Brazil has one of the most invigorating scenes in dance music and Sao Paulo’s GUI BORATTO has been there as an innovator and leading member of the community both at home and internationally. His versatility to cross genres and remain faithful to the dance floor has been proven over and over again. Be it from “Beautiful Life” to “Azzura” or “No Turning Back”, his influence has struck a permanent chord in melodic dance music.

- PENTAGRAM is a varied full length that takes a leap in both GUI BORATTO’s production and creative progression. From the driving club 1st single FORGOTTEN, to the return of BEAUTIFUL LIFE vocalist Luciana Villanova with OVERLOAD to what could be his biggest pop music accomplishment to date as THE PHOENIX, there is a focus in his music like never before.

It’s been over 10 years since the release of Gui Boratto’s breakthrough full length debut 'Chromophobia'. As to what its title suggests, he shook up the techno game with a contrast of lushly coloured minimal grooves and melody, whilst many will recall that the album included the highlight single “Beautiful Life” which became a dance floor anthem for that era. Four albums in and countless EPs and remixes under his belt, the Brazilian producer's unique savoir-faire in carving out a functional album out of diversely routed singles and features is back at it on his fifth studio LP, 'Pentagram'. Here Gui Boratto lays down a nuanced 12-track narrative that reinvigorates his signature sound into a refreshingly different perspective that feels all too familiar – including the return of “Beautiful Life” vocalist (and Gui Boratto’s wife) Luciana Villanova on the single "Overload".

Through his signature kaleidoscopic approach, Boratto delivers an album built as a far-reaching hub-and-spoke system, broadly inclusive as can be. From the opening cut, 'The Walker' - hot on the trail of Tears For Fears 'Elemental' (one of Boratto’s "favourite 80's bands") - to the hi-NRG euphoria of 'Forgotten' and its pounding tech alter ego 'Forgive Me'. "I was going into 2 different directions", Boratto says; "the typical “indie- electronic-rock” Boratto kind of production like “It’s Majik” or “Like You” and a much more techno approach." He goes on, "I decided to split them into two twin sister songs. When I play live I always put these two songs together."

The Brazilian Producer further embraces the pop-friendly essence of his past work on tracks like 'The Phoenix', featuring vocalist Nathan Berger, and 'Overload', both melding acidulous synthlines with laser-precise breaks, vox hooks and drops calibrated for extended radio and club use, although sieved through his distinctive rainbow-hued musical prism. For the symbolists out there, the album's pared-down closer '618' duration accidentally happens to equate the proportions of the said pentagram. "Coincidence?" Boratto questions, and capsulises, "not so ufanista and supporter of Brazilian neo-concretism, but I guess the brazilian sculptor Lygia Clark also inspired me a lot. Not the meaning of her sculptures, but the shape of the hinge of most of her work. I’ve wanted to transmit the scientific pentagram’s point of view. It’s not a religious kind of thing."

Whereas 'Spur' (a field-tested 808 and 909-heavy "purist track", "very, very old school" Boratto insists) and 'Alcazar' are sheer smooth-edged four-to- the-floor epics, the album also shares its lot of startling moments, such as with the John Barry'esque 'Scene 2' (with a hint of Amon Tobin, 'Easy Muffin' style, throw in) and its refined string-laden buildup, 100% fitted for a 007 opening credit sequence; or with 'Hallucination' (feat B.T.) and the further James Holden-ish title-track 'Pentagram' (think 'The Idiots Are Winning'); "one of those exercises I did when I got my Buchla modular synth" Boratto analyses, "I think I’ve used more then 30 different snares, with different delays and reverbs. The whole song is alive". And so is 'Pentagram' in its entirety: alive and definitely just as manifold and hopeful as its architectonics are the stuff of science and dreams all at once. 

FORMAT INFORMATION

2xLtd LP includes MP3 Download Code.

