These days, discussions on the subject of electronic music will often, quite understandably, deal with the importance of innovation; there seem to be some critics who will dismiss an artist as “derivative” simply for displaying any hint of being influenced by another’s music.  This comes as no surprise, as there are indeed many producers who make their living by churning out passable emulations of whatever sound is currently held in high esteem.

On the other hand, it’s important to remember that good records can be—and are usually—made without forcing the listener to “reinterpret the meaning of electronic music” or some nonsense along those lines.  With that in mind, we turn to The Phantom‘s EP 2, a release that deserves to be noted not for challenging the status quo but rather for celebrating it, in the best way possible.  Hit the jump for the full review.

THE PHANTOM – CEREMONY (Silverback Recordings) 12″ by The Phantom

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PL Funky is the newest creative endeavor with the backbone of Finnish label Top Billin’, a collaboration of five Polish producers’ twist on UK Funky. The Phantom, Teezy & Zeppy, Tears, Spox and Vanatoski each contribute a joint to the EP, fusing their own musical influences and heritage with a sound that seems pretty centralized within London. Listen to what Tears has to say about the project:

“We’re all bedroom producers in the first place. The initial idea came about in late summer of 2009 right after coming back from this dj tour that me and Zeppy did . I knew about a few kids here and there making music, all I did was I hit them up and said “How u feelin about the idea, I think we should make this happen “. That’s the whole story – there was no key to styles, as you can feel tunes are not genre-specific – call it garage, call it grime, tropical or techno, it’s all around the shop, I left it to the crew as long as the tunes I’ve been sent stayed percussive and house tempoed. After wrapping the whole thing up we’ve sent the EP to a couple of local blogs, I remember saying no one in Europe can get this, it’s a strictly local thing for heads in Poland and let’s keep it that way. What we aimed for was building a net of young producers doing it our way, doing it different. You can find local bmore djs, you can find local house djs, you can find mashup djs in this country, you won’t hear them produce. We wanted to stay strong and go different way, simple as that.

Obviously we can’t deny UK is where the inspiration mainly comes from. We doing it our way tho, without looking at the others and will keep it that way. We’re really happy seing the support Top Billin showed to our local idea, it’s a big honour for all the crew to see this EP dropping shortly.” – Tears.

I always expect the best in club music from Top Billin’, but this EP is really a cut above. Excellent percussion (funky rhythm seems to be a bit stale these days), big time bass, and a pleasantly surprising amount of melody (personal favorite is Spox’s “Free Voices”). Already churning with support from Night Slugs, Ikonika, Jam City, and T&B’s The Captain, you have no reason not to include this in your playlists. Expect to hear this played from all the right people very soon.

Buy @ Juno, Beatport.

Teezy & Zeepy – MTP Riddim