Compost Records is a German

record label A record label, or record company, is a brand or trademark of music recordings and music videos, or the company that owns it. Sometimes, a record label is also a publishing company that manages such brands and trademarks, coordinates the produ ...

based in

Munich Munich ( ; german: München ; bar, Minga ) is the capital and most populous city of the States of Germany, German state of Bavaria. With a population of 1,558,395 inhabitants as of 31 July 2020, it is the List of cities in Germany by popu ...

and established by Michael Reinboth in 1993. The label is known for progressive downbeat dance and

nu jazz Nu jazz (also known as jazztronica, or future jazz) is a genre of jazz and electronic music. The music blends jazz elements with other musical styles, such as funk, electronic music, and free improvisation.Definition from Sergey Chernov, June 7, ...

releases incorporating influences of

bossa nova Bossa nova () is a style of samba developed in the late 1950s and early 1960s in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. It is mainly characterized by a "different beat" that altered the harmonies with the introduction of unconventional chords and an innovativ ...

, techno, and

drum and bass Drum and bass (also written as drum & bass or drum'n'bass and commonly abbreviated as D&B, DnB, or D'n'B) is a genre of electronic dance music characterized by fast breakbeats (typically 165–185 beats per minute) with heavy bass and sub-ba ...

. The ''Future Sounds of Jazz'' compilation series helped establish the label early in its history. The majority of artists signed to Compost Records are those known to Reinboth personally, from connections in the German downbeat club scene. The company has resisted licensing its catalog to larger labels, seeking instead to develop roster reputations in-house. Reinboth selected the name Compost for his label because it translates well among many languages, and felt it denoted a "catalyst for constitution and reactions". In the United States, Compost was initially distributed by K7! Distribution and then by Studio Distribution, until 2002, when it switched to Shelter Music Group. The book ''Soul Love: 20 Years Compost Records'' was released in 2015, featuring text in both English and German, over 450 photographs from the history of the label, and a download code for a forty-track compilation.

Artist roster

Jazzanova Alexander Barck, Zelt Musik Festival 2015 in Freiburg, Germany Jazzanova is a German Berlin-based DJ/producer collective consisting of Alexander Barck, Claas Brieler, Jürgen von Knoblauch, Roskow Kretschmann, Stefan Leisering, and Axel Reine ...

Koop Koop is a surname. Notable people with the surname include: *Aire Koop (born 1957), Estonian actress *Arnold Koop (1922–1988), Estonian historian, university rector *Bill Koop (1906-1950), Australian rules footballer *Doug Koop (born 1960), Austr ...

Kyoto Jazz Massive Kyoto Jazz Massive is a Japanese musical project specialising in crossover jazz and electronic styles. The group was formed in 1994 and consists of brothers Shuya and Yoshihiro Okino. They have also included Hajime Yoshizawa, a piano producer, o ...

Trüby Trio Trüby Trio are a German music group specialising in nu jazz and broken beat. Founded in 1997 by Rainer Trüby, Roland Appel and Christian Prommer, their Latin-influenced sound, integrating bossa nova and flamenco styles, saw the band become pionee ...

References

External links

*
Compost owner Michael Reinboth RBMA video lecture session

solipsistic NATION No. 85: Compost Records
Podcast. Interview with Michael Reinboth of Compost Records and a mix of music from the record label. German independent record labels Record labels established in 1994 {{Germany-record-label-stub