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5LP BOX
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KOM 500LP
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5LP box version. Includes art book. Over the decades, the image of Kompakt as a pirate ship has taken root in our minds, braving the dangers of the seven seas of the music market. Sometimes it glides with a tailwind through calm waters, sometimes it has to survive violent storms. In the label's fast-paced business, the 500 mark is rarely reached, so Kompakt wants to celebrate it. In a democratic process, the label has selected 50 pearls from the thousands of tracks released over the last 33 1/3 years. Alongside many Kompakt evergreens, there are also some real rarities from the early Kompakt Sound of Cologne, which have been lovingly remastered here to shine in new splendor. The 5LP box set version (KOM 500LP) also contains a 144-page book that tells the story of Kompakt from 1993 to today with detailed texts and images. In addition to the manifold musical and graphic achievements of Kompakt, the multidisciplinary links to the visual arts are also highlighted here. The magic of groovy loop minimalism and the "art of omission" are once again brought to the proverbial point. Featuring Tocotronic, Kaito, Terranova, Justus Köhncke, Heiko Voss, Leandro Fresco/Thore Pfeiffer, The Bionaut, Ada, Raz Ohara, Superpitcher, Rex The Dog, Dettinger, The Field, Robag Wruhme, Saschienne, Max Würden, Gas, Triola AG, Thomas Fehlmann, Scsi-9, Jürgen Paape, The Modernist, Aril Brikha, T.Raumschmiere, Reinhard Voigt, Schaeben & Voss, DJ Koze, The Orb, Michael Mayer, Laurent Garnier, Anna & Kittin, Mike Ink, Reinhard Voigt, Forever Sweet, Wassermann, Sven Väth, Blank Gloss, Michael Mayer / Matias Aguayo, Wighnomy Bros., John Tejada, Sam Taylor-Wood, Pet Shop Boys, Gui Boratto, Jürgen Paape, Matias Aguayo, Voigt & Voigt, Gui Boratto, Kölsch, GusGus, Closer, Wassermann, Jürgen Paape, Superpitcher, and Markus Guentner.
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3CD
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KOMP 500CD
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Over the decades, the image of Kompakt as a pirate ship has taken root in our minds, braving the dangers of the seven seas of the music market. Sometimes it glides with a tailwind through calm waters, sometimes it has to survive violent storms. In the label's fast-paced business, the 500 mark is rarely reached, so Kompakt wants to celebrate it. In a democratic process, the label has selected 50 pearls from the thousands of tracks released over the last 33 1/3 years. Alongside many Kompakt evergreens, there are also some real rarities from the early Kompakt Sound of Cologne, which have been lovingly remastered here to shine in new splendor. The 5LP box set version (KOM 500LP) also contains a 144-page book that tells the story of Kompakt from 1993 to today with detailed texts and images. In addition to the manifold musical and graphic achievements of Kompakt, the multidisciplinary links to the visual arts are also highlighted here. The magic of groovy loop minimalism and the "art of omission" are once again brought to the proverbial point. Featuring Tocotronic, Kaito, Terranova, Justus Köhncke, Heiko Voss, Leandro Fresco/Thore Pfeiffer, The Bionaut, Ada, Raz Ohara, Superpitcher, Rex The Dog, Dettinger, The Field, Robag Wruhme, Saschienne, Max Würden, Gas, Triola AG, Thomas Fehlmann, Scsi-9, Jürgen Paape, The Modernist, Aril Brikha, T.Raumschmiere, Reinhard Voigt, Schaeben & Voss, DJ Koze, The Orb, Michael Mayer, Laurent Garnier, Anna & Kittin, Mike Ink, Reinhard Voigt, Forever Sweet, Wassermann, Sven Väth, Blank Gloss, Michael Mayer / Matias Aguayo, Wighnomy Bros., John Tejada, Sam Taylor-Wood, Pet Shop Boys, Gui Boratto, Jürgen Paape, Matias Aguayo, Voigt & Voigt, Gui Boratto, Kölsch, GusGus, Closer, Wassermann, Jürgen Paape, Superpitcher, and Markus Guentner.
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12"
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KOM 494EP
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Robson Ponte isn't just anybody. He is the namesake of Reinhard Voigt's first Kompakt 12", one of the label's first big hits. Timeless, cool and unforgettable, the way this snotty, dry football field beat pushes you forward, over it, this constant, almost stoic, mantra-like rap repetition. That was a good 25 years ago. So it's high time to celebrate a bicycle kick with a fitting run to the goal. None other than FC Kompakt center-forward Juergen Paape has been hired for the remix return match. In the first few minutes of the match, Paape scores with two straight disco-techno crosses! Team captain Reinhard Voigt himself seamlessly follows in the footsteps of the original -- dressed in a new, stylish black, white and red sound jersey, he keeps the ball in play with aplomb. From the stands, guest of honor Thore Pfeiffer comments on a hymn-like, sacred ambient lament with an appropriate timbre. Including art print of the sleeve artwork by Mareena von Cube.
