Compost Records

Last updated

Compost Records
Founded1993
Founder Michael Reinboth
Distributor(s)Shelter Music Group
Genre
Country of originGermany
Location Munich
Official website compost-rec.com

Compost Records is a German record label based in Munich and established by Michael Reinboth in 1993. [1] The label is known for progressive downbeat dance [1] and nu jazz releases [2] incorporating influences of bossa nova, techno, and drum and bass. [3] The Future Sounds of Jazz compilation series helped establish the label early in its history. [1] The majority of artists signed to Compost Records are those known to Reinboth personally, from connections in the German downbeat club scene. [1] The company has resisted licensing its catalog to larger labels, seeking instead to develop roster reputations in-house. [4] Reinboth selected the name Compost for his label because it translates well among many languages, and felt it denoted a "catalyst for constitution and reactions". [5]

Contents

In the United States, Compost was initially distributed by K7! Distribution [1] and then by Studio Distribution, until 2002, when it switched to Shelter Music Group. [2]

The book Soul Love: 20 Years Compost Records was released in 2015, featuring text in both English and German, over 450 photographs from the history of the label, and a download code for a forty-track compilation. [6]

Artist roster

Related Research Articles

Drum and bass is a genre of electronic dance music characterized by fast breakbeats with heavy bass and sub-bass lines, samples, and synthesizers. The genre grew out of the UK's rave scene in the 1990s.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">War (band)</span> American funk band

War is an American funk/rock/soul band from Long Beach, California, known for several hit songs . Formed in 1969, War is a musical crossover band that fuses elements of rock, funk, jazz, Latin, rhythm and blues, psychedelia, and reggae. According to music writer Colin Larkin, their "potent fusion of funk, R&B, rock and Latin styles produced a progressive soul sound", while Martin C. Strong calls them "one of the fiercest progressive soul combos of the '70s". Their album The World Is a Ghetto was Billboard's best-selling album of 1973. The band transcended racial and cultural barriers with a multi-ethnic line-up. War was subject to many line-up changes over the course of its existence, leaving member Leroy "Lonnie" Jordan as the only original member in the current line-up; four other members created a new group called the Lowrider Band.

<i>Rebel Yell</i> (album) 1983 studio album by Billy Idol

Rebel Yell is the second studio album by English rock singer Billy Idol, released on 10 November 1983 by Chrysalis Records. After the release of his 1982 eponymous debut album, Idol continued his collaboration with producer Keith Forsey and multi-instrumentalist Steve Stevens. The album was recorded at Electric Lady Studios in New York. Initially recording without a drummer, utilizing only the electronic drum machines LinnDrum and Roland TR-808, Forsey and Stevens later decided to hire Thommy Price to play drums on some of the songs. Musically, Rebel Yell is a rock album with a strong influence of new wave music. The cover sleeve and images were shot by Brian Griffin. Idol got the idea of the album's title after attending a party with the Rolling Stones and drinking Rebel Yell bourbon.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Can (band)</span> German experimental rock band

Can was a German experimental rock band formed in Cologne in 1968 by Holger Czukay, Irmin Schmidt (keyboards), Michael Karoli (guitar), and Jaki Liebezeit (drums). The group used several vocalists, most prominently the American Malcolm Mooney (1968–70) and the Japanese Damo Suzuki (1970–73). They have been widely hailed as pioneers of the German krautrock scene.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Clan of Xymox</span> Dutch rock band

Clan of Xymox, also known as simply Xymox, are a Dutch rock band from Nijmegen formed in 1981 best known as pioneers of darkwave music. Clan of Xymox featured a trio of singers and songwriters – Ronny Moorings, Anka Wolbert, and Pieter Nooten – and gained success in the 1980s, releasing their first two albums on 4AD, before releasing their third and fourth albums on Wing Records and scoring a hit single in the United States. Their 1980s releases included synthpop/electronic dance music. The band is still active, continuing to tour and release records with Moorings as the sole remaining original songwriter and singer.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Electronic (band)</span> English alternative dance group

Electronic were an English alternative dance supergroup formed by singer/guitarist Bernard Sumner and guitarist Johnny Marr. They co-wrote the majority of their output between 1989 and 1998, collaborating with Neil Tennant and Chris Lowe, of Pet Shop Boys, on three tracks in their early years, and former Kraftwerk member Karl Bartos on nine songs in 1995.

A Certain Ratio are an English post-punk band formed in 1977 in Flixton, Greater Manchester by Peter Terrell and Simon Topping, with additional members Jez Kerr, Martin Moscrop, Donald Johnson (drums), and Martha Tilson (vocals) joining soon after.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">DJ Dextrous</span> Musical artist

Errol Francis, better known as DJ Dextrous, is a British DJ, producer and composer.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">A Guy Called Gerald</span> British musician

Gerald Rydel Simpson, better known as A Guy Called Gerald, is a British record producer and musician. He was an early member of the electronic group 808 State, contributing to their debut LP Newbuild (1988) and hit single "Pacific State" (1989). He also achieved solo success with his 1988 hit single "Voodoo Ray", which became a touchstone of Manchester's acid house scene and reached No. 12 in the UK charts. He embraced breakbeat production in the 1990s, with his 1995 album Black Secret Technology becoming a "much-touted candidate for 'best jungle album ever.'" He also ran the London-based independent record label Juice Box Records from 1991 to 1998.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Medeski Martin & Wood</span> American jazz band

Medeski Martin & Wood is an American jazz fusion band formed in 1991, consisting of John Medeski on keyboards, Billy Martin on drums, and Chris Wood on bass. The band is influenced by musical traditions including funk and hip hop and is known for an unconventional style sometimes described as "avant-groove".

