As Cologne’s Kompakt ran out the final length of its yearlong 20th anniversary victory lap in 2013, it did so with the faint whiff of a label whose later output has been rendered slightly stale by repetition. This is a familiar paradox for lots of iconic imprints in their golden years, especially those whose worldview is more constitutional than searching: the more blueprinted and carefully curated an aesthetic, the more difficult it is to evolve. Over the last 20 years, Kompakt’s make a mark on dance music, honed its neatly-defined output down to pure science and put a tidy frame around it’s history. What next?
If not for DJ Koze’s inspired 2013 breakthrough LP Amygdala (which actually came out on his own label, Pampa), one could make the argument that it’s been years since any of Kompakt’s old guard have hit paydirt. Although perfectly pleasant, Michael Mayer’s late 2012 full-length Mantasy failed to move the needle, while fellow tentpole Superpitcher’s been mostly MIA since 2010. Even the label’s once-lauded compilations like Total and Pop Ambient have suffered from serious quality-control issues of late. Justus Köhncke doesn’t get the column inches of a Mayer or a Superpitcher, but he’s one of the Kompakt’s longest-serving and most representative artists. Justus Köhncke & The Wonderful Frequency Band is his first full-length since 2008’s Safe & Sound; as unfair as it is to the artist, it’s tempting to look to it as an indicator of the label’s current health.
Sadly, that narrative remains unresolved. Although TWFB boasts a characteristic mix of mid-tempo house, techno, disco and kitschy pop, it’s hardly a definitive statement. As with all of Köhncke’s work, it’s also infused with a whimsy that could be mistaken for indifference. That whimsy plays best when it’s applied to disco; in addition to boasting the greatest three-word distillation of Kompakt’s worldview yet, opener “Flitter Und Tand” (translation: “frippery and kitsch”) houses a slinky bassline and a charmingly goofy spoken word refrain that ranks among Köhncke’s most endearing and infectious moments. Likewise, lead single “Tell Me” is a particularly strong vintage of the aerodynamic disco-house hybrid for which Köhncke (and Kompakt) have come to be known. Tellingly, the album’s standout moment feels miles away from Köhncke’s comfort zone; the singer-songwriterly “Wonderful Frequency Band” boasts gently picked acoustic guitars and pianos, a swelling chorus, and absolutely nothing in the way of a 4/4.
But that sort of boundary pushing is in short supply here. Even at it’s best, TWFB is mostly just a well-crafted collection of genre exercises; a few too many tracks, like the motorik double whammy of “Das Selbstgespräch” and “Idee, Prozess, Ergebnis” and the ironically-titled “A New Direction”, are standard-issue deep cuts that offer little in the way of surprise. As evidenced by the goofy artwork and the album’s wide-eyed title, Köhncke’s interested in new ways of framing his work as a solo techno artist, but no metaphor, however offbeat, is deep enough to substitute for real surprise.