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LP
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KOM 489LP
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Originally released on CD only, Triola im Fünftonraum counts as one of the most iconic albums of the early Kompakt era. Experience this timeless masterpiece of lush electronica lovingly restored and remastered for the first time on vinyl -- 21 years after its inception. This review from back in the days that perfectly sums up what Triola im Fünftonraum is all about: "The press material for Triola im Fünftonraum made allusions to home listening, when the album is mostly about movement -- in a car -- preferably a fast one -- on a muggy spring day. This might catch followers of producer Jörg Burger off guard. Up until this point, the producer's Triola tracks -- limited to three consecutive appearances on Kompakt's yearly Pop Ambient series and a spot on 'Leichtes Hören Teil 1' -- were free-floating ambient washouts (albeit wondrous free-floating ambient washouts) with no pulse. The album, on the other hand, is beat-driven. Though still resolutely ambient -- more an update of Burger's lushest Bionaut tracks, only fully engaging instead of mildly diverting. The soft, synthetic hand drums and tranquil vapors of 'Leuchtturm' from Pop Ambient 2003, remain untouched and begin the album. Two other tracks that might sound familiar receive dynamic overhauls, now supported with quick dance rhythms and additional layers of synth gauze; the whispy flute trills and lightly flickering keys of 'AG Penthouse,' for instance, are melted into a churning rhythm and some singing keyboard vamps that resemble a relaxed take on Tangerine Dream's suspenseful soundtrack work for 'Thief' (minus the crazy guitars). What really makes the whole thing glow is the manner in which the tracks are attached, flowing in and out of another, rising and cresting and receding, with supreme poise -- even if its title provides no indication, the album is as much a travelogue as Carl Craig's Landcruising, Morgan Geist's Driving Memoirs and Model 500's Deep Space. These are some of Burger's most inventive productions, a remarkable feat since he's been doing this so long. Catch yourself in the right frame of mind and you'll wonder if everything he has released has been one extended ramp-up to this. In this age, it's also refreshing to have a purely ambient techno album with absolutely no connection to 'Boards of Canada.' In other words, it's a landmark for both its label and its genre." --Andy Kellman
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12"
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KOM 498EP
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Over the course of a decade, Wata Igarashi has risen as one of techno's most accomplished DJs and producers. His highly aesthetic trademark sound is as heavily psychedelic as it's driven by its stern kinetic energy. It's often overlooked that Igarashi is much more than a torch bearer of the raw hypnotic techno he became known for. He's also a very accomplished and versatile musician with a deep understanding of the cause and effect of sound design. His skills are fully on display on 2023's full length Agartha, a film score to a fictitious movie about the mythical underworld of planet Mars. It was a rather obvious idea to cross the bridge between this epic deep listening album and Wata Igarashi's techno persona by having him remix himself. As you might expect, the "Agartha Sorcery Acid Mix" has turned out to be a masterclass in psychedelic designer techno. It's slightly slower in BPM as the usual Igarashi fare but every bit as captivating. The "Floating Against Time Shimmering Mix" shows another intriguing facet of Wata's spectrum. Psychedelic Deep House. Kompakt's very own Michael Mayer couldn't resist to turn the Godzilla soundtrack-ish "Ceremony Of The Dead" into a positively hysterical minimal disco operette. And then there's the "Fusion Mix of Abyss x Darkness" by Philipp Stoffel, a fresh Cologne DJ producer whose AKTE club nights just spawned a label by the same name.
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12"
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KOM EX135EP
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Two new faces on the label with the two-faced eagle! Both artists have been much respected forces on the international club circuit for a while. Ida Engberg is best known for her affiliation with Stockholm's Drumcode and Truesoul labels. For her Speicher debut though, she's tapping into a quite different sound territory. "Nothing Feels The Same" will go down in history as the first 2 Step track ever released on Kompakt Extra. It's as sensual as it's booming. Definitely one for those late morning hours. With "Pink Monkeys" is an EBM/sawtooth trance amalgamation of the highest order with enough psychedelic headroom for the festival season. Marco Resmann's deep involvement with the late Berlin club legend Watergate has made him one of the German capital's beacons of house and techno. He's one half of Lunar City Express and former member of Pan-Pot which speaks volumes about his stylistical versatility. On "RIMA," featuring Laatz, he delivers a frenetic rollercoaster ride of a techno track. It's radical, it's menacing and super fun all at once.
