Dots and Pearls Collection

Mix Session @Fi https://ursprung-fi.de/ alongside Voltmar / Teuro

Minimood Showcase @Fi - Köln Feb2025

Buy/stream: https://kompakt.fm/releases/the_solution_priori_mix

The first in a series of remixes for Michael Mayer’s latest album The Floor Is Lava comes from one of our favourite artists here at Kompakt HQ: PRIORI. Everything this Montreal-based artist has touched has turned to gold. His reworking of Mayer’s The Solution is certainly no exception. Rightly so, Priori has just been honoured with a Juno Award, the Canadian equivalent of the Grammys. Congratulations, Francis!

The Solution (Priori Mix)

Michael Mayer - The Solution (Priori Mix)

Another essential from the Audiomatique archives! A song that was outstanding in its time and still speaks for itself. Streaming, vinyl & more: linktr.ee/audiomatique_recordings

Dive into our timeless essentials catalog: on.soundcloud.com/LKLHanXENgcfp6wi6 

Prism

Prism (Robag Wruhme Acid Mix)

Prism (Robag Wruhme Acid мiх)

Endless Summer 2

Poker Flat continues to roar ahead into 2011 with a seriously jam-packed new compilation on CD, Vinyl and Digital, featuring only brand new and exclusive tracks! 

‚Forward to the Past‘, according to label boss Steve Bug, ‚renders homage to the period between ‚85 and ‚92‘, traversing the heady sounds of Chicago House, Acid, New York House and Early Detroit Techno.

The album amasses an all star cast from across the board including the talents of Steve Bug, Martin Landsky, Clé, Redshape, Ribn, The Revenge, Deetron, Sasse, KiNK & Neville Watson and more. ‚Forward To The Past‘ takes in many of todays rising talents alongside faithful veterans of the scene. It‘s really a joy to hear how these top class producers, both vintage and modern, each add their own spin and re-interpret the sounds of the past. Complete with audiophile-approved analog tape mastering, and the highest production values around, its a wonderful tribute to the past, present and future of electronic music!

Opening the selection Steve Bug puts on his jackin‘ shoes in ‚Jack Is Back‘ - a classic Chicago jack-a-thon in the purest form. Martin Landsky continues the US-inspired journey with ‚V2U‘, the man is always on form! Bleep-infused moments come courtesy of the modern masters KiNK & Neville Watson, with ‚Nighttime Raw‘, while Sasse pumps out a seriously heavy windy city-styled attack in ‚Hot For You‘.

Much-loved newcomer The Revenge contributes ‚Elements of Fife‘, a slow grooving New York / Chicago crossover styled beauty. Then, in all out lush-chorded goodness, Ribn gives us their powerful ‚Pancake‘! Newblood Polus hit dead centre with a modern yet hauntingly reminiscent nighttime jam; ‚Patterns In The Dark‘, followed by Deetron‘s deep-bomb ‚The Maze‘ - an amazing journey through the smoke-filled labyrinth.

Berlin mainstay Clé takes us right back with his super funky ‚Feel It (Don‘t Cha Know)‘, warm and classy. Deepsters TJ Kong & Modular K give us their ‚Jack Shit‘ in a slow burning Chi-town acid groover. Cab Drivers return with a real classic-themed killer, ‚Shoulder Pad‘, that harks back to their 90‘s days, and finally the mighty Redshape gives us his darkly acidic ‚Funny Green Hat (Altered Mix), which seriously needs to be heard to be believed!!

The digital release also features three extra tracks, including the original version of Redshape‘s ‚Funny Green Hat‘, along with an alternate version of The Revenge‘s ‚Elements Of Fife (Tone Mix) and another exclusive from Clé - the excellent ‚Muzik Is‘.

more

KiNK And Neville Watson - Night Time

Cocoon Compilation V

Patrice Bäumel - Nat - CORLP057

Distorter

Matthias Schildger - Distorter - CORLP057

Buy MICROMAN on Bandcamp : meantrecords.bandcamp.com/album/microman
Listen to MICROMAN on Spotify : open.spotify.com/album/4rtUl0mbDd…VGR7-VYB-XpUlUVQ

THIS IS MEANT030 - MARC HOULE - WAS IST DAS EP
RELEASE : July 2025. Pre-Save : bfan.link/was-ist-das-1

Everywhere and nowhere, there are those who transcend.
Properly. Philly’s finest. Head of the cult.
Started low, flew continental.
Real-deal believer. A true one.
Respect where it’s due.
Without him — well — we’re almost nothing.
Shouts to the spine.

