- The borders defining Kompakt's family of labels often seem confusing and arbitrary, but Speichers are usually easy to recognise, even now that the sound has moved beyond the raucous Reinhard Voigt pummel of their early days. Number 58 finds a pair of young Swedes stepping in to the elders' shoes, Steadycam's David Zelder graduating from the K2 bootcamp and mystery man Nightguy making a staggering debut.
Steadycam’s 'Get On Up There' does a strong impersonation of the kind of loping, low-slung drag popularised on Speicher by Broke and Superpitcher. Like them it's all in the bass, but here the staccato strum doesn't quite match the beat. Stuck between schaffel and 4/4 it lurches all the more, and while the Chicago-esque vocal 'Get On Up' is certainly clunky, it’s also oddly suitable. This is music for knuckle dragging microgoths.
Overleaf Mayer and co. must have been ecstatic when they stumbled upon Nightguy. 'Pretty Face' is a gushing, motorik paean to Cologne's trancier side and bound to crop up at the tail end of the next Speicher mix. A menacing, sinuous drone shoots through the lot like a laser, aided by hissing drums and choppy guitar notes. The bassline is more boompity than is perhaps required, but there's no cheesy money shot—a minor collapse into froth and static hints at abandon before we return, gorgeously, to the forward march we started with. These two tracks have nothing in common but both satisfy their respective departments, Nightguy supremely so.
TracklistA1 Steadycam: Get On Up There
B1 Nightguy: Pretty Face