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12"
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KOM 497EP
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Sascha Funke is creating a long overdue monument to an almost forgotten cultural artefact of the GDR: the "Germina Speeder" was the only skateboard made in East Germany before reunification and was launched in 1986. It was produced by VEB Schokoladen-Verarbeitungsmaschinen (a state-owned chocolate processing machine factory) in Wernigerode and was therefore affectionately known as the "chocolate board." However, it was hardly suitable for actual skateboarding due to technical inadequacies. It is not known whether Sascha himself owned such a board, but the tracks on the Germina Speeder EP definitely roll better than the original. The opener "Blaupunkt" breathes the euphoric spirit of the legendary Berlin club "E-Werk," while the title track would have been more at home at the "Dubmission" parties in the Turbine. Sascha leaves the '90s behind with radiant positivism; "Bo Knows" sounds more like a 2000s open air at Café Schönbrunn. The EP closes with "Mastermind," a high-octane psy-proghouse banger that, like all four tracks, quotes the past but still has both feet on today's dance floors. Or rather, is dancing. 4:1 for love!
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12"
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KOM EX134EP
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When a new Raxon release drops it's always strongly recommended to firmly hold your socks and pants as they might get blown off. And oh dear? Kompakt caught him in an extraordinarily randy mood for his fourth outing on the prestigious Speicher series. "Acid Call" is a positively rude high energy funk beast, ready to take dancehalls of any size or color to pieces. With "Don't Cry Pluto," Raxon turns into a punk version of the legendary Pied Piper, graciously luring listeners away from this boring village into a world of fun-fueled madness. What a guy, this Raxon!
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12"
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KOM 493EP
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A loving embrace for Schlammpeitziger with remixes by Ada, Andreas Dorau & Zwanie Jonson, Bionaut, HJirok, Thomas Mahmoud, Stefan Mohr, and Wolfgang Voigt! At the end of 2024, Kompakt celebrated the release of Jo "Schlammpeitziger" Zimmermann's brand new album Meine Unterkunft ist die Unvernunft on his 60th birthday at Kompakt Recordstore. Now the label presents the accompanying remixes. An illustrious group of long-time companions has come together to pay tribute to the master of electronic eccentricity with remixes.
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LP
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KOM 354LP
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10-year anniversary re-issue! LP version. The Orb, Alex Paterson and Thomas Fehlmann, have become known for their genre-bending curiosity and surprising sonic detours, exploring experimental soundscapes as well as club-friendly beats. COW / Chill Out, World! is a masterful ambient album that branches out in many directions, but unmistakably sounds like The Orb. In contrast to their much-acclaimed previous full-length Moonbuilding 2703 AD, which took years to prepare and fine-tune, COW / Chill Out, World! was produced over the course of only five sessions in six months, directly following the like-minded Alpine EP. Paterson on recording the album: "It got so spontaneous that a track like '9 Elms Over River Eno (Channel 9)' consisted only of material collected at North Carolina's Moogfest in May - second-hand records from local stores, field recordings, live samples from gigs that we liked, and of course an excursion to the Eno River, which actually exists. This geographic intimacy and the spontaneity are among the top reasons why we love this album so much." Fehlmann sees the duo's relentless gigging schedule as a formative influence on the new album: "the countless performances we've played in the last years have brought us closer as a musical unit. The spice of our concerts is improvisation - a fertile process that we've brought to the studio, where we operate with very simple rules of engagement and go wherever the flow takes us." It's an approach that one might expect from traditional acoustic instrumentation, not necessarily an electronic set-up. Once more, The Orb's trademark playfulness is on full display on COW / Chill Out, World! and it doesn't limit itself to the multi-layered sampling and psychedelic sound composites. It's not so much an obscure trope coming full circle as a perfect example for The Orb's multi-timbre approach to sound and meaning - a compelling, immersive journey to diverse places and impressions. Each track title is a conceptual work in its own right, playing with multiple references, some of which remain highly personal and mysterious. But the greatest feat of The Orb's latest outing might just be how all this semantic doodling never gets in the way of the actual listening, at all times directly relating the artists' sonic vitality and cheerful nosiness.
