There aren’t many record labels in this day and age which can be labelled both critical and financial successes. While the artistic element is obviously the main thang, it’s always impressive when a fully-fledged business can be created from it these days, and one of the best examples of a label doing it without compromise to quality or principles is Cologne’s Kompakt.
To be fair though, its origins precede being a record label, all the way back to 1993 when bosses Michael Mayer, Wolfgang Voigt and Jürgen Paape set up the Delerium record store in their native Köln – meaning that they’ve always been rooted in having a business head about them and using it carefully to allow them to do what they love, rather than just doing it as a labour of love. Kompakt itself was founded in 1998, as an extension of the shops (it grew into multiple premises) and to act as an umbrella for several existing labels that the three founding partners were involved with and running. Over the years, they expanded to include a vinyl & CD distributing company (one of few independent electronic distributers still in existence) and a booking agency, as well as signing some of the most exciting acts in electronic music of the last decade or so. This wise, careful and steady expansion has allowed them to sustain all elements of their business and to avoid selling out just to keep the whole machine running. Admirable, without a doubt.
We’d never spoken to Mr. Mayer before, and so after some erroneous calls to a German tax inspection office, we tracked him down at Kompakt HQ and found out more about his ethos and politics.
How did you go from being a young music lover to someone actively involved in the music industry?
Well, that was a natural process really. I started DJing at a very early age at school parties, birthday parties and things like that. As soon as I was 18 years old I had my first professional DJ job. From there on I specialised musically and started a record shop with some friends. It was just a natural growth.
Tell us about how Kompakt came into existence – from Delerium onwards…
Well, actually we just changed the name. We needed to change the name because Delerium was a franchise system at the time and there were five Delerium shops. All the others had a totally different policy for music; we felt we were in the wrong place. All the others were all into trance and things like that so we decided to cut that link with them. We were also running a good handful of labels at the time and it got increasingly difficult explaining to people what we were doing, where we were coming from and why we had so many names.
Talk us through the different sub-labels – what’s for who?
Well there’s Kompakt, Kompakt Extra, Kompakt Pop and that’s about it. We’re not involved in the A&R of all the other labels - we merely manufacture them and help people out.
It’s no secret that running a label these days is far from easy or highly profitable. How and why does Kompakt survive?
It’s because we’re stubborn ha ha! I mean, we’ve gained quite a lot of experience over the course of the last 17 years and it’s not easy but it’s still possible to maintain the business. We just have to be really careful nowadays, which we’ve always been. We’re still enjoying what we’re doing and we have a very good and competent team of people working with us here.
Can you still take musical risks with the label as you used to or do you have to be cautious?
I think you have to take risks these days - that’s what it’s all about. If you just release the same kind of records people get bored. It’s very important to show character in days of crisis, like in politics.
Why did you shut your MP3 store in 2008?
Well, I’ve never been very fond of our shop and none of us liked MP3s in the first place; I play WAV files anyway. I think MP3s are like pollution and the shop just became a hell of a lot of work to do. So we took the decision to cut off that leg as it was already stinking! I mean, right now Kompakt is a record shop, a booking agency, a distribution centre, a publishing house and a label. We’re not bored and we don’t need to do everything, we have to focus on our qualities.
Do you think MP3s devalue music?
Oh certainly, it’s really sad. I mean, over the last few decades people were working on the best possible solutions for hi-fi systems and club sound systems and now there’s a huge set-back. My mother’s kitchen radio was better than MP3s! It’s very comfortable, I understand… I’m using an iPod as well, and I see the benefits of it – but for club use, I think it’s outright dangerous to play them.
How important do you think it is to have a family of like-minded friends and colleagues if you are trying to succeed in electronic music? Is it more important than say, in the pop/rock world?
Well there’s different dynamics if you’re not alone. Every dog has its day. Sometimes you’re down and sometimes you have partners and friends to take over the reins. There’s a whole different energy if you work with other people.
In a lot of the music you guys release, there’s a very hypnotic, melodic, euphoric sort of feel that’s akin to good trance music. Were you influenced by the movement in its earlier days or is it just coincidental?
It was always a hate-love ting with trance. Trance was definitely not the music we played or were into at the time or that we were into, but as we were running a record shop we couldn’t help carrying trance and hard house tracks, and some of these tracks were massive and we sold like hundreds and hundreds of copies of these things. We never really liked it but it was there. It was like following pop artists you don’t like but sometimes you trap yourself by listening to one of their songs – but I wouldn’t say we were influenced by trance.
Aside from Kompakt stuff, which musicians are you most excited about this year?
Well, it’s a great year for music. It’s getting increasingly difficult to find the good stuff but there are a lot people out there that are taking things forward. I would say that the Delsin label from the Netherlands, when they’re not getting too much into the Detroit territory, there’s some amazing forward-thinking tracks. The scene in Denmark seems to be full-on right now with Kenton Slash Demon. Jatoma as well, who has actually signed to release an album in October on Kompakt. There’s still long-time friends like DJ Koze who is on the road right now and he really creates his own universe. I quite like a lot of that leftfield, alternative cross-over stuff these days like Delorean or Caribou and Four Tet – he’s amazing. If you’ve got ears, it’s impossible to ignore Four Tet. It’s very visionary stuff.
What’s your ethos when DJing? Do you ever play less remarkable set-building tracks or does every track have to stand out for you?
I tend to do the latter; I’m not playing with too many tools. Sometimes if you need an interlude between two songs that are more recognisable I’ll play something more functional. But in general I’m attracted by music that’s got a story to tell and has a story to it. So that’s why I tend not to buy music that’s purely functional.
Do you think the art of DJing will continue to get more technical and complicated – or will people always just want to hear good records played in the right order with no gaps in between?
I don’t think there’s really any competition between the two approaches. Some people don’t like to not hear a human element in the mix, but sometimes people like it when suddenly the needle skips or if it’s not completely perfect. Both approaches are plausible and I think it’s going to be the same for the next decade at least. There will be people like DJ Harvey who finally get on a plane and plays vinyl and it’s amazing. Then there are people who are always looking for new gear and technology to use.
Is DJing an art or a science?
Well, first of all it should be a passion. After that I think it’s more an art that a science.
Finally, it’s a sore point, but do you have anything to say about the Love Parade tragedy?
Well, this is one of the biggest tragedies in techno history. It’s terrible and I hope that at some point somebody will take the responsibility for it. Right now it’s just a joke to read all the newspaper articles and interviews with the mayor of the city. The boss of Love Parade has just crashed his Lamborghini in an accident and didn’t get hurt. There’s no day without an article or news, but I mean all of this doesn’t reverse what happened.
Personally I’m not sad that there’s no more Love Parade anymore as I get claustrophobic when there’s so many people around me. It wasn’t really about the music anymore anyway, it was just a place where people could dress in funny clothes and search for sexual partners. It wasn’t what it used to be like in the old days. If there’s anything good that can come out of this, it’s that the responsible people won’t be able to do this kind of thing again.
Michael Mayer headlines Eastern Electrics in London on Sunday 29th August. Tickets are £3.30 cheaper than anywhere else at Data Transmission for a limited period only: http://www.datatransmission.co.uk/ViewEvent/5536/