Kompakt ( Labelcode: LC 12012) is a

Cologne Cologne ( ; german: Köln ; ksh, Kölle ) is the largest city of the German western States of Germany, state of North Rhine-Westphalia (NRW) and the List of cities in Germany by population, fourth-most populous city of Germany with 1.1 m ...

-based

electronic music Electronic music is a genre of music that employs electronic musical instruments, digital instruments, or circuitry-based music technology in its creation. It includes both music made using electronic and electromechanical means ( electroac ...

independent record label An independent record label (or indie label) is a record label that operates without the funding or distribution of major record labels; they are a type of small- to medium-sized enterprise, or SME. The labels and artists are often represented ...

and vinyl/CD distributor, owned by Wolfgang Voigt, Michael Mayer and Jürgen Paape. They specialize in

microhouse Microhouse, buftech or sometimes just minimal, is a subgenre of house music strongly influenced by minimalism and 1990s techno. History Microhouse has its roots in the minimal techno, bitpop (both developed in the early 1990s), and house (deve ...

and

minimal techno Minimal techno is a subgenre of techno music. It is characterized by a stripped-down aesthetic that exploits the use of repetition and understated development. Minimal techno is thought to have been originally developed in the early 1990s by Detro ...

, and are known for their ''Total'' compilation series which reached its seventeenth installment in

2017 File:2017 Events Collage V2.png, From top left, clockwise: The War Against ISIS at the Battle of Mosul (2016-2017); aftermath of the Manchester Arena bombing; The Solar eclipse of August 21, 2017 ("Great American Eclipse"); North Korea tests a ser ...

History

Kompakt originated from a techno record store that was opened in

1993 File:1993 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: The Oslo I Accord is signed in an attempt to resolve the Israeli–Palestinian conflict; The Russian White House is shelled during the 1993 Russian constitutional crisis; Czechoslovakia is peace ...

(under the name "Delirium") by Wolfgang Voigt, Reinhard Voigt,

Jörg Burger Jörg Burger (born 1962) is a German record producer who has had several releases on Kompakt as Triola, including an album, ''Triola im Fünftonraum'', in 2004. He is also in a duo with Wolfgang Voigt Wolfgang Voigt (born 1961) is an electron ...

and Jürgen Paape, who were soon joined by Michael Mayer. Kompakt itself was formally founded in 1998, combining several existing labels, the record store and distributor and also event organizing activities. According to '' Grooves'' magazine, "Kompakt's chief aesthetic objective has always been the perfect marriage of ambient texture and linear 4x4 structure—blending deep, granular sound design with the 4-bar rhythmic intensity and patterning that makes house and techno so club-effective". Kompakt has been noted for releases enriching abstract techno tracks with pop elements such as vocals - Mayer has stated that "We grew up with pop music and really like traces of pop in techno music. This is probably Kompakt's biggest strength-- that we can detect these pop traces and give them a home". British music critic

Simon Reynolds Simon Reynolds (born 19 June 1963) is an English music journalist and author who began his professional career on the staff of ''Melody Maker'' in the mid-1980s. He has since gone on to freelance and publish a number of full-length books on music ...

has characterized Kompakt as the "label that's contributed more than any other to

Germany Germany,, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It is the second most populous country in Europe after Russia, and the most populous member state of the European Union. Germany is situated betwe ...

's dominance of electronic dance music this decade

he 2000s He or HE may refer to: Language * He (pronoun), an English pronoun * He (kana), the romanization of the Japanese kana へ * He (letter), the fifth letter of many Semitic alphabets * He (Cyrillic), a letter of the Cyrillic script called ''He'' in ...

. Notable producers of the label include Superpitcher, Michael Mayer,

Justus Köhncke Justus Köhncke (born 1966 in Gießen) is a German techno producer and pop musician from Cologne. Köhncke was a member of the house trio Whirlpool Productions, along with Hans Nieswandt and Eric D. Clark. Together, they had a number one hit ...

, Rex The Dog and Gui Boratto. In recent years, Kompakt has been better known for bringing a

trance Trance is a state of semi-consciousness in which a person is not self-aware and is either altogether unresponsive to external stimuli (but nevertheless capable of pursuing and realizing an aim) or is selectively responsive in following the dir ...

sound into minimal techno.

Techno Techno is a genre of electronic dance music (EDM) which is generally produced for use in a continuous DJ set, with tempo often varying between 120 and 150 beats per minute (bpm). The central rhythm is typically in common time (4/4) and often ch ...

and electronic artists, such as

The Orb The Orb are an English electronic music group founded in 1988 by Alex Paterson and Jimmy Cauty. Known for their psychedelic sound, the Orb developed a cult following among clubbers "coming down" from drug-induced highs. Their influential 19 ...

Thomas Fehlmann Thomas Fehlmann (born 1957) is a Swiss composer/producer who lives in Berlin, Germany, and has been active in electronic music since the 1980s. He is currently active on the Kompakt record label based in Germany. Fehlmann is an on-and-off member ...