Gas return after last years "Narkopop" with "Rausch", brimming with the sort of dystopian doom and brooding malaise that makes Voigt's project so attractive and eminently listenable. Although the album is meant to be heard as a whole, there are seven distinct sections which make up the journey. Moving from the heavy cinematic simmer of "Rausch 1", with ambient synths slowly panning around the stereo image, swelling into a cosmic wasteland of percussive detritus and crackling static.

As we move through the expansive and nuanced landscape of "Rausch", we get low-key dub techno, bolstered with sweeping filters and rising saw waves piercing the crackling landscape, flickering rainfall and reversed cymbals pulling through the oppressive audio mulch, as ever, perfectly balanced and impeccably produced.

Epic walls of crushing yet heavenly beauty drip, no, landslide through the album; with an ever increasing acceptance of succumbing to some transcendental doom. Distant rumbles of cavernous excavation echo through the thin night sky; with hints of Martian exploration, moon buggies and impenetrable rock formations.

A masterpiece of the genre!

STAFF COMMENTS

Barry says: Another stunning synth ambient masterpiece from Voigt, with shadows of dub techno and kosmische synthplay being overwhelmed with oppressive hazy ambience and otherworldly simmering drone.

FORMAT INFORMATION

2xLtd LP includes MP3 Download Code.

A new force on the modern Balearic scene made of up Thomas Gandey aka Cagedbaby (member of Matom alongside Matt Edwards) and Daniel McLewin, half of UK-based production duo Psychemagik. Together they drop their first single on Germany's long running leftfield label Kompakt.

"Saturnus" is an upright mano a mano between two musicians and their gear, unchained from all preconceptions and biases; real (machine) talk as the hip-hop heads would say.

On "Zuul Passage" we get a twangy and Tron-esque futurescape generated by a good old Moog Voyager, '70s string machines', Oberheim OBXA, 303, Space Echo and the too little-known and equally little-used Korg Lambda. The track traverses remote kosmische-indebted expanses but hits close to the core with its deft mix of slow-burning spectral funk, textured outerspace pads and further stirring heart-searching harmonics. Subtly arranged yet leaving maximum room to the lively force of its original layout, it is a lovingly crafted piece of emotive and psychedelic magnitude that's seamlessly and almost effortlessly produced; allowing the listener to relish undistrubed in its sensuous offerings. 

Rex The Dog brings some unadulterated robo-funk vibes for Kompakt here. Two tracks that jar and jerk in all directions as mid tempo mechanics usher us forward along the conveyor belt. "Crasher" takes a more technoid route, galloping arps catapillering against gated claps and airlocked sfx as the odd sonar bleep attemps to re-align you with your location. "Hold It / Control It" slows down the pace for a funkier number that recalls a vintage Radioactive Man as it conbines vintage breakbeat vibes with stuttered, modular-guided dynamics: the result is a powerful track that'll find favour with the ALFOS crew as much as it does the techno breaks massive. Huge record!

Jono Ma (of Jagwar Ma) and Angus Gruzman (of Dreems, Die Orangen) present “The Dreemas”. Recorded between their studios in industrial North London and the rogue outskirts of Berlin, The Dreemas is an electronic cryogenic stasis of two life-long friends in varying states of crisis, conversion and transcendence thru the year 2017. Two minds and hearts coalesced into an ocean of sound, the groundwork formed with over a decade of instinctive studio sessions, sweat-riddled DJ conferences, and shoulder-to-shoulder dance-offs in clubs, pubs and dusty down under doofs. They’ve spent endless hours together at the bottom of salty oceans gazing up at alien aquatic life forms. For years they’ve shared synthesisers across continents, exchanged records, lived together, flown together and bled together. Now, they tekno together!

Futuristic, hermetic sounds are order of the day as the pair demonstrate the shamanic synthesizer knowledge and intricate groove capabilities. Opting for a palette of strange, intriging and otherworldy sounds rather than flat-lined wrecking balls; there's a poised and sophisticated air to these mutant synth jams that set them apart on a higher celestial plane yet also find them totally at home on the pioneering Kompact label. 