But some beliefs dig deeper.
Much.
The kind that hum beneath the floors.
Started quiet, now it’s creeping.
Tremors. REMAIN feels it.
Not alone in the twitch.
Some have been fiending for a new Marc Houle record.
He knows. They know.
We all know at least one who has.
Don’t lie.

From Restore to Bay of Figs, from weird to wide.
Techno vocals. Raw loops.
Backwards analog love.

REMAIN has been starving.
And starving for sound — well — that’s sacred.
He’s been craving for more.

There are those who wait. There are those who believe.
There are those who make things happen.
And those who get lucky.
Today, the lucky ones: that’s you.
The wait is over. The hunger fed.
The cult rejoices.
The time: NOW.

But wait — WAS IST DAS ?
Ah, yes :

« WAS IST DAS »

That’s the name.
That’s the spell.
You’re not supposed to understand.
You’re supposed to feel it.

Marc touched it. Twisted it.
Let it rise weird and wonderful.
Only he could. And he did.

MARC IS ALL YOU WANTED

We knew.
So here.
Go.

With love.
Always.

MEANT IS ALL YOU NEED

DIGITAL TRACKLIST:
01 – MICROMAN (Original Mix)
02 – BREAKOUT (Original Mix)
03 – WALK SIGN IS ON (Original Mix)
04 – WAS IST DAS (Original Mix)

Pre-Save the EP : bfan.link/was-ist-das-1

Buy on Bandcamp

Marc Houle - Walk Sign is On (Original Mix)_MEANT030

THIS IS MEANT030 - MARC HOULE - WAS IST DAS EP
RELEASE : July 2025. Listen : bfan.link/was-ist-das-1

Everywhere and nowhere, there are those who transcend.
Properly. Philly’s finest. Head of the cult.
Started low, flew continental.
Real-deal believer. A true one.
Respect where it’s due.
Without him — well — we’re almost nothing.
Shouts to the spine.

But some beliefs dig deeper.
Much.
The kind that hum beneath the floors.
Started quiet, now it’s creeping.
Tremors. REMAIN feels it.
Not alone in the twitch.
Some have been fiending for a new Marc Houle record.
He knows. They know.
We all know at least one who has.
Don’t lie.

From Restore to Bay of Figs, from weird to wide.
Techno vocals. Raw loops.
Backwards analog love.

REMAIN has been starving.
And starving for sound — well — that’s sacred.
He’s been craving for more.

There are those who wait. There are those who believe.
There are those who make things happen.
And those who get lucky.
Today, the lucky ones: that’s you.
The wait is over. The hunger fed.
The cult rejoices.
The time: NOW.

But wait — WAS IST DAS ?
Ah, yes :

« WAS IST DAS »

That’s the name.
That’s the spell.
You’re not supposed to understand.
You’re supposed to feel it.

Marc touched it. Twisted it.
Let it rise weird and wonderful.
Only he could. And he did.

MARC IS ALL YOU WANTED

We knew.
So here.
Go.

With love.
Always.

MEANT IS ALL YOU NEED

DIGITAL TRACKLIST:
01 – MICROMAN (Original Mix)
02 – BREAKOUT (Original Mix)
03 – WALK SIGN IS ON (Original Mix)
04 – WAS IST DAS (Original Mix)

Listen to the EP : bfan.link/was-ist-das-1

Marc Houle - Was ist Das (Original Mix)_MEANT030

Luigi Sambuy releases “Treasure Hunt,” a new single originally conceived for a special live set at the Tannins and Tunes Festival in Saragano, Italy. The track forms part of a larger EP that will be released gradually over time.

Created during an intense two-month preparation period for the festival, “Treasure Hunt” channels the energy and inspiration of that moment. Sambuy spent those weeks immersed in the world of 90s progressive records, digging through the catalogues of Guerrilla Records and beyond, shaping a sound that feels both nostalgic and forward-thinking.

Built for a big cinematic moment toward the end of his live set, “Treasure Hunt” delivers a blissful break that swells into a captivating lead, underpinned by a warm, rolling groove designed to lift dance floors into collective euphoria.

Early supporters of “Treasure Hunt” include The Trip, Lulah Francs, and Nacho Isa, who have already shared positive 

Luigi Sambuy - Treasure Hunt

Right before Christmas, it's the perfect time to pause for a moment and to draw a balance of the past year. Cocoon Recordings' eleventh year of operation was characterised by pacesetting compilations: the "K" composition designed an intensive vision of modern electronic dance music, and also "Eleven Years" was a Techno retrospective and an outlook at the same time. And if this wasn't enough already, Cocoon now puts a very special Christmas gift under our tree, the "Dots and Pearls" double vinyl compilation. Eight tracks by eight different artists (plus one bonus track in the digital version), newcomers and old hands, compete to be the listener's winter favourite.

