Compost Records have remained an ever-present, ever-consistent label and purveyor of the finest music for decades – and their latest selection of 16 modern “kraut-ish” electronic tracks are another fine catalogue addition. The German taste-makers are not just jazz cats and here is a fine choice of modern music – inspired by Kraftwerk, CAN, Neu, Rother, Klaus Schulze, et al. – curated and compiled by Compost artist Fred und Luna, with six exclusive tracks among this foray.

It especially shows how effectively younger artists are revitalizing the kraut scene – with highlights including Pyrolator, Sankt Otten, I:Cube, Organza Ray and Musiccargo.

This latest mix for Narr Radio features two of the highlights on heavy rotation at WTM HQ (Musiccargo – Ich geh den Weg mit dir & Organza Ray – Preen Scene):

Fred und Luna (a creation by Rainer Buchmüller) live in a long-established fashion house in Karlsruhe, Germany. The two mannequins are the muses of the musician, author and photo and film maker. He calls his music either ‘elektrokraut’ or ‘krautelektro’.

A study of the tracklisting and a bit of background reveals that many of the artists do not reside in Germany and are instead inspired by the country’s exports. Jean-Emmanuel Krieger, under the name of Baikonour, was born in Versailles and lives in Brighton.

Abrão is the project of Sao Paulo-born Abraham Levin. His song Intensidade is remixed by Tel-Aviv based DJ and producer, Rina (real name: Asaf
Sanzer).

Listening Center is the electronic project of Dublin-born musician, David Mason. Based in New York, since 2012, he has released albums and tracks on record labels such as Ghost Box and Polytechnic Youth.

Higamos Hogamos presents SPACEROCKS – Steve Webster and Toby Jenkins were brought together through a mutual love of Harmonia, Kraftwerk and
krautrock bands in general and founded Higamos Hogamos in London in 2007. After an album and several singles, Jenkins departed, leaving Webster to continue the project with the help of an evolving group of collaborators, releasing mainly on Scottish label, Invisible, Inc.

I:Cube is Nicolas Chaix and is a world renowned French DJ and electronic music producer. Based in Paris, he first earned the limelight on Paris’ underground dance scene in the 1990s.

Organza Ray is Greek-born keyboardist Eleni Poulou, who has recorded and toured worldwide with many groups, including The Fall and Shizuo. In Berlin in 2022, she formed Organza Ray with Hilary Jeffery.

Wherever the artists hail from, it shows the eternal influence that music from Germany has had throughout the decades, shaping artists continually – the selection here is excellent from start to finish and this compilation is likely to be one of the highlights of the year. Compost promise a second volume towards the end of 2023. For more, go to the Compost Records Bandcamp.