Kompakt Germany Vinyl & CDs

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: 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: 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.

Review: To date Wata Igarashi has released most of his work as singles. The Japanese techno producer has steadily risen in profile thanks to releases for the likes of The Bunker New York, Nidgar, Bitta and Delsin, but now his trajectory shifts into a different gear as he offers up his first fully-fledged artist album outside of Japan for the mighty Kompakt. It's clear from the offset he's relished the opportunity to stretch out on an album and we're treated to some stunningly rendered ambient and downtempo soundscapes - just listen to the slow rise and fall of 'Searching' and you'll be instantly sold. There's space for drama and accomplished composition as on 'Ceremony Of The Dead', jazzy exploits on 'Burning' and much more besides, showcasing the unbridled imagination of one of Japan's brightest talents.

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: 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.

Review: Cologne's legendary Kompakt label has been rolling out these superb compilations for many years now. The 23rd instalment is another fine snapshot of the more matter and grown up end of the tech, minimal and techno spectrum with plenty of familiar faces as well s new school stars. Boss man Michel Mayer opens up with the bright melodies and swinging grooves of 'Talmi' before Jurgen Paape keeps it deep and delicious with more easy going grooves and keys. Elsewhere a Sofia Kourtesis remix if Perel brings more dancefloor ready sounds and Reinhard Voigt's 'Endlich XXL' (feat Eduard Weber) is a freaky one for the afters.

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