Danish native, Rune Reilly aka Kölsch drops the final chapter in his triptych release for Kompakt. Followers of the series will note a chronological concept, an ascension if you will, soundtracking his life from birth up until now. As usual, you'l find bursts of epic melodies coursing through propulsive techno beats, a musical ident that's particularly arresting on album hit, "Push". "1989" marks also Kölsch’s intensified deployment of real-life orchestral sounds and the continuation of his extremely fruitful collab with Gregor Schwellenbach: after contributing to predecessor album “1983”, the Kompakt affiliate, composer and multi-instrumentalist now conducts the Heritage Orchestra for tracks "Khaio", "Liath" (featuring a violin solo by Kate Robinson) and "Serji", the latter of which Schwellenbach co-wrote and co-produced.

The 24-person Heritage Orchstra consists of violins, violas, cellos and double basses, adding the sweeping drama and organic, richly layered textures that only real strings can produce - a deeply humane tone that is set with the album’s opening recording of the orchestra tuning its instruments (which incidentally also incorporates a voice recording from 1989 of Rune Reilly’s grandfather Ludwig). Seeing Kölsch’s propensity for vocalist cameos on his albums (Trœls Abrahamsen on “1977”, Tomas Høffding and Waa Industry on “1983”), one shouldn’t be surprised to find beautiful cut "In Bottles", which features vocals written and performed by Aurora Aksnes.

1989 certainly delivers on all fronts, engulfing the listener from the outset with its sonic coupling of classical composition and contemporary production -without sacrificing the impact on the dancefloor.

In the body of work of Cologne artist Wolfgang Voigt – who, like few others, has informed, shaped and influenced the world of electronic music with countless different projects since the early 1990s -, GAS stands out in particular, a saturnine sound cosmos based on heavily condensed classic sequences. Even after nearly 20 years, the sound of GAS doesn’t seem to have lost any of its luster, as shown by the commanding success of Kompakt’s fall 2016 re-release of the essential back catalogue as a 10xLP/4xCD box set.

The overwhelming feedback from a loyal international fan community and worldwide media outlets attests once again to the sheer timelessness of GAS. Which is why it will feel like hardly a day has passed since the release of the last official album “Pop” nearly two decades ago, when Wolfgang Voigt resumes this specific creative path with the upcoming new full-length NARKOPOP.

Even in the here and now, the unmistakable vibe of GAS immediately hits home, taking the listener on an otherworldly journey with the very first sounds, drawing him or her into an impervious sonic thicket, down to the depths of rapture and reverie. From wafts of dense symphonic mist emerges a floating and whirling feeling of weightlessness, before the listener steps into an eerily beautiful forest of fantasy, pulled in by the allure of a narcotic bass drum.

While earlier GAS tracks were often based on the hypnotic effects of looping techniques, the 10 new pieces on NARKOPOP unfold their magic in a more entwined manner, sometimes with the sonic might of an entire philharmonic orchestra, sometimes as subtle and fragile as the most delicate branch of a tree with many. A main characteristic of Voigt’s oeuvre, the coalescence of seemingly contradictory stylistic aspects such as harmonious and atonal, concrete and abstract, light and heavy, near and far is also a decisive feature of NARKOPOP.

In accordance with the transgressive spirit of his collective work, Voigt carries the aesthetic conceptions of his music over to the realm of the visual. Based on his abstract forest pictures, the GAS artwork addresses Voigt’s artistic affinity to romanticism and the forest as a place of yearning. For the first time, a closer look at the cover of NARKOPOP reveals signs of architectural fragments which hint at another, maybe parallel world behind Voigt’s forest. Truth is the prettiest illusion.

STAFF COMMENTS

Barry says: Obviously, Voigt is an ambient legend. We all know this, and here he is in his GAS moniker. What we get treated to is dubbed-out atmospherics, static crackle and cataclysmic filtered pad swells. As full-bodied as ambient ever gets with the emotional range and swooning light-headed joy of modern classical chucked in for good measure. Predictably, a triumph.

