Kompakt: Total 20 [Kompakt Records] (2020)

Kompakt turns 20, and it does so by introducing the TOTAL 20, featuring a wide range of deep sounds, stripped of all mannerist artifice and a little crazy. It has been two decades, twenty years, twenty compilations, and more than 400 tracks behind him, represented with innumerable colored dots. If someone had told us in 1999, when we heard TOTAL 1 that it would become one of the oldest compilation series in the world of electronic music, we would have laughed out loud. And here we are in 2020, the year that will go down in history as the most difficult for club culture. But not for it we will stop doing what we like the most.

This TOTAL 20, presents, spread over two discs (and vinyls), as is characteristic of the Cologne label, new and familiar faces. From London newcomer KIWI, with his wonderfully neglected “Hello Echo” featuring the best vibes in the disco genre. DAVID DOUGLAS from Amsterdam offers a complete and fireproof track that will delight even the most demanding music lovers. Their quirky pop approach feels like the abstract rhythms of WEVAL or the portentous AGENTS OF TIME. YOTAM AVNI, on the other hand, combines Detroit techno with new age jazz that reminds us of the sound of ECM artists like Jan Garbarek or John Surman. The hat genius, KÖLSCH, also returns in a big way, this time taking very colorful jazz elements. Also JONATHAN KASPAR makes a stellar appearance, with a track that will vibrate the dance floors when possible.

And, furthermore, TOTAL would not be TOTAL without its founding fathers, VOIGT & VOIGT, JÜRGEN PAAPE, JÖRG BURGER, MICHAEL MAYER, as well as our outpost in Berlin SASCHA FUNKE. All of them deliver exclusive pearls that will delight all palates.

TOTAL 20 is, in short, a surprisingly diverse and eclectic celebration of where the seal has been so far and what we can find of it on the horizon.