derailleur
"Jacked & Jacqued are immense.. Super slinky deep as anything pumpers.. Brill" - Jaye Ward
"Absolutely rolling. Particularly love the shuffle to Lumina. Will be supporting!" - Alfred
"A colorful mind made these" - Lakker
"Second release on this label is as superb as the first" - Andrew Duke
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Headless Horseman is the second release on Phonopsia's new Horse Category label. The music was created entirely in 2006 during a period of intense focus and renewed energy. Headless Horseman gathers four of the five tracks from this period (the fifth track will be released on HC003), which are only now being published for the first time. "Lumina" was the first of these, and was the most refined Phonopsia track at the time, balancing minimal elements with melodic depth to create a techno track that works as well at home as on dancefloors.
Having finished "Lumina", the sister track "Luna" followed in short order. It cast some elements aside, slowed the tempo to a medium house pace, and added a bassline that pulls the track in a different direction, owing a large debt to the Gemini tracks that were a huge influence on Phonopsia's musical development in the mid-'90s.
The second pair of tracks started with "Jacqued", unveiling some of the range of the Nord Modular that formed the heart of the Phonopsia palette at the time. The dense beginning makes way for a slower groove that could be house or techno, underpinning a composition that requires the full length of the track to complete its initial pass. Not much later, "Jacqued" was joined by a sibling, "Jacked", which (as the name suggests) converts the fuller techno of its predecessor to a stripped down Chicago format where space displaces depth. Although the palette of the two tracks shares much in common, most of the sounds on "Jacked" have been reduced to their essence to fit the new style.
With the exception of "Lumina", no more than a dozen people have heard these tracks until now.
Credits
License
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Tristan Watkins (AKA Phonopsia) was a regular guest DJ at London's Bleep43 from 2002-2010, and resident at Süd Electronic from 2007-2009. He started DJing as host of "Noise" on KRUI from 1992-1997 in Iowa City, and co-administered mp313.com as a platform for emerging Detroit techno from 2001-2003.
Horse Category is the home of Phonopsia's recordings, which is his primary musical focus today.