Label Focus – KOMPAKT
The rich musical heritage of Cologne has brought us everything from Can to Air Liquide but arguably its current premier standard bearers are the KOMPAKT label. They’ve clocked up more than 600 releases by everyone from Sasha and Gus Gus to John Tejada and The Orb. and have just released the 21st of their annual Total compilation series.
Michael Mayer, who not only plays a big part in running the label but often contributes his own distinctively atmospheric productions to the catalogue. took a few moments out of his busy schedule to tell us more.
WHAT’S THE NAME OF YOUR LABEL, AND WHO RUNS IT?
KOMPAKT is owned by Jurgen Paape, Wolfgang Voigt and myself, Michael Mayer, and run by the latter and Jon Berry.
WHEN & WHY DID THE LABEL START?
KOMPAKT was forged in 1998 as a conclusion of numerous other labels and activities the same group of people was doing since 1993.
GIVE US A BRIEF SUMMARY OF WHAT YOU’VE RELEASED SINCE THEN….
We’ve released more than 600 releases on KOMPAKT and its offshoots KOMPAKT EXTRA, KOMPAKT POP, and K2. We’ve been working with artists like The Orb, DJ Koze, Gui Boratto, The Field, GAS, Weval, ANNA, Sascha Funke, Thomas Fehlmann, Marc Romboy, Kölsch to name a few.
WHAT QUALITIES ARE YOU LOOKING FOR IN THE MUSIC YOU RELEASE?
We call it the KOMPAKT gen.
WHAT KIND OF VISUAL IDENTITY DOES THE LABEL HAVE (ARTWORK, VIDEOS ETC) ?
It’s all about the dots and eagles.
WHAT’S BEEN YOUR BIGGEST SELLING RELEASE TO DATE? TELL US A BIT ABOUT IT AND WHY YOU THINK IT WAS SO POPULAR.
Oxia’s ‘Domino’ is still holding the pole position. Fun fact: It’s one of the very few records in our catalogue that my partner Wolfgang and I argued about. I thought ‘Domino’ sounded too generic and voted against its release. Luckily, Wolfgang had his way.
NAME ONE RELEASE THAT YOU THINK DESERVED TO GET MORE ATTENTION THAN IT DID
Fahrland – Night Versions.
IF YOU COULD SIGN ANY ARTIST, ALIVE OR DEAD, WHO WOULD YOU CHOOSE AND WHY?
Richard H Kirk... his influence on modern pop and dance music is still scandalously underrated. May he rest in peace.
WHICH OTHER LABELS DO YOU ADMIRE AND WHY?
I was an avid Nu Groove collector, my buy on sight label in the early 90s. They had a new release almost every week and you never knew what kind of music you’d get… Joey Beltram techno, Bobby Konders dancehall or jazzy deep house from the Burrell brothers. One could see Nu Groove as a blueprint for what KOMPAKT has become: a home for all kinds of electronic music.
WHAT CAN WE LOOK TO FROM YOUR LABEL NEXT?
We’ve got some exciting new signings ready: Berlin’s Kollmorgen does hauntingly beautiful electronic pop, Archil & Leon from Paris create funky sounds with their self made instruments and Ramses from Amsterdam are carving their own niche in indie dance. As tradition demands, we’ll end 2021 with the 21st edition of our Pop Ambient compilation.