, The Field, Jonas Bering,

Aril Brikha Aril Brikha (born 1976 in Tehran, Iran) is one of the world's leading Assyrian techno Techno is a Music genre, genre of electronic dance music (EDM) which is generally music production, produced for use in a continuous DJ set, with tempo ofte ...

, Kenneth James Gibson, and others have released material on Kompakt. Kompakt also runs an online music store with a weekly newsletter, providing a large amount of techno and other electronic forms and through mailorder. The label used to run its own digital download store at kompakt-mp3.net, which according to Mayer was "

ne of the first NE, Ne or ne may refer to: Arts and entertainment * Neutral Evil, an alignment in the American role-playing game ''Dungeons & Dragons'' * New Edition, an American vocal group * Nicomachean Ethics, a collection of ten books by Greek philosopher Ar ...

techno mp3 shops online", but it was not financially successful and was shut down after three years in late 2008. The company had 16 employees in 2009. The Kompakt offices and record store appear in Amy Grill's

2009 File:2009 Events Collage V2.png, From top left, clockwise: The vertical stabilizer of Air France Flight 447 is pulled out from the Atlantic Ocean; Barack Obama becomes the first African American to become President of the United States; 2009 Iran ...

documentary '' Speaking In Code'', which features interviews with founder Wolfgang Voigt and co-owner Michael Mayer.

Profan

Profan was founded in 1993 by Wolfgang Voigt and was later added as a sublabel to Kompakt. The label primarily featured material by Wolfgang Voigt and his brother Reinhard Voigt. Many critics considered Profan at the cutting edge of '90s

electronica Electronica is both a broad group of electronic-based music styles intended for listening rather than strictly for dancing and a music scene that started in the early 1990s in the United Kingdom. In the United States, the term is mostly used to r ...

. Profan stopped releasing any new material in 2000, but resumed in August 2008 when Wolfgang Voigt's "Freiland Klaviermusik" single was released under the Profan name.

Selected releases

''Total'' series

* Total 1 (1999) *

Total 2 ''Kompakt: Total 2'' or ''Total 2'' was released on 25 July 2000. The album is the second installment of the Cologne-based microhouse label's annual compilation of vinyl releases and exclusives from its biggest artists and most promising newcome ...

(2000) *

Total 3 ''Kompakt: Total 3'' or ''Total 3'' was released on 31 July 2001. The album is the third installment of the influential Cologne-based microhouse label's annual compilation of vinyl releases and exclusives from its biggest artists and most promising ...

(2001) *

Total 4 ''Kompakt: Total 4'' or ''Total 4'' is the fourth installment, released on 23 July 2002, of the influential Cologne-based microhouse label Kompakt's annual compilation of vinyl releases and exclusives from its biggest artists and most promising ...

(2002) *

Total 5 ''Kompakt: Total 5'' or ''Total 5'' was released on 22 July 2003. The album is the fifth installment of the influential Cologne-based microhouse label's annual compilation of vinyl releases and exclusives from its biggest artists and most promisi ...

(2003) *

Total 6 ''Kompakt: Total 6'' or ''Total 6'' is a techno album released on 30 July 2005 on Kompakt. Background The album is the sixth installment of the Cologne-based microhouse label's annual compilation album, compilation of vinyl releases and exclusiv ...

(2005) *

Total 7 ''Kompakt: Total 7'' or ''Total 7'' was released on 21 August 2006. The album is the seventh installment of the Cologne-based microhouse label's annual compilation album, compilation of vinyl releases and exclusives from its biggest artists and m ...

(2006) *

Total 8 ''Kompakt: Total 8'' or ''Total 8'' was released on 13 August 2007. The album is the eighth installment of the Cologne-based microhouse label's annual compilation album, compilation of vinyl releases and exclusives from its biggest artists and mo ...

(2007) *

Total 9 ''Kompakt: Total 9'' or ''Total 9'' was released on 18 August 2008. The album is the ninth installment of the Cologne-based microhouse label's annual compilation album, compilation of vinyl releases and exclusives from its biggest artists and mos ...

(2008) *

Total 10 ''Kompakt: Total 10 or ''Total 10 was released on 10 August, 2009. The album is the tenth installment of the Cologne-based microhouse label's annual compilation album, compilation of vinyl releases and exclusives from its biggest artists and most ...

(2009) *

Total 11 ''Kompakt: Total 11'' or ''Total 11'' was released on 23 August 2010. The album is the eleventh installment of the Cologne-based microhouse label's annual compilation album, compilation of vinyl releases and exclusives from its biggest artists an ...

