In the grand scheme of things, the dependability of the Kompakt label’s annual compilation series Total is minute. However, from inside the state of affairs that is contemporary music, the quality of Total 18 is remarkable, and even more so when contracting the focus onto electronic sounds. That’s the area of Kompakt’s expertise, and this latest Total installment offers nearly 164 minutes in its digital iteration, almost all of them danceable. But the German imprint has those with a hankering for vinyl covered, as they’ve distilled the collection’s essence into a 2LP set (with a download card holding the whole kaboodle) that’s streamlining retains the aura of the maximal. Compiled by Michael Mayer, it’s out now.
In terms of reliability in the arts, downward slides into irrelevancy are the norm; far rarer is the perseverance of substance over not years but decades. This goes for creators, but also for those who release product to the public at large, and the unlikelihood is magnified somewhat when considering Kompakt’s Total series, as electronic music still often comes attached (if not so much as it once did) with expectations of the new, or if not that exactly, then freshness in execution.
If the Total modus operandi was dedicated to seeking out sheer newness in all its electronic forms, and in so doing traveling down avenues of increasing abstraction and/ or experimentation, or less ambitiously just making it the mission to remain at the cutting-edge of certain stylistic wrinkles in the wide-ranging sphere of electronic music, the main dangers would be faultiness in ambition alongside mere lapses of taste.
When the first Total compilation emerged in 1999, its content was considerably nearer to the electronic front line (and harnessed by a single compact disc, though also spread over four sides of wax as representative of Kompakt’s unflagging dedication to the format). As time has marched forward, the thrust of the series has settled into a representation of the lasting vigor of Cologne techno (which Kompakt did help pioneer) as they broadened the appeal to ears outside the floors of clubs (or impromptu gatherings/ parties), all while managing to keep the core demographic satisfied.
A sprinkling of artists who appear on both Total 1 and Total 18 reinforce the dedication to a coherent vision, namely label cofounders Jürgen Paape (his swell “Well, It´s Paape” kicks off the CD set and wraps up side two of the vinyl) and Michael Mayer (it’s a good sign when an artist-compiler works some of their own stuff into the scheme, in this case “So Mad” from Thomas/Meyer, his collab with Tobias Thomas), Reinhard Voigt (in tandem with his brother and third Kompakt cofounder Wolfgang as Voigt & Voigt with “Durch and Durch”) and T.Raumschmiere (whose “Augen Zu” is a CD-only highlight).
That all of these veteran entries are worthwhile is testament not only to the individual staying power of the musicians (per the promo text, everything here is located in the “recent past, immediate present and near future”), but to general health of Kompakt’s objectives, as well, This pertains to both Total and the discography overall. Fittingly, there are a handful of selections from acts who’ve had full-lengths released by the label over the last few years, including John Tejada, Vermont, Gui Boratto, and Kölsch.
Nothing here diverts widely from expectations, though there’s enough variety across the nearly three hours that the journey never becomes exhausting (still, in an attempt at brevity, I’ll relent from a track-by-track analysis). It is worth mentioning that a few of the standouts unsurprisingly linger around poppy neighborhoods, such as the buoyant gal-voxed thrust of Sonns’ “Tame,” the house reverberations and lonely boy attitude of Aaron Ahrends’ “Eyes Closed,” and the vocal loop, big slamming beat and rockish residue of “So Mad” by Thomas/Mayer, and that all comes early in the scheme.
No one person is going to appreciate everything on a compilation equally (especially one of this size), but that Total 18 contains no major stumbles in the pleasure department is surely notable. More to the point, nothing here strikes my ear as defeated by cliché or as second-rate. Pressing the whole thing onto wax would’ve reasonably been assessed as excessive (as only eight of the 25 entries are featured on the 2LP), but after giving the whole a few uninterrupted listens (duration does make time-intensive analysis daunting), Mayer’s decisions on which tracks to excise for the physical do register as solid.
Digital is a good fit for electronic music. In this instance, the pileup of amassed tracks is not only suitable for but outright encourages extended, flowing, even once unimaginable dives into pure uninterrupted enjoyment, either interactive or solitary. However, Kompakt’s vinyl truncation isn’t just serving a niche market; it’s a document of how the compiler navigated the constraints of the physical form to arrive at a vibrant abbreviation of the undertaking. Compared to this, the set’s division onto a pair of compact discs registers as closer to an afterthought (but hey ’90s babies, please don’t read this as a potshot at the CD).
I briefly considered offering format specific grades for Total 18 but set that aside once it became clear that the shorter vinyl version was in no way lesser or greater than the whole shebang. It’s just different. Significantly so. And yet familiar. This, as much as the Total series’ value in longevity (which is emblematic of Kompakt’s mission as a whole) is impressive and worthy of praise. So here is some.
GRADED ON A CURVE:
A-
