Kompakt Extra Germany Schallplatten & CDs

Review: The 110th release from Kompakt Extra comes from Extrawelt, a long-serving electronic band from Hamburg that has previously impressed via albums and singles on Traum Schallplatten, Border Community, Darkroom Dubs and Cocoon Recordings. They naturally hit the ground running with "Pink Panzer", a bustling affair that mixes live drum breakbeats and tough machine percussion with moody, booming bass, creepy strings and evocative, ever-building tech-house electronics. Flipside "Argonaut" is an altogether sleazier and heavier affair full of thrusting, non-stop distorted bass, redlined post-electro drums and all manner of mind-mangling electronic effects. It's effectively the Yang to the A-side's Ying and, like its' predecessor, very good indeed.

Review: Ok, so the Speicher 95 series from Cologne's mythical Kompakt label is always capable of pleasing all sorts of DJs, from the shady outsider freaks to the progressive show-off, but having Laurent Garnier on top of that feels like striking gold. The legendary French producer and DJ doesn't exactly release a lot of music these days, so a new two-tracker by the man feels like something truly special to adorn our charts with. On the A-side, "1-4 Doctor C'est Chouette" is an explorative house voyage with plenty of life and organic energy behind its deep web of bass tones and spaced-out melodies; the flip, "From The Crypt To The Astrofloor", is another story altogether - Garnier enters a new realm of cerebral fantasy here, a world that sits more in line with films like Akira or Blade Runner rather than a basement dance floor. Magic.

Review: Over a career stretching back almost two decades, Robag Wruhme has proved to be one of minimal house and techno's most unique producers, with a trademark sound that's become a byword for mind-altering, late-night quality. Fans of the Wruhme sound will love his latest outing on Kompakt extra. Our pick of the pair is driving A-side 'No', where mystical sounds, exotic percussion and sustained chords rise above a thrusting bassline and a rock-solid drum machine rhythm. By his standards it's quite "big", though that's not a criticism - 'No' genuinely sounds like a proper peak-time banger. B-side 'Frontex Freppant' is more in-keeping with his hazy, hypnotic sound of old, with stabbing electronics, looped aural textures and wonky electronics clustered around another tough, weighty techno groove.

Review: Although Robag Wruhme has appeared on the main Kompakt label a number of times over the last decade, this two-track 12" is actually his first appearance on the club-focused Kompakt Extra offshoot. As you'd expect from a producer with such a great track record, A-side "Yes" is superb. Built around swinging, off-kilter tech-house beats, hazy aural textures and a driving bassline, the track builds in waves thanks to Wruhme's canny use of moody pads, sustained - and undeniably creepy - chords and a wiggly acid line that intensifies as the track progresses. Over on the flip, "Calma Calma" is an altogether deeper and quietly sunny affair, with Wruhme wrapping female spoken word vocals, stirring orchestration and glassy-eyed melodies around another crunchy tech-house groove.