It all starts with DJ and producer Patrick Gallenmüller aka Pele from Rosenheim who fully relies on the deep reflex of Dub Techno with his long runner "Nothing Else", while Frank Lorber together with Bernd Maus and Eric Besier as Tres continue their success story of last year's EP "Tres presents Uno a Cuatro" with a mysterious and soulful Dub House modernism ("Sunrise"). Martin Ferrer Vega aka Mar-T can look back on a more than 12-year-long career as resident DJ at Amnesia (Ibiza) – so, it's no surprise that his Tribal House rocker "Dolce Vita" really makes you dance. At the end of the B side, the record features a true winner track: on the occasion of the 150th anniversary of the beginning of the friendship between Germany and Japan, Sven Väth announced a producer contest, and Yunyamabe's "3745.8", the winner track, already whets the appetite for next summer with its melancholy tropical mood.
On the second record, Dutch shooting star Egbert delivers his most energetic track to date with "Hallucinogeen", while Sardinian multi-talent Alessio Mereu's intensive "Regret" doesn't hide his basic musical education and designs a sensual masterpiece in between Mediterranean spirit and the aesthetics of Detroit Techno. The Mobilee discoveries Marco Freivogel and Ingo Gansera aka Exercise One from Berlin are acting in a very strict way, and their gnawing noise-stressed hypno monster "Top Score (Stop Thinking!)" on side D is the highlight of their current live set. Luca Saporito and Anthony Middleton aka Audiofly still top their Get Physical long player "Follow My Liebe" and bewitch the listener with a hypnotic Dark House jewel ("Which came first"), whose organ sounds and Chicago-like vocals will make the one or other club night freak out.
The bonus track of the digital version of "Dots and Pearls" comes from newcomer Simonpietro Malandra aka Malandra Jr. who origins from the very small community of Casalincontrada in the centre of the Abruzzi. His winterly "Conquest" enchants with orchestral multi-vision layers and pizzicato strings, but never forgets the bass reflex zone massage and thus has all the ingredients in his hands for a lasting club anthem.


It all starts with DJ and producer Patrick Gallenmüller aka Pele from Rosenheim who fully relies on the deep reflex of Dub Techno with his long runner "Nothing Else", while Frank Lorber together with Bernd Maus and Eric Besier as Tres continue their success story of last year's EP "Tres presents Uno a Cuatro" with a mysterious and soulful Dub House modernism ("Sunrise"). Martin Ferrer Vega aka Mar-T can look back on a more than 12-year-long career as resident DJ at Amnesia (Ibiza) – so, it's no surprise that his Tribal House rocker "Dolce Vita" really makes you dance. At the end of the B side, the record features a true winner track: on the occasion of the 150th anniversary of the beginning of the friendship between Germany and Japan, Sven Väth announced a producer contest, and Yunyamabe's "3745.8", the winner track, already whets the appetite for next summer with its melancholy tropical mood.
On the second record, Dutch shooting star Egbert delivers his most energetic track to date with "Hallucinogeen", while Sardinian multi-talent Alessio Mereu's intensive "Regret" doesn't hide his basic musical education and designs a sensual masterpiece in between Mediterranean spirit and the aesthetics of Detroit Techno. The Mobilee discoveries Marco Freivogel and Ingo Gansera aka Exercise One from Berlin are acting in a very strict way, and their gnawing noise-stressed hypno monster "Top Score (Stop Thinking!)" on side D is the highlight of their current live set. Luca Saporito and Anthony Middleton aka Audiofly still top their Get Physical long player "Follow My Liebe" and bewitch the listener with a hypnotic Dark House jewel ("Which came first"), whose organ sounds and Chicago-like vocals will make the one or other club night freak out.