FORMAT INFORMATION

3xDeluxe LP Info: 3xLP vinyl version comes with a CD version of the full album and a vinyl-only bonus cut.

Deluxe CD Info: Available as luxurious hardcover CD or vinyl artbook editions incl. 24 pages booklet.

Following their much-acclaimed self-titled debut from 2014, Motor City Drum Ensemble’s Danilo Plessow and Innervisions' Marcus Worgull reunite for more synth daydreaming on the suitably titled “II”. The new outing continues where the first full-length left off, strolling further down the luminous and undulating path that the duo turned into, influenced in equal measures by kosmische, krautrock, minimal wave and synth soundtracks. This latest batch of instrumental cuts opens with the strictly balearic vibe of "Norderney", a softly swinging, light-footed recording with a keen sense for structure. Featuring a guest performance from Robbert Van Der Bildt (aka Kaap) on guitar, it’s a telling starting point for the album that - similar to Vermont’s self-titled debut - successfully navigates between economic, careful studio arrangements and playful, incidental exploration further pushing into jam session territory. Van Der Bildt's guitar returns on the plucky, curious "Ufer", where Vermont showcase a renewed sense for jazz-like improvisation - same as on the cuts "Dschuna", "Chanang" and "Wenik", which also include contributions from Dermot O'Mahony and Tadhg Murphy on strings. Still, Vermont's synth contraptions remain the album's main attraction, with the extensive array of gear encompassing an entire panopticon of analog bling - from Arp Oddysey and Moog Prodigy to Fender Rhodes, Juno and Prophet, list-studying gear heads will find lots to drool upon. Consequently, tracks like "Chemtrails", "Unruh" or "Gebirge" err on the machine side of things, expertly interweaving arpeggiated sequences for maximum atmospheric effect. Foreboding, slightly menacing synth motives as on "Skorbut" or "Chemtrails" are perfectly balanced with the casual ambient of "Hallo Von Der Anderen Seite" and the nostalgic warmth of "Demut" - while the gentle push of the masterful "Ki-Bou" even carries a whiff of classic deep house, linking the Vermont project to Plessow and Worgull’s main careers as dance floor movers and shakers.

STAFF COMMENTS

Patrick says: Danilo Plessow (aka MCDE) and Marcus Worgull return as Vermont with another gorgeous LP of the finest modern kosmische. Turn on, tune in and drop out!

It is certainly not a small feat to have an ambient compilation series running for over a decade and keep it fresh and interesting - especially when the core aesthetic idea is as well-defined as POP AMBIENT's. However, this didn't keep last year's instalment (KOMPAKT 315 CD 120) from finding a compelling balance between veteran contributors like JENS-UWE BEYER or LEANDRO FRESCO and new, idiosyncratic voices like MAX WÜRDEN or THORE PFEIFFER. They all return for POP AMBIENT 2016, joining a captivating cast that also includes heavy-weight soundsmiths, experimental composers and ambient confidants like THE ORB, ANTON KUBIKOV of SCSI-9 fame, MIKKEL METAL, GREGOR SCHWELLENBACH or STEPHAN MATHIEU.

Starting off with a surprise guest, POP AMBIENT 2016 presents electroacoustic composer and installation artist STEPHAN MATHIEU, whose highly textured opening drone APRIL IM OKTOBER bears all the hallmarks of a pop ambient classic, stealthily weaving in layers of sound and moving fluidly between territories. The man clearly knows what he's doing - after all, he has worked with luminaries like Taylor Dupree, Ekkehard Ehlers, Janek Schaefer or Sylvain Chauveau (see also Pop Ambient 2009). Meanwhile, THE ORB show off the full extent of their experience in the field and have their own little ambient collage opera going on in ALPINE DAWN - a slight detour from their beat-laden full- length MOONBUILDING 2703 AD (KOMPAKT 330 CD 124), but just on that same level of masterful sonic dexterity.

