It is Monday, isn't it?
Any regular reader of MFR knows that I am an unapologetic fan of Kompakt records - I like what they do, because they do it so well. They have truly crafted a "sound" for the label, best known by their heavyweight regulars Superpitcher, Justus Köhncke, Reinhard Voigt and label-head Michael Mayer.
Standing proudly among the Kompakt crew is Copenhagen-based Mikkel Metal (aka Mikkel Meldgaard), whose new album Victimizer was released a few weeks ago. The album consists of seven previously unreleased tracks plus three others previously out in various other forms on the label (including a track on the monsterous and entirely necessary Kompakt Total 6), and there is also a 12" available that has four of the new tracks.
"Memories" is the lead-off track for the album, and it works all the angles. Mikkel's work here is complex and deeply layered techno - some vocal, some instrumental - that clicks and hums like a massive machine, but with a human heart beating inside it, keeping time. Mikkel also knows how to use delicate sounds and a gentle palate of melody, thus his inclusion in the latest release in Kompakt's ambient series, Pop Ambient 2006.
Buy Victimizer from our friends at Forced Exposure (US) or your local indie dance retailer, or purchase the CD direct from Kompakt or download it as high-bitrate MP3s from Kompakt MP3. (Same goes for Pop Ambient 2006.)
Enjoy and happy Monday!