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2LP
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KOM 128LP
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20-year anniversary re-issue! Okie Dokie It´s The Orb On Kompakt the 13th album of one of Britian's most prized cult bands. The music of The Orb only has an intensive effect when taken in as a long-playing full length. And it proves with this lovingly conjured collection of songs brought together like a collage. The first half of Okie Dokie showcase The Orb´s love for minimal techno and Schaffel/Shuffle as it is so obviously present in the foreground, while the second half is only reserved to the classic Orb-ish ancestral domain. There are wonderful guest appearances by Schneider TM and Kompakt´s ambient-guru Ulf Lohmann. As many of you know, there is so much history about The Orb you could write a book. Since Jimmy Cauty and Alex Paterson, in the flush of euphoria invented chill out and ambient house in the first summer of love 1988, an incredible amount of things have occurred. After 2002, The Orb found with Kompakt a new ambient-loving partner and release a row of singles and play live, as the trimmed-down version as Le Petit Orb.
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2LP
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KOM 330LP
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10-year anniversary re-issue! A major slice of psychedelic synth bliss and powerful basslines. 2LP edition. Gatefold double LP version. Iconic electronic music pioneers The Orb return to Kompakt with Moonbuilding 2703 AD, another major slice of psychedelic synth bliss, obscure loops, and deep ambient textures tossed in swinging breakbeats and powerful basslines. Installing a forward momentum rather unusual for a genre-defying project like this, the latest effort from masterminds Alex Paterson and Thomas Fehlmann follows their 2005 album success on Kompakt, the cheekily named Okie Dokie It's The Orb On Kompakt -- as well as several contributions to Kompakt's Speicher and Pop Ambient series -- but, more importantly, it finds the legendary duo at the peak of its creativity, ringing in another essential phase in what can only be called a groundbreaking career. True to form, Moonbuilding 2703 AD features a small track list, but turns each one of its four cuts into a mini-epic in its own right. Opener "God's Mirrorball" hits the ground floating, employing a handful of cozy statics to great effect before finally discharging into an intricate mosaic of atmospheric, melodic sketches and gripping rhythms. With a hypnotic runtime of more than 14 minutes, it immediately establishes a blueprint for the other album tracks to follow, perfectly illustrating the vast extent of the artists' vision and their impressive skills in luring in listeners -- welcome to The Orb's sonic labyrinth, where nothing is what it seems and the unexpected waits just around the corner. Likewise, follow-up track "Moonscapes 2703 BC" presents itself as a uniquely versatile affair sitting comfortably between ambient flourishes and beat-driven focus, holding as many twists and turns as a caper movie, but carefully grounding every single one of its cliffhangers in its impeccable flow. With a runtime of approximately nine minutes, "Lunar Caves" is the shortest jam of the bunch -- and also the most ethereal, keeping its rhythmic content to a bare, pulse-like minimum and opting for enticing, freewheeling synth textures instead. Album closer and title cut "Moonbuilding 2703 AD" introduces a surprisingly jazzy vibe mingling rather well with the wealth of electronic tricks up its sleeve -- even indulging in abrasive bass sweeps and a breathtaking multitude of different rhythm sections constantly switching places. It's a fitting closing act for a full-length as multifaceted as this, as idiosyncratic as possible and as muscular as needed. Cover design by iconic graphic wizards The Designers Republic.
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LP
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KOM 496LP
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LP version. "In recent years, the introductory texts for the Pop Ambient compilation series, which is released every year on Kompakt as the last release before the Christmas break, often began with the sentence 'Every year again.' 'Every year again,' a quiet, almost unnoticed maxim of self-evidentness. Because this is already the 25th issue to be published this year. 25 years in increasingly fast-moving times in the even faster-moving music business is an eternity that doesn't just feel like it. It is all the more remarkable how I, as someone who is always restless and often driven by this fast pace himself, pleasantly almost haven't realized how -- in pop-ambient contexts -- time does not pass (or passes differently) in the best sense. When compiling the 25th edition I was asked, among other things, what it was like that I was still doing this and whether I had a favorite track. In the spirit of bringing all the tracks together I don't have a favorite track, or all of them. But I have a favorite part (moment) that I played. In this case it was a broad chord in a change of key at minute 2:55 in the piece 'Circles' by Max Würden. A moment of majesty and familiarity that, at that moment, contains the entire Pop Ambient cosmos, that just works and doesn't explain anything -- and I said: 'that's the reason why I'm still doing this.' Pop Ambient is a statement without demands. Is promise without expectation. Is a path without a destination. Every year again." --Wolfgang Voigt, October 2024
As always, the indispensable final mastering by Jörg Burger ensures that everything is brought together and the sound is fine-tuned. And like every year, the 25th edition is of course wrapped in an abstract, floral magic creation by Veronika Unland. Over the years, the grace of her imagery has increasingly merged with the musical aura to form an unmistakable magical symbiosis. Featuring Leandro Fresco/Thore Pfeiffer, Pass Into Silence, Tamarma & Sebastian Mullaert, Sono Kollektiv, Nathalie Brum, Andrew Thomas, Julia Parr, Segensklang, Ümit Han, Max Würden, Blank Gloss, Hendrik Meyer, and Triola Zum.
