Kompakt Germany Schallplatten & CDs

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: 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: 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: 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.