Alessio Mereu: Regret

Pele: Nothing Else

Egbert: Hallucinogeen

Audiofly: Nothing To Undo

There will always be a bass drum making people dance, but it will rarely sound the same. Techno and House are in continuous flux. There will always be people celebrating. And each year new kids join the scene, hungry for pleasure, for beauty, for ecstasy – for life. Over the last few years, Ibiza has established itself as one of the centres of advanced electronic music. A key figure in Ibiza's electronic awakening is Sven Väth. He and the Mediterranean island have come a long way. As a youth, he experienced the flamboyant nightlife on the island, having been introduced to dimensions of pleasure that were not imaginable in his hometown of Frankfurt. In 1999, Väth decided to return some of the energy and inspiration he had received from the rocky island with the unique atmosphere. Focusing on quality music, Väth established a new type of party experience by summoning a tribe of passionate musicians and activists, and in 2012, Cocoon's Ibiza adventure was created for the 13th time. Being the master of ceremony, Väth invites a unique mix of long-time companions and upcoming talent. As a DJ, he is scanning through the unmanageable amount of new music with somnambulistic security, having excavated aural treasures and shaping the ideal environment to release their full potential. 

The 13th Season opens with Thomas Hoffding's auspicious voice, subtly arranged by Terranova and reworked by Adam Port. Young producer wAFF's grooves are more stable and demanding, the erotic female vocal luring us even deeper into the Cocoon, establishing the emotional density of classic New York House. Nobody manages to unleash the forces of the bass so wholeheartedly like Berlin's WK7, pushing the set into a more technoid direction. The turmoil that will take place on the dancefloor is anticipated by Margot's meandering acid track. The Tuff City Kids are pushing even further with striking, demanding chords. Octave One's unique, soulful grooves highlight the unrestrained force of the synthesizers. Ben Sims' slick groove is subduing the excitement, with enigmatic bleeps hovering over the dancefloor like an acoustic sculpture. Sam Paganini is moving even further in this direction, startling the dancers with sound from another galaxy. The obvious thing to do is now to push the crowd over the edge with a huge breakdown. But this is not what Väth does. By merging tracks from Sawlin, P.A.S. and Exercise One, he composes a powerful sequence: highly climactic and absolutely collected at the same time, it reaches beyond the vocabulary of peak time Techno. Dissolving into a tribal groove by Silent Servant and poetic sounds of Ray Kajioka, the first set is coming to its end. 

The second CD starts off at an entirely different note. A sweet House sound is established by Makam. It's innocent, yet full of suggestion. The crowd is captured by the allure and grace of Dixon's edit of Romanthony's classical anthem, “The Wanderer”, and with &ME's vexing alien sounds, the ideal counterpoint is created. Julien Bracht is challenging the dancers with broken beats and seducing them with a longing vocal at the same time. The simplicity of Alejandro Mosso's mesmerizing melody finally disarms the crowd. Lawrence's intangible electronic sounds are pouring down on the dancers like rain in the midst of summer. Romanian Cocoon Hero Rhadoo is applying the brakes to the dancefloor's movement and controversially creates an irresistible motion. Unlike very few artists, Frankfurt's Roman Flügel manages to challenge the language of dance music. He merges the history and the future of House music in the most humorous way possible. Moving away from that playful sound, British electronic music maverick Four Tet strikes a rather demanding note. The heavy, bassy chords of Four Tet's turn into Uner's multi-layered diaphanous House sound, bursting with sun and light. Gathaspar is unifying the diverging energies with a pervasive soundscape. And Soy Mustafa and John Tejada have the final word: the dancefloor is taken away by their otherworldly serenity. In the end, the music is only a part of the adventure. Sven Väth creates a unique relationship with his crowd, leading us through experience like no one else.


Exercise One – Top Score (Stop Thinking!)

Cocoon Recordings is back in full force with the follow up to last year’s superb vinyl compilation ‘Dots & Pearls’. Providing a tracklisting that is nothing less than the modern interpretation of House, Techno and Tech-House ‘Dots & Pearls II’ eschews monotonous loops and predictable formulas and rather delivers a selection packed with energy and depth. 