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CD
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KOMP 185CD
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"In recent years, the introductory texts for the Pop Ambient compilation series, which is released every year on Kompakt as the last release before the Christmas break, often began with the sentence 'Every year again.' 'Every year again,' a quiet, almost unnoticed maxim of self-evidentness. Because this is already the 25th issue to be published this year. 25 years in increasingly fast-moving times in the even faster-moving music business is an eternity that doesn't just feel like it. It is all the more remarkable how I, as someone who is always restless and often driven by this fast pace himself, pleasantly almost haven't realized how -- in pop-ambient contexts -- time does not pass (or passes differently) in the best sense. When compiling the 25th edition I was asked, among other things, what it was like that I was still doing this and whether I had a favorite track. In the spirit of bringing all the tracks together I don't have a favorite track, or all of them. But I have a favorite part (moment) that I played. In this case it was a broad chord in a change of key at minute 2:55 in the piece 'Circles' by Max Würden. A moment of majesty and familiarity that, at that moment, contains the entire Pop Ambient cosmos, that just works and doesn't explain anything -- and I said: 'that's the reason why I'm still doing this.' Pop Ambient is a statement without demands. Is promise without expectation. Is a path without a destination. Every year again." --Wolfgang Voigt, October 2024
As always, the indispensable final mastering by Jörg Burger ensures that everything is brought together and the sound is fine-tuned. And like every year, the 25th edition is of course wrapped in an abstract, floral magic creation by Veronika Unland. Over the years, the grace of her imagery has increasingly merged with the musical aura to form an unmistakable magical symbiosis. Featuring Leandro Fresco/Thore Pfeiffer, Pass Into Silence, Tamarma & Sebastian Mullaert, Sono Kollektiv, Nathalie Brum, Andrew Thomas, Julia Parr, Segensklang, Ümit Han, Max Würden, Blank Gloss, Hendrik Meyer, and Triola Zum.
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12"
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KOM EX133EP
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Patrice Bäumel makes his most welcome return to Kompakt's Speicher series and it's exactly as compelling as you expect it to be. "Luce" is a slenderly pumping piece of minimal soul featuring the otherworldly voice of Chiara Gamo. Once more, Patrice masterfully demonstrates how little elements he needs to create suspense, density and warmth on the floor. "The Cave" follows the same mantra, sucking us into a mystique stalactite cave full of echoing droplets and enchanting whispers.
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CD
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KOMP 184CD
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Michael Mayer albums don't come round too often, which is one of many reasons why his fourth collection, The Floor Is Lava, is a genuine event. Mayer's name on a record sleeve is a sign of quality, of music that's both looking to the future and calling back to the past, that balances the imperatives of the dancefloor and the loungeroom, that's as exploratory as it is functional. On The Floor Is Lava, Mayer seems to be taking the temperature of both the music that surrounds him (past and present), and the ideas of the industry he works within. There's that iconic album title, for a start. For Mayer, it's partly a critique of the way the industry boxes in both producer and listener, focuses them on genre, on market, on the next new thing. With The Floor Is Lava, the result is an album that's varied, quixotic, idiosyncratic, charming, and deeply, addictively listenable. Throughout, Mayer finds thrills in exploration and juxtaposition, allowing unexpected things to blossom and giving them their life, their platform, throwing the listener exciting curveballs. Either easily bored, or endlessly curious, The Floor Is Lava is rich with ideas. Mayer mentions Pal Joey, and the scene around Rockers Hi-Fi and their Different Drummer imprint, as reference points, and you can hear that freewheeling spirit throughout. There's psychedelic techno on "Feuerstuhl", more minimal techno with "Ardor," slippery, Shepard-tone breakbeat through "Sycophant", a lovely, lush vocal turn on the poppy "The Solution." The album closes with the melancholy "Süßer Schlaf", where Mayer sets a poem by Goethe to one of his most haunted, moving pieces of music yet, in an abstract tribute to a lost friend. It's one of the most affecting moments on The Floor Is Lava. There's also an update on 2020's wild Brainwave Technology EP, with the surrealist glitter-stomp of "Brainwave 2.0," where Mayer's thinking about the socio-political precipice of the now. An album for the easily bored and the endlessly curious. Mayer has the last word, telling us all you need to know about the album's spirit: "Burning for the cause, being zealous, being addicted to the heat of the night, the exuberant powers of music."
