Kompakt Germany Vinyl & CDs

Review: Bleep techno formed as a result of likening the arpeggiated bleeping of techno, with the sound of contempoary bleeps: small toy robots, Speak n' Spells, the digital chatter of sci-fi foley in franchises like Star Trek and Star Wars. Now, music editor Jurgen Laarmann argues vehemently that bleep is back, and in EP form, likens its resurgence with the advent of NFTs and cryptocurrencies. 'NFT', therefore, is a four-tracker like no other, with the banging original track coming together with Bleep stalwarts including Michael wells, Tricky Disco and Justus Kohncke.

Review: Kompakt staple Reinhard Voigt returns to the label for the for first time since 2019's 'Was Wir Spuren' (KOM 402) as well as some collaborations with his brother (label co-head Wolfgang as Voigt & Voigt) and of course the minimalist concept series as RV on the KX sublabel. This one is titled 'Cha Cha Club' and it is a dark and foggy club-ready cut that straddles the line between techno and electro. Over on the flip, Voigt hypnotises you into submission once again on the mysterious and understated afterhours cut 'Die Frau, Die Nach Deutz Ging'.

Review: Barnt returns for a weighty, new wavey three-tracker on Kompakt, not quite straying from his trademark minimal tech style, but nevertheless working in novel elements. 'This Is For The Decor Only' is a glistening ambient trance cut, working in detuned leads and melodic 'woahs' (woah indeed), while 'You Know What's Gone' recalls everything from mid-80s body music, new romantic dance, and medieval music. 'Fan' is the ambient closer, revealing the producer's musical talents far beyond that of mere dance music. As Barnt says, he wanted to touch on a "ceremonial, emotional, grand spirit", and he's achieved just that.

Review: Cool, rocking, hard but dry minimal homage to this fantastic Brazilian football player.

Review: Matias Aguayo has always been a left-of-centre sound smith. His rhythms and grooves are built from infinite intricate loops, and are often steeped in his South American heritage. That is the case again here with his vocal sounds stitched into dark wave tech grooves. 'The Tiger' is menacing and snappy, locking you into the late-night atmosphere. 'Nightshift, The Red' is more loose and dark, with freewheeling and busted-up techno drums. There is a sense of yearning in the forlorn vocal of 'Show Me What You're Feeling' that brings something different to the dance floor and lastly 'El Propio Propio' gets heavy and off-balance.

Review: Sascha Funke is one of those low-key German artists who has always operated at the forgives of hype but never failed to cook up interesting sounds that are as deserving of attention as anything. This is a second EP this year after the tech house man took a few years out and it is another one that really stands proud of the crowd on Konpakt. 'Treets' pairs trippy synth designs with catchy tech beats while 'E-Plus' gets darker, with busted drum loops and phased bass. 'Alles Paletti' is a big old cosmic tech workout then 'Haus More' sinks into dubbed out and stripped back late night acid territory.

Review: Michael Mayer's Kompakt label has managed to help shape a number of niche sounds, from ambient with its excellent annual compilations, to a mature and melodic take on techno through countless LPs and 12"s. This new remix EP sits somewhere in between. Running Back don Gerd Janson goes first with his take on 'Follow Your Line' which has zoned out and filtered vocals of a nice and languid electronic disco rhythm. Ada then brings some signature melodic beauty and whisky to a remix of 'Talking Man' that has Balearic potential and the boss himself dubs out 'Follow Your Line' to perfection.

Review: Perel's sophomore album Jesus Was An Alien continues in some ways from the themes she brought to her debut, 2018's Hermetica on DFA. The tracks are rich, lush in design and multi-layered with plenty of emotional uplift. While inspired by a raft of the best indie hitmakers she has her own sound which is perfect for the dance floor but also suited to listing away from the club. "Jesus Was An Alien is a discourse about whether Jesus was an actual alien" she explains, amusingly. When the debate sounds this good, no one cares about the answers.

Review: With Kompakt shorthand for royalty-grade electronic music we definitely shouldn't need to sell this one. Sacramento, California duo Blank Gloss may be less familiar, though, albeit those paying attention to the label will no doubt remember their stunning 2021 debut for the imprint, 'Melt'. A showpiece for the beautiful piano and synth work of Morgan Fox and Patrick Hills' tranquil guitars, it truly stood out.

Cornered is the pair's third LP overall, and picks up where that predecessor left off, kind of. It certainly comes from around the same period, recorded in just two days of December 2020, but there's plenty of progress that you can hear on the album. While never ones to overfill things, what's here - instrumentally speaking - seems to shine like a candle surrounded by darkness. Not sparse, but precious, vulnerable, and intimate, allowing plenty of space for the melodies and movements to take hold of you.

Review: San Fran's unstoppable and enduring tech house craftsman John Tejada is also super reliable. His sound is well established, but he always does enough with each new release to embellish it a little further. Returning now to his home label of Kompakt, he refines his palette to silky melodies, fuzzy pads and crisp beats that are superbly pleasing for both your ears and your heels. 'Sheltered' is a particularly classy cut of deft tech minimalism, 'Spectral Progressions' expires ambient broken beats with lush pad work and 'Panacea' picks up the pace in scintillant fashion. This might be his best work in years.