Clips from the second Phonopsia release on Horse Category, releasing on 21 May on transparent, blue, 180 gram vinyl (available on Bandcamp or through shops service by Juno Distribution) and many digital channels. Pre-order available now through Bandcamp  https://phonopsia.bandcamp.com/album/Headless-Horseman and Juno https://www.juno.co.uk/products/phonopsia-headless-horseman/819962-01/. 

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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.

Headless Horseman (Clips) - Horse Category 002

Clips from the third Phonopsia release on Horse Category, releasing on 30 November on red, 180 gram vinyl (available on Bandcamp or through shops serviced by Juno Distribution) and many digital channels. Pre-order available now through Bandcamp https://phonopsia.bandcamp.com/album/peaks-and-troughs 

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Horse Category closes out its first year with the third Phonopsia release, Peaks and Troughs, completing the reconciliation with older material that spans these first releases. The three slower techno tracks share little in common besides their tempo, while the faster closing track offers something more DJ friendly.  

The first track, Prepaternal, was initially completed the day before the birth of Phonopsia's first child in 2010. Although the track had been created and recorded entirely on hardware, it was possible to resurrect it in 2020, addressing a few nagging issues from the first recordings. The track was made with late '90s digital synths at a time when everything was going analogue again. Stubbornly ignoring these developments, the focus in the studio at the time was entirely orientated towards sound design for synths that reward exploration, and this mix seeks to fully saturate the listener in that sonic world. 

Secrets of the Pedal Bone was created in early 2021 with nearly all analogue synths at a time when late '90s digital synths were becoming fashionable again. This focus on the newer analogue additions to the studio was an intentional effort to become less distracted by the limitless depth of the digital core. The track also indulges a fondness for "blocky" arrangement that is normally a tempered impulse. For this track it felt correct to leave it be, perhaps because the classic structure fits the classic sounds. 

Ooze was made in 2008 with an early iteration of the all hardware setup that was later used for Nuba Tuba and Prepaternal, and was the first successful product of that shift away from the computer. This track was resurrected in 2020 along with Prepaternal, but only minor changes were made to the drums. Waldorf Q wavetables dominate the palette of this melodically-driven slow techno jam. 

Figuring Out This Damn Jet Pack is the fifth of the tracks from 2006 that came together along with the HC002 material. This is a bit more straight-forward than a lot of Phonopsia tracks, and certainly more percussive than the other material on this release. It's one of the few Phonopsia tracks that attempts to evoke an impression of its name.

Peaks and Troughs

HC003 - B2 - Phonopsia - Figuring Out This Damn Jet-Pack

HC003 - B1 - Phonopsia - Ooze

HC003 - A2 - Phonopsia - Secrets of the Pedal Bone

HC003 - A1 - Phonopsia - Prepaternal (Paternal Revision)

Clips from the fourth Horse Category release, Phonopsia's "Knight Rider", available at https://phonopsia.bandcamp.com/album/knight-rider, releasing on 4 October 2022. The whole release can be streamed here during the pre-order period: https://category.horse/knight-rider/ 

"Knight Rider" is a three-track EP comprised of broken techno, harmonic house, and an expansive, slower techno track anchored in acid. This is the first release of all new material on Horse Category, offering a timelier example of Phonopsia's untimely sound.

The title track mixes a lurching broken beat with acid, plonk and wonk for maximum clonk. "Stable" layers Deepmind harmonies against a mellow house beat, making itself as comfortable on a dancefloor as a bale. The B-side is dedicated to "Fourth Phalanx", an acidic slow techno adventure with a minimal techno interlude.

"Knight Rider" is available on heavyweight clear 12" vinyl and digital formats. The vinyl run is the first lathe cut record on Horse Category, limited to 30 copies.

I will send download codes to vinyl buyers during the pre-order period, and will post a full preview of all tracks on my site soon.

Phonopsia - Knight Rider (Clips)

In 2002 Sean Deason offered up stems of his classic Detroit techno track, "The Shit", for remix. I created two remixes, of which, "Deep Shit", was released in 2003 on MATRIX9 (Volume Three of these remixes). The second version "The Shit Kit" only ever made it as far as mp313.com (the community site I co-administered at the time). I figured it should probably be resuscitated somewhere, so here it shall live.

Sean Deason - The Shit (The Shit Kit)

Clips from the debut Phonopsia release on Horse Category. Blue, transparent, 180 gram 12" vinyl limited to 200 copies available for pre-order now from Bandcamp for release on 26 February 2021 https://phonopsia.bandcamp.com/album/horse-time. Wider vinyl distribution through Juno and digital formats available from many sources - full details available at https://category.horse.

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