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12"
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KOM 492EP
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They still exist, these stories: A fresh newcomer project from Cologne sends their first demo to just one address. An A&R, who has a medically certified autotune allergy, listens to the demo, hears an autotune track and signs the band anyway. "Streetpoet" by Mourad Kehailia and Sebastian Fischer aka 9OASES is as unusual as the genesis of this record. It's a wild hybrid of raving breakbeats, a chord hook that would have done Underworld proud in their heyday and the aforementioned autotune rap. It is magical. Axel Boman is a remixer who can make the magic even more magical. His eight-minute version of "Streetpoet" establishes a long overdue new genre: trancehall! With "New Ballad," 9OASES show listeners that they really mean business with their plans for world conquest. This is great techno pop with heart and mind.
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2LP
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KOM 499LP
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Double LP version. Michael Mayer albums don't come round too often, which is one of many reasons why his fourth collection, The Floor Is Lava, is a genuine event. Mayer's name on a record sleeve is a sign of quality, of music that's both looking to the future and calling back to the past, that balances the imperatives of the dancefloor and the loungeroom, that's as exploratory as it is functional. On The Floor Is Lava, Mayer seems to be taking the temperature of both the music that surrounds him (past and present), and the ideas of the industry he works within. There's that iconic album title, for a start. For Mayer, it's partly a critique of the way the industry boxes in both producer and listener, focuses them on genre, on market, on the next new thing. With The Floor Is Lava, the result is an album that's varied, quixotic, idiosyncratic, charming, and deeply, addictively listenable. Throughout, Mayer finds thrills in exploration and juxtaposition, allowing unexpected things to blossom and giving them their life, their platform, throwing the listener exciting curveballs. Either easily bored, or endlessly curious, The Floor Is Lava is rich with ideas. Mayer mentions Pal Joey, and the scene around Rockers Hi-Fi and their Different Drummer imprint, as reference points, and you can hear that freewheeling spirit throughout. There's psychedelic techno on "Feuerstuhl", more minimal techno with "Ardor," slippery, Shepard-tone breakbeat through "Sycophant", a lovely, lush vocal turn on the poppy "The Solution." The album closes with the melancholy "Süßer Schlaf", where Mayer sets a poem by Goethe to one of his most haunted, moving pieces of music yet, in an abstract tribute to a lost friend. It's one of the most affecting moments on The Floor Is Lava. There's also an update on 2020's wild Brainwave Technology EP, with the surrealist glitter-stomp of "Brainwave 2.0," where Mayer's thinking about the socio-political precipice of the now. An album for the easily bored and the endlessly curious. Mayer has the last word, telling us all you need to know about the album's spirit: "Burning for the cause, being zealous, being addicted to the heat of the night, the exuberant powers of music."
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2LP
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KOM 495LP
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Double LP version. Includes download code. Kompakt presents Total 24. Having admired Tee Mango from afar for many years, Michael Mayer took heart and invited him to this year's Total. "So In Love" is in the best tradition of the Kompakt minimal funk of the early years. Reinhard Voigt has always placed great emphasis on loving animals. On the track with the unsurprising title "Der, der mit dem Gummiball sang (Orange)," he lets whole hordes of different four-legged friends and poultry on the microphone. Hopefully the stench will dissipate from the studio. When Rhenish cheerfulness meets holiday anticipation, the result is something like this Hawaiian shirt turned music called "Chee-Caruso" by Jürgen Paape. No animals were tortured for this piece either, even if it sounds like it. Next comes London's award-winning pedigree dog Rex The Dog. "Laika" is a heart-warming ode to the mongrel dog of the same name, who was the first living creature to make it from the streets of Moscow into space. A little-known fact about Michael Mayer is that he is one of the fastest crossword puzzle foxes on the left bank of the Rhine, always in relentless rivalry with Wolfgang Voigt, who thinks he is even faster. The big battle is yet to come. As an integral part of the family, Jonathan Kaspar is of course not to be missed. "Are You" celebrates the kind of early morning rapture that is commonplace at his new DJ venue, the brand-new Cologne superclub FI. Everything is so colorful here. Sascha Funke takes a bow to one of the greats of German showbiz with the trippy electro smasher "The Heck." More emotion, more love, more sing-along factor? Si, claro! Argia's "Love Keeps You Running" masterfully combines groove and pop. She may be at home in Madrid, but there's Cologne DNA in her somewhere. Jörg Burger is still in a psychedelic mood in 2024. That suits him, that's where he needs to be. A parallel universe is conceivable in which such music is affectionately called Goa. Before going to bed, the Wassermann reads a fairy tale from the Arabian Nights.
