Kompakt Germany Vinyl & CDs

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: 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: Producer and DJ Stephan Barnem teams up with fellow artist Futuristant for a cross-Mediterranean foray into high-concept melodic techno. 'Don't Cry' is nothing short of a euphoric anthem, mixing tropes from synthwave, electro and big room into a piece that could easily function as the next HALO soundtrack theme. A robotic voice narrates the entire journey - "bringing you light, I am the star, shining so bright, I am the rain refreshing the earth, I am the laughter, I am the mirth" - as if it were the telepathic monologue of a deus ex come to grant salvation to us all.

Review: Kompakt have billed their latest collaborative spiritual house release - three groove sandwiches shared between Deer Jade, David Hasert and Nicone - as an antidote to the all-to-prevalent late-winter blues and lack of sun, an affliction that seems to blight ravers in particular. Aside from canvassing for more outdoor and/or glass-roofed venues, all we can do in the meantime is weight the tonearm and jog-start the disc; 'Jukurpa' and 'Wasting My Time With You' are just the course of sonic vitamins us daywalkers need. The former is a deep, righteous blur of just piano tritones and circumscribed handholds around fires, as weighted knee-slaps and impacts evoke the feeling of a collective ritual come out-of-body experience. 'Cosmic Dream' returns to the very same rave spot at nighttime; at this point, it's all gone a bit lunar-psy, but the desert winds and temperate nighttime heat allow ample energy for continued soul flight.

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: 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: 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: You have to admire Alex Warren AKA Kiwi's work rate. Here he makes his Kompakt bow with his eleventh EP since the start of 2018. Vocalist Bestle guests on superb A-side "Hello Echo", a spacey chunk of lilting nu-disco/synth-pop fusion that's so deliciously warm and summery that we believe it will become a sing-along anthem before the year is out. He shifts focus a little on B-side opener "Down With The Rhythm", a more sleazy, analogue-driven affair that sits somewhere between Chicago style acid-jack, effervescent NYC freestyle and bold, 21st century nu-disco, before offering a deep, melodious and melancholic take on acid-electro that could well be the most arresting, ear-catching moment on an EP that's full of them.

Review: It is widely known for being a label that deals in mature techno and tech with top class melodies, but Kompakt has also put out its fare share of leftfield yet crowd pleasing curveballs. We get the sense that this is one of them from Andreas Dorau, particularly the Wassermann Tubass mix of 'Unsichtbare Tanzer' which is off balance tech with curious vocals. The Sog mix is like a colourful adult lullaby and the original has big prog guitar licks and 80s synth flourishes. Finally, the Wassermann Rausch mix is a meandering tech cut with plodding drums and bass.