Sonic Trips: Jake Horwitz wrote

Up from the ashes, Sonic.Trips returns for a special post to highlight our old friend from Germany — Phanton. Way back in August of 2021 we wrote of the enigmatic artist that his songs “are typically lengthy odysseys merging world-music sounds with tight production, samples, and dance beats,” and all of that is, somehow, built on and expanded with his latest record In EXO. The record is an abstract sonic adventure that fuses seemingly every style of music you have ever heard. Sparse, dynamic percussion often forms the foreground whereafter seemingly anything is possible. Abstract tech and synth experiments may layer over in one moment, Spanish guitars another. Hypnotic vocals often add to the trance experience of the tracks as they seamlessly blend elements primarily from electronic and world music genres. The simple fact is: there is absolutely nothing like this record. Having produced music since the 80s in Cologne, Germany, Phanton has perhaps seen, er, well, heard it all at this point — and he channels that into this record which is as much an exploration of his sonic consciousness as it is any sort of outward expression. Stand out tracks include the 9-minute opus “Heartbreath,” and our personal favorite “Mehr Zeit.” The latter is an enchanting psychedelic track that ranges from funky to outright avant-garde in a manner that only an artist of Phanton’s stature could achieve.