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CD
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KOMP 182CD
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The opening honors on Kompakt's Total 24 go to Hamburg's bundle of joy, Ada, who remixed her dear friend Heiko Voss. When Rhenish cheerfulness meets holiday anticipation, the result is something like this Hawaiian shirt turned music called "Chee-Caruso" by Jürgen Paape. Next up is one of this year's Kompakt debutantes, a truly glamorous bird of paradise called Deer Jade. "Jukurpa" is a highly original, frolicsome house tune that has been moving crowds all over the planet. As an integral part of the family, Jonathan Kaspar is of course not to be missed. "Are You" celebrates the kind of early morning rapture that is commonplace at his new DJ venue, the brand new Cologne superclub FI. Next is Hardt Antoine. who has been firing from all cylinders lately, and he's god damn good at it. Sascha Funke takes a bow to one of the greats of German showbiz with the trippy electro smasher "The Heck." Having admired Tee Mango from afar for many years, Kompakt's A&R Michael Mayer took heart and invited him to this year's Total. Brazilian come Austrian come Berliner Joyce Muniz has certainly become a household name with her intoxicating brand of uplifting pop house. Fittingly, she has joined the ranks here for a collaboration with Sara Blum, "Beats & Lines." More Brazilian feel good vibes come in the form of Gui Boratto's "The Shell" which he conceived together with the former Underworld producer and legend in his own right, Darren Emerson. Next comes the realm of fauna, to London's award-winning pedigree dog Rex The Dog. "Laika" is a heart-warming ode to the mongrel dog of the same name, who was the first living creature to make it from the streets of Moscow into space. Taken from his recent Speicher release, "Beskar" showcases Egyptian lover Raxon's fascination for all things Star Wars and his undeniable ability to churn out monster tracks. David Hasert and Niconé's "Wasting My Time With You" is surely one of the most beloved Kompakt releases of 2024, so it can't be missed on this compilation. Reinhard Voigt has always placed great emphasis on loving animals. On this track with the unsurprising title "Der, der mit dem Gummiball sang (Orange)", he lets whole hordes of different four-legged friends and poultry on the microphone. Argia's "Love Keeps You Running" masterfully combines groove and pop. Before going to bed, Wassermann reads a fairy tale from the Arabian Nights.
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3LP
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KOM 491LP
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Restocked! Triple LP version. Kompakt presents, finally, a reissue of the first, self-titled GAS album. Originally released on electronica imprint Mille Plateaux back in 1996, it's been unavailable in its original form ever since -- the version of GAS included in 2008's Nah Und Fern box featured several different tracks. Here, however, GAS is restored in all its glory, the debut full-length from Wolfgang Voigt's most enigmatic, quixotic project. There had, of course, been signs of what was to come. Back in 1995, Voigt essayed the first Gas release, a slender, yet remarkable four-track EP, Modern. Its center label featured a reduced symbol -- an overhead or lamp light, switched on, its glow radiating outwards in four bold black lines -- a perfect representation of the tight, stylized ambient electronic pop contained on that 12". A few curious compilation tracks were floating around, too, for Mille Plateaux's Modulation & Transformation and Electric Ladyland series. If you were attentive enough, you could tell something was up. But nothing quite prepared listeners for the languorous, effervescing loops and regular-like-clockwork beats that Voigt folded together on GAS. Its six long tracks, all untitled, neither begin nor end but hazily fade into earshot, vibrate majestically in your cochlea for fifteen-or-so minutes -- some a bit shorter, some longer -- and then meander away, reading the mise-en-scène for the next example of Voigt's drift and dream logic to unfold. The material is referential in the most distant way, and you can sense only the most evanescent of ghostly presences, haunting these six compositions. GAS feels, also, like a more pliable hint at what's to come, as the GAS concept really solidified on its successor, 1997's Zauberberg, and reach its apotheosis on Königsforst and Pop. Those three albums share a very similar palette -- blurred, hazy samples, often of classical music, stacked and cross-thatched across a muted 4/4 thud. GAS, then, is an outlier of sorts: it's more expansive in its remit, lighter in its mood, perhaps more fleet of foot. This, of course, is part of its charm. In clearing space for Voigt, by preparing the terrain, GAS sits both at the edge of the forest, and at the verge of an expansive, wide-eyed future; one where GAS would become truly eternal. Text by Jonathan Dale.
