What’s on > Life in Germany > Clubs in Germany Kompakt: Top techno from Cologne
Despite its humble beginnings in Detroit’s underground music scene, Techno has evolved into one of Germany’s most popular musical styles. Based on hard-hitting, fast-paced 4/4 beats, the electronic musical phenomenon is practically synonymous with German nightlife.
 Michael Mayer of Kompakt Records. Photo: flickr (CC) Merlijn Hoek In a genre often criticized for repetition and lack of innovation, one company is spearheading the campaign for individuality and expansion. Eleven years since its creation, the Cologne-based Kompakt now stands as one the world’s most recognized and respected Techno label, record store, booking agency and distribution center.
Out of many, one: Kompakt’s origins
The Kompakt story begins in 1998 at Delirium, a small Techno record shop in Cologne. The store was owned and operated by musicians/producers Wolfgang Voigt and Jürgen Paape.
At that time, there was a strong trend in the Techno industry for record labels to only sign new artists who had a sound nearly identical to the label’s current roster. Followers of this trend included the two owners of Delirium, who also ran approximately 20 different record labels, each producing music with a slightly different sound from each other.
After Delirium employee Michael Mayer, also a musician, was brought on as a full-time partner in recording operations, the now trio began finding difficulty agreeing on which artists should be released on which labels. So, in order to reduce conflict and confusion, a decision was made to buck the trend and merge all of the individual labels together to form Kompakt.
Putting musicians back in control
“The first important decision we made when Kompakt started was distributing the label by ourselves,” explains Mayer. “We wanted to get closer to our audience and also the [record] shops…we wanted to be able to communicate our music in our own way.”
This came as a result of the three owners being fed up with the tension that exists in the music industry between artists, labels, and distributors, who each have their own priorities and standards.
kompakt.fm samples
“We had many experiences with other labels before we stared Kompakt and we quickly came to the conclusion that we needed to be able to control everything,” says Mayer, who along with his two partners was releasing his own original music on the Kompakt label.
It is this philosophy that makes Kompakt unique from other record labels, and no doubt helped it to become so successful.
“What makes us different from other labels is that we are run by the artists. It’s a business, but it’s one controlled by artists, which makes it different from companies run by people with a management background,” Mayer explains with a clear sense of pride.
At Kompakt, the recording artist has control of “pretty much everything,” according to Mayer: “Starting with the music to the [album] artwork, we try to involve the artist in the whole marketing work of the album; asking questions like ‘What do you want to do? What is the best way to communicate your album?’ rather than just sending out information sheets made up by someone in an office. This makes the artist feel comfortable.”
Pursuing artistic freedom
While many in the recording industry get chills at the thought of giving artists as much control as Kompakt does, it certainly has paid off. Today, there are 144 different acts signed to the Kompakt label. Included on this list are some of Techno’s biggest stars such as DJ Koze, Sascha Funke, the Field, and Rex the Dog.
Referred to as the “Cologne Sound,” the music released by Kompakt is “a mix of minimalism, melody, and melancholy, often with an underlying pop sensibility,” according to the label’s page on the music website www.last.fm.
However, Mayer is quick to point out that “We are putting out quite a broad range of music, everything from gay disco to traditional techno to radio music.” Indeed, a listening to the Field’s use of vocal tracks, the funk undertones presented by Mr. Oizo, and Dominiki Eulberg’s practice of contrasting melody with tempo easily attests to Kompakt’s diversity. But of all the ways Kompakt’s releases can be described, there is one that fits all of them: successful.
If you would like to be the next artist that joins the Kompakt team, you are not alone. “We receive up to 1000 tracks a week, of which 0.00001 percent are accepted, but we do listen to them all,” says Mayer with a laugh.'
Offering advice for all the hopefuls out there he adds: “I appreciate if it is a bit more than an mp3 in my inbox. We really want to feel the person behind the music; the human side has to come through.”
www.kompakt.fm
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