buy/stream https://kompakt.fm/releases/alien_tropical_mini_lp

Alien Tropical: the perfect title for the second album by Servicio Al Cliente (Customer Service), the project of Colombian-born, Berlin-resident Juliana Martinez. If you were cannily seduced by the debut self-titled Servicio Al Cliente album, from way back in 2021, the wait for a follow-up has felt long, but Alien Tropical was worth the wait. Indeed, it feels like the perfect way for Michael Mayer’s Imara imprint to introduce itself to the new year: an album full of play and spirit, verve and sparkle, rich with pop spirit and with one eye smartly cocked toward the dancefloor.

That first Servicio Al Cliente album was a smart statement of intent, and a wonderful, unexpected turn from Martinez, who’d already been through plenty: being expelled from private music lessons,
training in law, joining a group named Las Palabras Correctas. 2021’s Servicio Al Cliente landed on the turntables of anyone with discerning radar (Ada included “Romántico” on her Connecting The Dots mix for Kompakt, for example). With Alien Tropical, Martinez works the sensual sway of her music even harder, building six luscious songs that twist chant-like repetitions into hypnotic mantras, each song the perfect confluence of melody and mystery.

When asked about Alien Tropical, Martinez pieces together fragments of memory: winter explorations, long road trips, navigating the highways and the heart. “I had been driving a lot at the time on the highway,” she recalls. “I depended on music I played in the car to manage my emotions and my thoughts on those long drives. Everything felt strange and unfamiliar on the highway, and I realised music was so psychological and my only tool to influence my feelings between highways and new places.”

So, the music becomes the narrative for where the body and the heart wants to go. That might explain the gentle yearning in Alien Tropical, and its eternal hypnotic, its sense of forever forward-motion, as though the music is flickering like the highway strip reflected in the rear-view mirror. But there’s also the skyward movement of the melodies, the way their loveliness lifts these six songs up through the clouds, like the helium balloons on the cover. From the sensual swelter of “Suelta Por La Pampa” to the shimmering tones and clacking keys of the closing title track, it’s a spirited encounter: “a feeling,” Martinez confirms, “an encounter with my synths in a place I needed to be.”

Suelta Por La Pampa

Servicio al Cliente - Suelta Por La Pampa

buy/stream https://kompakt.fm/releases/freeze_who_s_here

Kompakt is ringing in the New Year in style! ‘Freeze’ is a collaboration between Joyce Muniz and Andre VII, a beacon of Mexico City’s nightlife . This powerful hi-NRG track is reminiscent of Bobby Orlando’s finest moments and would have set ‘80s dancefloors in Rimini alight. A collaboration that celebrates diversity, friendship, and the power of music as a bridge between cultures and communities.

With Greta Levska, Kompakt is welcoming a fresh new artist to the fold. Her sound is hard to pinpoint, which is an attribute we’re traditionally attracted to. ’Who’s Here’ is one of these late night tunes that take their sweet time to cast their spell – but when it does there’s no holding back. With ‘Lizard Lick’ Greta ventures in quirky Electro waters… When that proverbial elevator door opens we see Superpitcher and Mr. Oizo sharing a laugh and some Mezcalitos, obviously.


Freeze

Joyce Muniz / Andre VII - Freeze

buy/stream https://kompakt.fm/releases/speicher_138

An Egyptian guy named Raxon rolls through,

Flexing his muscles like he’s got something to prove.

Get those legs moving, stop the distraction,

Shake to the beat — here’s the sound of Raxon.


Creature Of The Night

Raxon - Creature Of The Night

buy/stream https://kompakt.fm/releases/play_this_game

There is a frequently questioned German saying: You always meet twice in life. KOLOMBO has not appeared on Kompakt for quite some time, after delivering several gems to Werderstraße in the early 2010s, both solo and with Geoffroy as Mugwump. Then he turned his back on beautiful Brussels to pursue an impressive career as a DJ and producer in his adopted home of Brazil. Now the old saying is proving true, because Kolombo is back with an absolute banger.
‘Play This Game’ was created in collaboration with Brazilian singer/musician ELEKFANTZ. It’s a picture-perfect ‘future classic’ and without a doubt the most catchy piece of pop house music in recent years. It fits so seamlessly into the ranks of Kompakt’s greatest hits that it makes your head spin.
For those allergic to kitsch, label boss Michael Mayer contributes a club edit reduced to the essentials, which in its positive intoxication is reminiscent of the immortal dubs of Mood II Swing from their heyday in the 90s. And that’s entirely intentional!
One swallow doesn’t make a summer, but when a track like ‘Play This Game’ comes along, it’s definitely time to put your winter coat away.


Kolombo / Elekfantz - Play This Game (Michael Mayer Club Edit)

切ないような夜　夢を見てる
帰り道の途中　胸を焦がす
電話をしてみたら　君は起きてる
頭はふわふわで　猫の気分
 
ベイビー　会いに行くのは少し悪いけど
愚痴や毒吐きをさせてよ　愛しているなら
 
サイレントナイト　心は体でつながる
君からもらった光はあふれる
大人のくちづけ さめたらうたかた
このまま　思いのままに
 
切ないような夜　夢を見てる
切ないような夜　夢を見てる
 
永遠なんてないのね　夜が明けるから
嘘になる前に眠るよ
さよならを言うよ
 
サイレントナイト　心は体でつながる
君からもらった光はあふれる
大人のくちづけ　さめたらうたかた
このまま思いのままに　year
このまま思いのままに

bed

the-tapings.

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