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CD
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KOMP 183CD
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Kompakt presents, finally, a reissue of the first, self-titled GAS album. Originally released on electronica imprint Mille Plateaux back in 1996, it's been unavailable in its original form ever since -- the version of GAS included in 2008's Nah Und Fern box featured several different tracks. Here, however, GAS is restored in all its glory, the debut full-length from Wolfgang Voigt's most enigmatic, quixotic project. There had, of course, been signs of what was to come. Back in 1995, Voigt essayed the first Gas release, a slender, yet remarkable four-track EP, Modern. Its center label featured a reduced symbol -- an overhead or lamp light, switched on, its glow radiating outwards in four bold black lines -- a perfect representation of the tight, stylized ambient electronic pop contained on that 12". A few curious compilation tracks were floating around, too, for Mille Plateaux's Modulation & Transformation and Electric Ladyland series. If you were attentive enough, you could tell something was up. But nothing quite prepared listeners for the languorous, effervescing loops and regular-like-clockwork beats that Voigt folded together on GAS. Its six long tracks, all untitled, neither begin nor end but hazily fade into earshot, vibrate majestically in your cochlea for fifteen-or-so minutes -- some a bit shorter, some longer -- and then meander away, reading the mise-en-scène for the next example of Voigt's drift and dream logic to unfold. The material is referential in the most distant way, and you can sense only the most evanescent of ghostly presences, haunting these six compositions. GAS feels, also, like a more pliable hint at what's to come, as the GAS concept really solidified on its successor, 1997's Zauberberg, and reach its apotheosis on Königsforst and Pop. Those three albums share a very similar palette -- blurred, hazy samples, often of classical music, stacked and cross-thatched across a muted 4/4 thud. GAS, then, is an outlier of sorts: it's more expansive in its remit, lighter in its mood, perhaps more fleet of foot. This, of course, is part of its charm. In clearing space for Voigt, by preparing the terrain, GAS sits both at the edge of the forest, and at the verge of an expansive, wide-eyed future; one where GAS would become truly eternal. Text by Jonathan Dale.
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12"
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KOM EX132EP
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Robag Wruhme isn't just a producer; he's a sonic storyteller. His tracks are known for their emotional depth and technical brilliance -- the perfect blend of minimal techno, deep house, and ambient music -- each track a meticulously crafted journey through sound. With influences ranging from classical to jazz to world music, Robag's music is as diverse as it is enchanting. His latest offering on the trailblazing Speicher series is no exception. True to his unmistakable style, "Naila" meanders between heartwarming positivity and menacing darkness induced by one of those bass lines only Robag can deliver. In short: He nailed it! On the flip side, he joins forces with the ominous Bruno Pronsato -- an elusive character that has a string of cult releases on Perlon, Musique Risquée and Foom under his belt. "CDV" was initially released on his album Live At Club Der Visionäre on Logistic Records. Robag's slick re-rub is pushing things decisively in an afterhour-ish direction. Mental music for mental times!
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2LP
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KOM 466LP
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Double LP version. The GAS album Der Lange Marsch once again invites listeners to follow the deep sounding bass drum, to give in to its irresistible pull into a psychedelic world of 1000 promises. At the latest with the release of the albums Zauberberg and Königsforst, in the mid-1990s, one associates GAS, Wolfgang Voigt's very own artistic cross-linking of the spirit of Romanticism and the forest as an artistic fantasy projection surface, with intoxicatingly blurred boundaries of post-ambient infatuation and the impenetrable thicket of abstract atonality. The distant, iconic straight bass drum marching through highly condensed, abstract sounds taken from classical music by the sampler or modulated accordingly, and the enraptured gaze through pop art glasses into the hypnotic thicket of an imaginary forest, manifested over the years this unique connection of audio and visual, which to understand fully, then as now, would be neither possible nor desirable. Quite the opposite.
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CD
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KOMP 166CD
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The GAS album Der Lange Marsch once again invites listeners to follow the deep sounding bass drum, to give in to its irresistible pull into a psychedelic world of 1000 promises. At the latest with the release of the albums Zauberberg and Königsforst, in the mid-1990s, one associates GAS, Wolfgang Voigt's very own artistic cross-linking of the spirit of Romanticism and the forest as an artistic fantasy projection surface, with intoxicatingly blurred boundaries of post-ambient infatuation and the impenetrable thicket of abstract atonality. The distant, iconic straight bass drum marching through highly condensed, abstract sounds taken from classical music by the sampler or modulated accordingly, and the enraptured gaze through pop art glasses into the hypnotic thicket of an imaginary forest, manifested over the years this unique connection of audio and visual, which to understand fully, then as now, would be neither possible nor desirable. Quite the opposite.
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