Moving forward, SCSI-9's ANTON KUBIKOV builds momentum with a sweet melody slowly evolving to the atmospheric backdrop of a light synth rain, while MAX WÜRDEN imagines a dreamy, yet twisted underwater world with lots of space to get lost in. He later returns for a collaboration with THORE PFEIFFER (not on vinyl), the other newcomer hero from Pop Ambient 2015, and the result is a fascinating amalgamation of both producer's distinct sonic sensibilities - the grittier, drone-based approach from Würden and Pfeiffer's penchant for roaming samples and skewed loops. Another dedicated collab comes from SICKER MAN & GREGOR SCHWELLENBACH who team up for string- infused, cinematic epic TURNS.

Longstanding Kompakt ally MIKKEL METAL presents the surging TITAN, followed by LEANDRO FRESCO's magistral rework of DAVE DK's VEIRA from his VAL MAIRA album (KOMPAKT 326 CD 121). A very special bonus adventure can be found in THORE PFEIFFER's "megamix" of WOLFGANG VOIGT's RÜCKVERZAUBERUNG (not on vinyl) - an entire concept series succesfully reimagined as one sweeping cut. JENS-UWE BEYER continues his expeditions into hypnotic, semi- acoustic soundscapes on THE BREMEN, transitioning into the windy mountaintops of LEANDRO FRESCO's mysterious, multi-layered CONFIGURACION DE ATAQUE (not on vinyl). THORE PFEIFFER has the honour to conclude POP AMBIENT 2016 with the appropriately titled IDYLL, a soothing, swirling synth study giving the listener ample opportunity to return to mundane reality at his own pace. 

STAFF COMMENTS

Barry says: From electronic washes and found-sound recording fragments to dusty minimal classical echoes, Pop Ambient 2017 has it all. Ambient, definitely but never boring. Immersive, emotive and beautiful modern compositions to be played loud, and at home. Brilliant.

FORMAT INFORMATION

LP Info: LP+CD edition pressed on 180 gram vinyl and includes a CD version of the album (no download code).

Swedish sound-smith Axel Willner is well-known for his mastery when it comes to the allusive layering of loops, but with his last album "Cupid's Head" a tougher soundscape started to replace the soft-hued sonics of his ambient-infused techno, giving it a darker mood and stronger footing than before. 'The Follower' goes even further in blurring the lines between concrete experimentation, body music and precisely laid-out arrangement, leading to one of the most rhythmically and texturally engaging listening experiences in Willner's catalogue. This is ambient techno on steroids, with a dose of metal machine music for good measure.

Title track 'The Follower' opens on a surprisingly muscular groove and sets the tone for The Field's most floor-attuned work yet - a raw bounce dripping with foggy acid and marching percussion catches long-standing fans off-guard while providing a perfect entry point for curious newcomers. Pulling no punches, Willner's knack for entwined drones and mutating loops is very much in place, but finds powerful support in an excitingly sturdy bassline and guitar-like screeches.

Next up 'Pink Sun' quickly finds its pace with one of these perpetually rotating hooks Willner is known for, while 'Monte Veritá' specialises in tunefully glitched vocal samples with accompanying bass workout - a powerful and propelling album build-up that finds its first moment of introspection with the mountainous 'Soft Streams', an exciting synth journey that emits both ethereal and kinetic propensities. 'Raise The Dead' presents The Field's focused sonic storytelling at its minimalist best, gyrating around a basic motive for a while before joining an earthy beat and opening up the sunshine roof. It's a winding, hypnotic track that also works particularly well as transition to the album's remarkable closing chapter: the slow-paced 'Reflecting Lights' shows Willner at his most refined, evoking his often-quoted appreciation of Wolfgang Voigt's ambient project Gas as well as an obvious fondness for kraut synthesists and their trance-inducing exploits.