Ilario Alicante and Todd Bodine have the honour of opening the record and very much set the tone for the feel of the album. "Modern Apocalypse" gives the impression that the duo wanted to produce a matching track to follow up Ambivalent's "Iwato" in a DJ set. The record has a wonderfully stripped and spacious feel to it, conjuring up an early hours feel with its entrancing effect and stabs plucking at the air around you. Next up we have Subb-an feat. Jacob Phono with "In The Night" a track that explores how the sound and atmosphere of big 90s Techno acts like Underworld can be transferred into our contemporary Minimal and Deep House universe, a task in which they succeeded brilliantly. Resonant beats and percussions, some 808 claps, funky fills and filtered layers match perfectly with the hypnotic vocals and form an impressing overall result that fits into the DJ's set at any time during the night. 
Mark Reeve's contribution "Carry Me" springs from typically Reeve-like UK-influenced House sounds. Softly filtered layers and cool vocal elements provide the right mood, and the long build-up with much patience and even more emotion makes "Carry Me" one of the best and deepest British Tech House tracks in recent times, a certain winner for fans of 20:20 Vision and Global Communication. 
With "Jellied Eels", Marco Effe steps up to try and win the prize of 'the fattest beats on the compilation'. The E-piano chords are a sure fire hit and the warm layers in the breaks loosen the heavily muscled beats a little, but they can't hide the fact that there is an energy packed affair, which erupts in a perfect surrounding and will take any dancefloor beyond the boiling point. It’s easy to hear why this has been sitting in the sets of Sven Väth and Luciano for some time. Danito & Agent! have just recently delivered their Cocoon debut and their mix of deep House elements and big-room Techno citations has already convinced the experts. Their track "Raw Symphony" is no exception here but rather travels further into the realms of cinematic techno. Detroit sends its regards with a fat bass/strings combination and much pathos, based on an elegant House-style beat that never demands too much and leaves enough space for the above mentioned big-room sound. With "Iwato", Minus figurehead Ambivalent contributes a slightly dark but still deep and minimal Techno track that lives on a juicy Chicago bass line and pays tribute to the compilation's motto by using uncommon sounds and effects. The pearls are literally hearable in the arrangement, setting accents in order to prevent the track from sounding too rounded-off. Hypnotic and kicking, but still unpredictably different. Berlin, 07:30 h in the morning – here's the matching soundtrack for a winter sunrise! 
Harvey McKay's "First Strike From Mars" sounds like its title suggests, and Captain McKay doesn't take prisoners. Demanding, massive and equipped with a mighty beat, the tune is reminiscent of recent Slam releases or some of the stronger Santos productions. A peak time production that has only one message: no escape and total madness on the dancefloor, this is a winner that has been getting plays from Sven Väth and Luciano! Sawlin's "Posay" is plumbs the depths of the Techno ocean, with plenty of echo and even more reverb, his remote metallic percussion sounds create an atmosphere that would also be perfect as the soundtrack for a big art installation. "Posay" shows that Techno in the year 2012/2013 does not only mean 'in-your-face', but rather depth and elegance. 

Besides the vinyl edition, ‘Dots & Pearls II’ is also released in a digital version, which contains four extra pearls, in addition to the eight tracks of the vinyl version: With "Sequence Of Moments", Martinez sends the listener back to the high times of that DBX-influenced Detroit sound full of bleeps and blonks, like Daniel Bell or Fred Gianelli perfected at the time. However, he doesn't deliver a retro piece at all, but combines the raw and direct vibe of Bell with modern sounds, layers and pads, and thus moves himself a little towards the Reboot or Johnny D corner. With their contribution "The Gate", Patrick Kunkel & Sascha Barth follow the current sound of now: matching parts of House, Minimal and Techno, in a skilful mix that, on the one hand is reminiscent of the hypnotic-minimal DJ sets of Ricardo Villalobos and on the other hand releases energy galore, in order to make demanding ravers happy. This is definitely one for fans of Pele and Matthias Tanzmann. Next Ross Evana pays tribute to fat Chicago beats and follows Sneak & Co. with his superb production "Cheget". The kick drum pumps, the claps and hi-hats clack heavily and the thick, pitched-down organ stabs in combination with the percussive staccato vocal fragments make the whole thing even more driving. And as if this wasn't enough, Evana adds some industrial sounds and effects that would easily fit in any big Depeche Mode remix, just lacking Dave Gahan's vocals in order to make the crowd freak out. Playing, dancing, partying, you have everything in here. With their track "Still Laughing", Fumihiro Hoshi & Tadac present their unique and different sound and provide a perfect closing opus to this outstanding compilation.

Patrick Kunkel & Sascha Barth – The Gate

Cocoon Recordings has been founded in the year 2000 as a part of the Cocoon Music Event GmbH. Sven Väth has initiated Cocoon Recordings in order to complete the Cocoon platform as a supporting tool for young artists in Electronic Music. The label philosophy is as simple as demanding: helping young producers and DJs to release their music without depending on Major Label structures. The releases can mainly be assigned to the genres Techno and House.

Cocoon Recordings as a label and Sven Väth as an artist stand for the use of vinyl as sound carrier, also in the future. Admittedly, the Digital Division of Cocoon Recordings has also been set up in 2008 and the numbers of downloads are indeed enjoyable. However, the label's focus is on vinyl, now and in the future. In order to complete the range of services that Cocoon Recordings offers, the publishing company Cocoon Publishing was founded in 2010.

Patrick Kunkel & Sascha Barth – The Gate

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