Sonar Kollektiv is a German record label founded in the late 1990s by the DJ and producer team Jazzanova(Claas Brieler, Roskow Kretschmann, Stefan Leisering, Axel Reinemer). The label specializes in downtempo music. The intention was to create an independent record label and publisher connected to a worldwide independent distribution network. They have more than 200 catalogue releases over the years. The label is promoted in the United States by Prommer, Inc.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Rough Cutt</span> American heavy metal band

Rough Cutt is an American heavy metal band from Los Angeles who released two studio albums on Warner Bros. Records in the mid-1980s. Rough Cutt never achieved the commercial success enjoyed by many other Los Angeles bands of that time but various members went on to success in other groups, including Jake E. Lee with Ozzy Osbourne, Amir Derakh with Orgy, Paul Shortino with Quiet Riot, and Craig Goldy and Claude Schnell with Dio.

<i>Holiday for Pans</i> 1993 studio album by Jaco Pastorius

Holiday for Pans is a posthumous studio album by jazz fusion bassist Jaco Pastorius. Recorded between 1980 and 1982 at several New York City studios, the album was intended to be Pastorius' third solo album.

Ethereal wave, also called ethereal darkwave, ethereal goth or simply ethereal, is a subgenre of dark wave music that is variously described as "gothic", "romantic", and "otherworldly". Developed in the early 1980s in the UK as an outgrowth of gothic rock, ethereal wave was mainly represented by 4AD bands such as Cocteau Twins, This Mortal Coil, and early guitar-driven Dead Can Dance.

<i>Bass Is Maternal</i> 1995 studio album by Smith & Mighty

Bass Is Maternal is the debut studio album by Bristolian production duo Smith & Mighty, originally released by More Rockers in 1995. The album was originally recorded in 1989 for ffrr/London Records, who had signed the duo after they had built up underground success in their native city for their innovative Bristol underground scene sound, but the labels deemed the record unsuitable for release. The record explores links between dub music and British rave culture, incorporating styles of rock, reggae and electronic music with an emphasis on dub-style bass. The album title and artwork highlight the perceived association between the exposure of bass and maternity.

Post-disco is a term to describe an aftermath in popular music history circa 1979–1985, imprecisely beginning with an unprecedented backlash against disco music in the United States, leading to civil unrest and a riot in Chicago known as the Disco Demolition Night on July 12, 1979, and indistinctly ending with the mainstream appearance of new wave in 1980. During its dying stage, disco displayed an increasingly electronic character that soon served as a stepping stone to new wave, old-school hip hop, Euro disco, and was succeeded by an underground club music called hi-NRG, which was its direct continuation.

Techno is a genre of electronic dance music (EDM) which is generally produced for use in a continuous DJ set, with tempo often varying between 120 and 150 beats per minute (bpm). The central rhythm is typically in common time (4/4) and often characterized by a repetitive four on the floor beat. Artists may use electronic instruments such as drum machines, sequencers, and synthesizers, as well as digital audio workstations. Drum machines from the 1980s such as Roland's TR-808 and TR-909 are highly prized, and software emulations of such retro instruments are popular.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">I Hate Myself and Want to Die</span> Nirvana song

"I Hate Myself and Want to Die" is a song by the American grunge band Nirvana, written by vocalist and guitarist Kurt Cobain. It was first released in November 1993 as the first track on The Beavis and Butt-Head Experience compilation album which peaked at number 5 on the Billboard 200.

Tranquility Bass was the stage name of Michael Adam Kandel, an American musician whose music has been variously categorized as ambient house, trip hop, and funk rock. He released various singles during the 1990s, followed by his first full-length album, Let The Freak Flag Fly, in 1997 on Astralwerks.

<i>Give Em Enough Dope Volume One</i> 1994 compilation album by various artists

Give 'Em Enough Dope Volume One is a compilation album of music by various artists released in 1994 by British electronic label Wall of Sound as their first release. The idea for the album came when Wall of Sound's founder, Mark Jones, wanted to release a compilation of hard-to-find music by unsigned artists, with whom he had worked with via his distribution and pressing deals, so that the music could be heard by a wider audience. He picked his favourite such tracks which there was already an audience for and this became the compilation.

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 5 6 Comer, M. Tye (8 November 1999). "Compost Records:Top German Downbeat Dance Label Comes to America". CMJ New Music Report. p. 7. Retrieved 30 December 2014.
  2. 1 2 3 4 5 Roseberry, Craig (23 November 2002). "Kyoto Shows 'Spirit' on Compost". Billboard. p. 27.
  3. Shapiro, Peter (1999). Drum 'n' Bass: The Rough Guide. Rough Guides. p. 256. ISBN   9781858284330.
  4. Roseberry, Craig (6 November 1999). "Germany's Compost Fortifies Club Beats". Billboard. p. 37. Retrieved 30 December 2014.
  5. Sin, Jeong-Won (2014). Du bist, was du hörst: Musiklabels als Wegweiser im digitalen Zeitalter (in German). Campus Verlag. p. 291. ISBN   9783593501031.
  6. TITEL kulturmagazin (2015). "20 Years Of Compost Records: An Interview with Michael Reinboth" . Retrieved 19 April 2016.