"'The Follower' is about old myths, finding utopia and how mankind repeatedly makes the same mistakes over and over again", explains Willner. However he remains an artist who prefers keeping the mystery intact - his latest full-length certainly doesn't need more introductions: it evidently shows a maturity and consistent evolution of The Field's trademark style of creation, but may very well be considered one of his most vibrant and visceral outings yet

Revered Danish producer and live performer Kolsch follows his 2013 hit album "1977" with the new full-length "1983", again chaining up heroic techno tracks for a grandiose sonic journey to the vibrant heart of today's dancefloor.

This latest full-length offering from Kolsch is very much a travel album: "When I was a kid in 1983, we used to drive through Europe every summer on the way to the south of France", he explains. "A lot of my early music memories stem from these long travels, as we would listen to all my father's favorite records on the cassette deck. After getting a walkman, I would make up my own soundtrack for travelling, with early electro and hip hop creeping into my life". Informed by the symbolic quality of these slightly gauzy childhood memories, Kolsch's unique melange of emotional and functional elements works exceptionally well for the full-length format - a seamless transition of musing introspection and explosve expression, where catharsis never seems far away in dancefloor-ready techno vignettes like ‘Moonface’, Unterwegs’ or ‘Pacer’.

From beat less opener and title track 1983 to the piano banger ‘Die Anderen’ or the bleep-infused synth-fest ‘E45’, each cut operates as its own little time capsule, storing bits and pieces of recollection and then magically transforming them into epic, beat-driven soundscapes. Confronted with other producer's input, these traits find themselves extended in the most interesting ways - ‘Talbot’, ‘The Road’ and ‘Cassiopeia’ make excellent use of Gregor Schwellenbach's emotive orchestral flourishes, while Bloodline's lyrics come to life thanks to the distinct timbre of Tomas Hoffding of WhoMadeWho fame.

THIS IS A RECORD STORE DAY 2014 EXCLUSIVE, LIMITED TO ONE PER PERSON.

- THE FIELD's legendary debut album FROM HERE WE GO SUBLIME finally finds its way onto vinyl

- Special edition for RECORD STORE DAY 2014, only available in participating stores

- Pressed on 180g audiophile grade vinyl, including a CD version of the album

-Originally rolled out in 2007, this much-acclaimed full-length debut of what was to
become one of the most celebrated projects in Kompakt's artist fold saw a regular CD edition and an accompanying 12" sampler - but never a full vinyl release.

-Enter RECORD STORE DAY 2014 and the perfect opportunity to finally present this stunning masterpiece the way it deserves.

Axel Willner aka THE FIELD joined the Kompakt family in 2005, bringing forward a new fusion of ambient and techno that fed on his adoration for Wolfgang Voigt's classic 90's projects Gas and M:I:5 as well as the shoegazer rock of Slowdive and My Bloody Valentine.

Called a "techno pop landmark" by Pitchfork, FROM HERE WE GO SUBLIME almost immediately became a cult favourite, starting a trend that continues to this day - as can be seen with THE FIELD's most recent full-length offering CUPID'S HEAD that has been lauded by critics and crowds alike.

The most striking feat of FROM HERE WE GO SUBLIME must be its sonic cohesiveness, debuting a fully-formed artistic vision that - seven years and three albums later - hasn't lost any of its luster. As a fixture in THE FIELD's discography, it remains as important as ever, with Axel Willner installing a blueprint that inspired many but sounds like no one else... except himself. Giving you a feeling of warmth and familiarity on first listen that you can't quite grasp, it's like this sound has always existed, when in fact it was the unique creation from one highly gifted producer. And it
all starts here.

It's when VOIGT & VOIGT gather in the same studio that the sparks start to fly dangerously low within this unique machinery humbly named Kompakt, resulting more often than not in a rather unlikely combination of separate elements suddenly kickstarting into communication. For their debut full-length DIE ZAUBERHAFTE WELT DER ANDEREN, the Voigt brothers draw from a plethora of influences to build an incomparable sound world, for the first time fully realizing what previous, now classic tracks on SPEICHER have been hinting at. Produced side by side with the essential Techno of ERDINGERTRAX, this album opts for a strong psychedelic narrative, brilliantly showcasing Voigt & Voigt’s experimental inclinations while knowing a thing or two about the perfect groove.

