Kompakt Germany Vinilo y CD

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: 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: 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: Global Essence Sampler is a new series from Deep Inspiration Show Records that calls upon a fine roster of international producer talent to serve up one track each and reflect on what deep house is today. For Allstarr Motomusic the answer is smooth and cruising house grooves with elastic basslines and distant vocal wails. Barce explores classic Larry Heard-style cosmic melodic territory with plenty of star-gazing potential, and Zarenzeit's 'Zahara' is another one that floats amongst the stars with lush ambient pads. Jank offers a more dusty, rhythmic house sound for cosy backroom parties, and then come the jazzy melodies and soulful bass noodling of Jan Kincl's '3300 Gratiot Ave.' Magic stuff.

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: For those that enjoy the more accessible, melodic end of ambient and deeper, gentler explorations of electronica, Kompakt's long-running Pop Ambient series has always been a must-check annual treat. The Cologne label's latest edition undoubtedly lives up to the quality of its many predecessors. Beginning with the spacey swell of T. Raumschmiere's 'Eternal', the collection attractively sashays between delicate, new-age influenced aural bliss (Mikkel Metal), immersive sunrise soundscapes (Yui Onodera), birdsong-smattered beatless beauty (Triola), enveloping sound design epics (Thore Pfieffer and Niko Tzoukmanis), crackling ambient transmissions from another dimension (Sono Kollektiv), nods to the Orb's FFWD collaboration with Robert Fripp (Blank Gloss) and cavernous explorations of slowly shifting audio textures (Umit Han).

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.