Back catalogue: All genres

Review: If you were a young production twosome growing up in Cologne, you'd aim high and send your demo recordings to the city's most storied techno label, Kompakt. That's exactly what Mourad Kehalia and Sebastian Fischer AKA 90ASE did, and it led directly to this quietly impressive debut EP. The headline attraction is 'Streetpoet', a dreamy and colourful slab of breakbeat-house gorgeousness smothered in elongated church organ chords, tactile pads and auto-tune enabled Arabic vocals. The mighty Axel Boman remixes, delivering a 'Trancehall' mix that ups the dreaminess levels further while employing squelchy synth bass and pumping, tribal house style beats. To complete a rock-solid package, Kehalia and Fischer offer-up the maximal deep house headiness of 'New Ballad', which is as gorgeous as it is dancefloor-ready.

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: Orlando Voorn has always been said to provide a link between the techno scenes in Detroit and Europe. His sound certainly blends the best of both worlds and this new one on Kompack is another fresh offering packed with personality. 'No Cellphones' has flashy synths and clap-laden drums to get your hips swinging, 'Raise The Bar' layers up pixelated melodic rain that sounds like a beautiful fax dial tone and 'Tech IQ' takes the same almost 8-bit melody synth and has it freewheel over mid-tempo drums. 'Swingtech' closes with some nice string elegance and deep beats.

Review: Kompakt's Total 24 compilation is the nest episode in the label's amazing series. This cd version opens with Hamburg's Ada remixing Heiko Voss, followed by Jurgen Paape's vibrant 'Chee-Caruso.' Newcomer Deer Jade delivers the frolicsome house track 'Jukurpa,' while Jonathan Kaspar's 'Are You' captures the euphoria of his DJ sets. Hardt Antoine impresses with his dynamic style, and Sascha Funke pays homage to German showbiz with 'The Heck.' Tee Mango joins with his unique sound, and Joyce Muniz teams up with Sara Blum for the uplifting 'Beats & Lines.' Gui Boratto collaborates with Darren Emerson on the captivating 'The Shell,' and Rex The Dog offers the heartfelt 'Laika.' Raxon's 'Beskar' showcases his Star Wars inspiration, and David Hasert and Nicone's 'Wasting My Time With You' is a highlight. Reinhard Voigt's quirky 'Der, der mit dem Gummiball sang (Orange)' features various animals, while Argia's 'Love Keeps You Running' blends groove and pop. Wassermann's track concludes the compilation with a touch of Arabian Nights magic. Total 24 is a diverse and engaging collection that exemplifies Kompakt's ability to curate exceptional electronic music.