Marrying the more cerebral aspects of Techno science with the sheer will to party, the Voigtian output is an unpredictable, but constant fixture in KOMPAKT's back catalogue that brings together the distinctive talents of brothers WOLFGANG and REINHARD VOIGT. With each one being a highly prolific artist in its own right, the joint work on their album debut never ceased to surprise even its originators, who used the twilight of their nightly studio sessions to process a shared stream of auditive consciousness feeding on influences as diverse as Techno and New German cinema.

Full of nods to specific movie and TV esthetics, Voigt & Voigt’s DIE ZAUBERHAFTE WELT DER ANDEREN references the higher and lower brows of auteur film culture already in its name, where widely known French alternative comedy DIE ZAUBERHAFTE WELT DER AMELIE and Oscar-winning German drama DIE WELT DER ANDEREN find themselves forming a truly odd couple. It’s an unusual combination, but it works, as first track INTRO KÖNIG confidently proves, indulging in some sort of abstract theme motive until a poker-faced beat creeps in, priming the sound canvas for things to come. DER ERSTE ZUG takes on the challenge and establishes a monochrome rhythm pattern springing to live when chatting percussion introduces it to the thrust of Hitchcockian railroad travel.

In the meantime, DER KEIL NRW delves deep into Fassbinder territory and fuses the matter-of-fact news style of Germany’s late Seventies TV with a throbbing rhythm straight out of Thrillerville, making this a perfect candidate for car chasing scenes in Cold-War-era Berlin. TJA MAMA, SANDRA MAISCHBERGER (citing a popular German talk show) and SOZIAL consecutively calm things down for a little mid-movie catharsis, but the tension rises back up soon enough with whodunit-styled spine-chiller DIE GLOCKE (ENDSTATION WIENER PLATZ) and retro-romantic audio drama HOTEL NOKI, followed by the hauntingly detached mantra of AKIRA.

Multi-angled police procedural TRYPTICHON NUMMER 7 sees Voigt & Voigt dissecting their own trademark sounds as the end credits slowly start to roll, leading to an excitingly minimalist Synth Pop work-out eventually washed away by final orchester hits full of foreboding. It’s as if the album wants to show you one final, very important picture, and indeed it does with DER LETZTE ZUG, a short ride to the other side of reality, clocking in at just over two minutes, but carrying all the weight of an epic cliffhanger. To be continued, hopefully.

Young Nick Eriksen wasn‘t exactly what you would call a wunderkind, recalling his past as the slightly matured producer he is today: "I played in some bands, but everyone was way better than me at string instruments, so I started playing drums instead. Two years in I became really bored... My teacher wanted us to learn notes and stuff. I hated it and started just slacking...“ Only to immediatly start producing his own music after finishing school, he should also add. Nick went on to tour Europe, remixed the likes of Delphic, Delorean or Miami Horror and graced John Talabot‘s vibrant Hivern label. His breakthrough debut EP as Taragana Pyjarama was released in 2011 on the esteemed Fools House imprint. That‘s also where Michael Mayer (among others like James Holden, Trentemøller or Brodinski) found and charted "Ocean“, the radiant third track from the EP almost made to measure for the tastes of Kompakt‘s labelhead. Insider media like Pitchfork, Tsugi Mag,or Gaffa quickly got wind of the unfolding hype and called the upcoming hippetronics icon "one to watch“:

