Kompakt Total, Vol. 8

Summertime at Kompakt means the release of the much-beloved Total compilation, and they're on number 8! This is the annual Total gathering/party -- a showcase featuring Kompakt's shining musical moments of the past year, plus exclusive music and a peek into what to expect from the label in the future. As many Total fans know, Kompakt remains faithful to the 12" single, and the Total series serves as a hook-up to many of these vinyl releases for those who haven't had the chance to keep up with the pace of Kompakt's steady stream of music. Total 8 is the most diverse Total to date, marking a prominent return to the streets of Cologne and the musicians that were an essential part of building Kompakt's techno community. There is also a dominant presence of collaboration on both CDs -- a veritable family reunion in the Kompakt studios. After 10 years of silence, the seminal Cologne techno duo Burger/Voigt (formerly Burger/Ink of Matador/Harvest fame) return, Michael Mayer teams up with Tobias Thomas and folks get a sneak peak (disguised in a Geiger remix) of the first single from the forthcoming Supermayer studio album, Save the World. Yes, it's that Super(pitcher) who teams up with Jrgen Paape as the surly Boy Schaufler. Then there's the man who makes the most appearances on Total 8, J"rg Burger, who, together with Reinhard Voigt, revitalizes analog groove as Echo Club. Firm Records chieftains Schaeben & Voss (feat. Schad Privat) make slap-happy bass music. Moving outside of Cologne to the UK, we find Ewan Pearson (producer/remixer extraordinaire of The Rapture) and Al Usher conjuring Kraut-disco bliss as Partial Arts. Off to France, where longstanding label fav, Jonas Bering and Thierry Mbaye come together as Nightcats with emo-techno like you've never heard before. There's also the ragga-bass-techno romp from Broke aka Matias Aguayo & Roccness. And bets are on that Stockholm's The Rice Twins will be a highlight for Kompakt's 2008 season as they are superb at creating emotive, blissful raucousness. But many of the highlights are from the solo-inclined as well -- take the tracks from Oxia, Aril Brikha, DJ Koze, Rex The Dog, Steadycam, Justus K"hncke, Gui Boratto, Robert Babicz and Herv‚ Ak. Total 8 is a pilgrimage through the best that Kompakt has to offer.