(2010) * Total 12 (2011) * Total 14 (2014) * Total 15 (2015) * Total 16 (2016) * Total 17 (2017) * Total 18 (2018) * Total 19 (2019) * Total 20 (2020) * Total 21 (2021) * Total 22 (2022)

''Pop Ambient''

* Pop Ambient 2001 (2001) * Pop Ambient 2002 (2001) * Pop Ambient 2003 (2002) * Pop Ambient 2004 (2003) * Pop Ambient 2005 (2004) * Pop Ambient 2006 (2005) * Pop Ambient 2007 (2006) * Pop Ambient 2008 (2007) * Pop Ambient 2009 (2009) * Pop Ambient 2010 (2010) * Pop Ambient 2011 (2011) * Pop Ambient 2012 (2012) * Pop Ambient 2013 (2013) * Pop Ambient 2014 (2014) * Pop Ambient 2015 (2014) * Pop Ambient 2016 (2015) * Pop Ambient 2017 (2016) * Pop Ambient 2018 (2017) * Pop Ambient 2019 (2018) * Pop Ambient 2020 (2019) * Pop Ambient 2021 (2020) * Pop Ambient 2022 (2021)

Other releases

Gas Gas is one of the four fundamental states of matter (the others being solid, liquid, and plasma). A pure gas may be made up of individual atoms (e.g. a noble gas like neon), elemental molecules made from one type of atom (e.g. oxygen), or ...

- Zauberberg - (1997) *

Königsforst ''Königsforst'' is the third album by Wolfgang Voigt's Gas project. It was released in December 1998 on the Mille Plateaux label. The album is named after Königsforst recreation park, near Voigt's hometown of Köln, in which his youthful exp ...

- (1998) *

- Oktember - (1999) *

Dettinger Dettinger is a German record producer signed to Germany's Cologne based Kompakt label. His releases include 1998's Blond 12", 1999's album Intershop (the first single-artist LP on Kompakt), Puma 12" and Totentanz 12", and 2000's album Oasis. Det ...

- Intershop (1999) *

Pop Pop or POP may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Music * Pop music, a musical genre Artists * POP, a Japanese idol group now known as Gang Parade * Pop!, a UK pop group * Pop! featuring Angie Hart, an Australian band Albums * ''Pop'' (G ...

- (2000) * Michael Mayer – Immer (2002) * Superpitcher – Today (2005) *

–

Okie Dokie It's The Orb on Kompakt ''Okie Dokie It's the Orb on Kompakt'' is the seventh studio album by English electronic music group the Orb, released on 8 November 2005 by Kompakt. It features new material in addition to new versions of their previous Kompakt releases. Critica ...

(2005) * Klimek – Music To Fall Asleep (2006) * Gui Boratto – Chromophobia (2007) * The Field –

From Here We Go Sublime ''From Here We Go Sublime'' is the debut studio album by Swedish electronic music producer Axel Willner under his alias The Field, released by Kompakt on 26 March 2007. Production ''From Here We Go Sublime'' consists primarily of tracks recorde ...

(2007) * Gui Boratto – Take My Breath Away (2009) * The Field – Yesterday and Today (2009) *

Panda Bear The giant panda (''Ailuropoda melanoleuca''), also known as the panda bear (or simply the panda), is a bear species endemic to China. It is characterised by its bold black-and-white coat and rotund body. The name "giant panda" is sometimes use ...

– Surfer's Hymn Single (2011) *

WhoMadeWho WhoMadeWho is a Copenhagen-based experimental pop trio, who formed in 2003. The band consists of jazz guitarist Jeppe Kjellberg, drummer Tomas Barfod and singer/bassist Tomas Høffding. Career The band released several 12-inches on German dis ...

– Knee Deep (2011) * Gui Boratto –

III III or iii may refer to: Companies * Information International, Inc., a computer technology company * Innovative Interfaces, Inc., a library-software company * 3i, formerly Investors in Industry, a British investment company Other uses * Ins ...

(2011) * WALLS – Coracle (2011) * Taragana Pyjarama – Tipped Bowls (2012) *

- Justus Köhncke & The Wonderful Frequency Band (2013) * Voigt & Voight - Die Zauberhafte Welt Der Anderen (2013) * John Tejada - The Predicting Machine (2013) * Vermont – Vermont (2014) * Kenneth James Gibson – The Evening Falls (2016) *

Narkopop ''Narkopop'' is the fifth studio album by Wolfgang Voigt's Gas project, the first album under the moniker in 17 years and his first on Kompakt. The album was released on 21 April 2017. Reception On the review aggregate site Metacritic, ''Narkopo ...

- (2017) * Vermont – II (2017) * Gui Boratto – Pentagram (2018) *

- Rausch - (2018) * John Tejada - Dead Start Program (2018) *

- Der Lange Marsch - (2021)

References

External links

Official site

Pitchfork Media review of Total 6 compilation
(2005, includes a look back at the label's success in the U.S. from 2001 to 2005)
Dummymag.com interview with Michael Mayer, February 2010
* {{Authority control Record labels established in 1998 German independent record labels Electronic music record labels Techno record labels