Which takes us to the present, where Kompakt prepares to release "Tipped Bowls", Taragana Pyjarama‘s highly anticipated debut album. From its happy ending disguised as a beautifully orchestrated intro ("Four Legged") to the surprising final track ("Terror Paradise", ironically featuring the most soothing alarm sounds ever), this record never backs off from a tangly path through the deep Scandinavian woods, which coincidentally seem to be in quite a tropical mood. Just listen to "Lo Ng", "Growing Forehead" or the lead single „Ballibat“ and you‘ll be immersed in a richly vegetated environment caught in permanent evolution. You‘ll find virtual wolfes howling joyously at a brightly colored moon and many a track begging to be played backwards for a beamy message of love. With a bit of patience, you can even hear the riddims of a lost city‘s marching band drumming away: it‘s probably made up by a bunch of freaky sylvan ghosts just like the one on the record‘s cover... and you know how much those like to dance.

STAFF COMMENTS

Philippa says: Kompakt keep the excellent electronica / techno albums coming. One for fans of Walls, the Field or Loops Of Your Heart...

"Ada - Mixtape #1 - Adaptions" brings together a collection of new and unreleased music, Ada's remixes, renditions of her tracks touched by friends, plus even a lost, alternative take of her most loved song "Blindhouse". Lovingly blended together but not to be confused with a DJ mix, the songs here have a degree of separation between each other (I think we might call them 'gaps'). Diving in, Tracey Thorn's vocals brood over Ada's delicate beats, propelling us into what promises to be a world of modern Booka Shade remix, to the house-drenched cycle of "Forty Winks" to her musical duet with Raz Ohara of Apparat fame,Adaptions" showcases a speculative depth rarely heard in Ada's music and provokes a more matured aspect to her own production. Bringing a slight twist to the typical remix collection, Ada invites some of her favorite remixes onboard for the ride. Studio-mate Dee Pulse hits back with his unreleased remix of "Fizzman" and Tobias Thomas and Michael Mayer team up to tackle the unforgettable Yeah Yeah Yeah's cover of Maps that originally appeared on Ada's debut album "Blondie". It's safe to say that ADA has brilliantly succeeded in creating her own, personal mixtape that is well deserving of being shared with everyone.

Tracklisting
1. Tracey Thorn's Grand Canyon (Ada remix)
2. Ada - Fizzmann (Dee Pulse Remix)
3. Booka Shade Vertigo vs. Cha (Ada Remix)
4. Brant Feat. Mr. Roper - Last Night I Dreamt That Somebody Loved Me (Ada Remix)
5. Ada - Maps (Thomas / Mayer Remix)
6. Alex Smoke - Never Want To See You Again (Ada Remix)
7. Ada - Eve (DJ Koze Mix)
8. Ada Feat. Raz Ohara - Lovestoned
9. Andi Teichmann - Tape (Ada Remix)
10. Ada - Living It Up
11. Ada - Forty Winks
12. Ada Feat. Cosmic DJ - Our Blindhouse

The Field, aka Kompakt label boss Axel Willner, follows up his 2007 offering "Here We Go Sublime" with another killer long player of shoegazer-meets-techno. On "Yesterday & Today" Willner expands his palette, continuing the oblique sampling strategy of "From Here We Go Sublime" while building up the rhythmic architecture. He's joined by a band's worth of live musicians, including ex-Helmet and current Battles man John Stanier on drums, Dan Enqvist (guitar), Johan Grimlund (bass) and Ola Keijer (electric piano), who all work together to create the immense sound offered here. The result is a sublime mix of techno, building sonic layers and the kind of ambience previously used by Krautrock outfits like Tangerine Dream - lush blissed out and electrophoric.

It's Kompakt's 15th anniversary and to celebrate the label have put together this excellent collection of deep electronic house / tech-house sounds, spreading the tracks across two CDs / three LPs. This double disc brings all the label's vinyl singles together onto CD for the first time. The set features the label's leading artists and some fabulous newcomers, which exclusive music you've never heard before. Includes Justus Kohncke, DJ Koze, Superpitcher, Supermayer, Matias Aguayo, Partial Arts, Gui Boratto, The Rice Twins, Dubshape, Thomas Fehlmann, Freiland and many more.