Far be it from me to attempt to diminish the influence Kompakt has had on this decade of dance music, or of the rate at which they have released notable and important singles, that said, many of the albums released on the imprint seem almost deliberately uninteresting. As a rule, the folks at Kompakt don’t just tolerate formula, they celebrate it, which is why so many of their LPs come off less like a label presenting wholly conceived works and more like a decorator offering swatches of paint- several versions of a single style, of which one or two would be chosen and the rest discarded without prejudice.

A notable exception to this is Matias Aguayo – previously one half of the duo Closer Musik, who produced the excellent One, Two, Three (No Gravity) back in 2000. Five years later, his solo debut “Are You Really Lost?” offered up a selection of songs that alter, however slightly, their tone and tempo, with vocal selections used sparingly and to great effect. The result is an album that conforms to the labels esthetic, while achieving the traditional intent of an album in that the collection as a whole is greater than the sum of its parts.

Perhaps the most leftfield effort on the record is the Max Turner version of the opening track, where the laid back emcee offers contrast to the blissfully unintelligible verses held over from the original version.

Matias Aguayo – De Papel feat. Max Turner 5:00 mins/ 192 kbps/ 6.87 MB

And now that I’ve mentioned it, I’d feel remiss not to post the Closer Musik track. Minimal, lovely.

Closer Musik – One Two Three 6:49 mins/ 160 kbps/ 7.81 MB