It is with a singular pleasure that we welcome Marc Romboy to the ever growing stable of live artists at ASW! Marc Romboy is an artist renowned within the electronic scene for his eclectic, boundary-pushing approach and decades worth of experience working both behind the scenes and behind the decks. In recent years he has embraced performing live as another creative outlet and, indeed, creative challenge. As an artist and performer, Marc has always pushed the boundaries of his creativity and this, Marc’s first studio album in 6 years is a true masterwork of techno from one of the masters of the genre. More

The kick drums of tomorrow once again begin to rumble in the smog infested, strobe stricken clubs of today. Kompakt’s Speicher series always strives to provide the dance floors with a soundtrack to grant our mind and body temporary refuge and escape. We feel it is more than ever needed considering the darkness that surrounds us all in these times.

We welcome back Marc Romboy. A gifted producer, DJ and friend that has been behind the decks as a key supporter of Kompakt’s music since the beginning. Beyond that, Marc is an astute musician, with releases on many of the esteemed; from Ovum to Innervisions and of course his own Systematic Recordings his music is incredibly varied.

They say that the third time is a charm but in this case he returns to our Speicher series again with a two track EP that feels more like a sequel that is true to the excellent consistency of his previous output. Armed only with a Buchla Music Easel, the Roland TR-909 and an Arp 2600, “Randomized” is pure techno as it tweaks and twists into a complete frenzy. Marc pays homage to the legendary Californian synthesizer inventor Don Buchla with the very trippy churner, “Monsieur Buchla”. More

MARC ROMBOY returns to our KOMPAKT EXTRA series with STALKER / BEYOND. Since we last saw him in 2018 on SPEICHER 103, Marc has kept plenty busy with a release on Bedrock, a collaboration with Stephan Bodzin, plus a series of releases with Petar Dundov on his own Systematic Recordings. Beyond Marc’s rigorous DJ touring schedule, he performed live in a Planetarium and ended the year with a highlight, performing live at Philharmonie Cologne together with violinist Miki Kekenj and the Takeover! Ensemble. Marc appears to be looking back to the deep, twisted forms of techno that shaped his early years with this double header. STALKER clearly delivers a typical Detroit-ish 90’s grittiness and drive which resounded the dancefloors of the German rave scene of that era. BEYOND is a deeper cut for those late-night dreamers who are into the sound of Carpenter. A growling synth and laser light synth mingle relentlessly until a delicate piano quickly realizes that IT’S THE place. More

Unless you're too young to know or have been living under a rock for the past twenty years, there's little chance that you haven't come across Marc Romboy's music in one way or another. The Systematic Recordings boss has had many irons on the fire since establishing his first imprint, the now defunct Le Petit Prince - gathering an untold number of releases on labels as diverse as Ovum, Innervisions, Rebirth or 20:20 Vision in his two decades of intense activity. Tracing back to 1994, when he used to rummage through the crates of Delirium - the primitive incarnation of KOMPAKT (closed and revived under its new name in 1998), the friendship between Romboy and the KOMPAKT family has largely withstood the test of time. After losing touch for a few years, Romboy and Michael Mayer would resume contact during a festival in the south of France - a reunion that eventually led to Systematic joining Kompakt's distribution catalogue a couple months later. With such a longstanding complicity to build from, it was about time for the Rheinland natives to actually team up on a release from start to finish, and SPEICHER 103 is their inaugural act of faith. A cosmic storm in a teacup, the A-side opener 'Galaxy In An Atom' blows some furious stellar winds across a shape-shifting tide of loud kicks and mutant bass moves, beating across uneven arpeggiated synth reliefs through thick and thin. Then, the chaos makes way for emotive piano stabs to take over in the track's last third, gracefully gliding into a further appeasing compass. Following up pedal to the metal, the pulsating 'Elektrisiermaschine' makes for a proper peak time ball of fire. Built upon a rolling and pitching bass comber, the track sets its pistons and rods in dancing motion straightaway, tightening the bolts bar after bar as it expands its abraded melodic lines and batucada-like rhythms with amplified magnitude for over seven minutes of sustained mind-bending onslaughts. More

The eagerly anticipated second remix package of Andre´ Hommen’s More Than This album is set for release in April on his These Eyes imprint. Following the Remixes Pt.1, featuring Robag Wruhme and Jonathan Kaspar, Andre´ recruits heavy-weight’s Donato Dozzy, Michael Mayer and Manuel Tur to deliver the remixes of Pantone. Donato Dozzy kicks things off with a tribal-esque remix. A bass-heavy, rolling drum at the heart of the track is met with intricate percussion and bird sounds, which take you on a tropical journey. Michael Mayer’s remix gets to work with a punchy, up-tempo bassline, perfectly partnered with airy synths and soothing pads. Rounding off the release, Manuel Tur’s remix offers darker drums that progressively build, enhanced with finely chopped vocals that echo in and out combined with minimalistic melodies. Italian native Donato Dozzy is widely acclaimed in techno circles across the globe. Displaying a large variation in terms of sound and method, his releases can be found on Tresor, Spectrum Spools and his own Spazio Disponibile. As a co-founder of Kompakt, Michael Mayer works closely with artists on their releases for the label. With three studio albums under his belt and numerous remixes for the likes of Miss Kittin, Pet Shop Boys and Depeche Mode, it’s easy to see why Mayer has such an acclaimed status in the dance world. Manuel Tur was born and raised in Essen, Germany. He released his debut EP at the age of sixteen and has gone on to release on labels such as Freerange and Running Back. More

Dutch-native Tjade marks his maiden release on These Eyes this July with the two-track Balancing Act EP. It continues a standout 2021 for the young talent, which has seen him release on Live at Robert Johnson already this year. Balancing Act leads the charge, taking no prisoners with a gritty, acid-flecked bassline. Chilling hords soon converge upon uplifting synth rolls, to form a well-balanced dancefloor cut. Means To An End brings things to a close, a near six-minute number that pulls deeply on the heartstrings as soothing pads merge with hard-hitting percussion throughout. Tjade is one of the most exciting prospects to come out of the Netherlands in recent years. Regularly gracing established labels in the form of Live at Robert Johnson, Mule Musiq and many more besides, several of electronic music’s most-esteemed have picked up his productions in recent years. Most notably is 2019’s Koi Jaye, a track that springboarded him into the global spotlight thanks to plays at DGTL, Dekmantel and AVA by the likes of Palms Trax, Job Jobse and Hunee to name a few. More

After much anticipation, UK-talent Ben Westbeech returns under his Breach moniker next February. Serving up the long-awaited Sun Salutations on Andre´ Hommen’s These Eyes imprint, the EP marks his first release under the alias since 2018, and features Dekmantel mainstay Cinnaman on the second track. The ethereal sound of "Sun Salutations" sets the feel of the release, as progressive synths reside atop a distinctive kick-hat backbone. We’re soon graced with an enchanting mid-track breakdown, paving the way for a tribal-leaning bassline and dreamy, flute-like chords. New Horizons feat. Cinnaman brings things to a gentle close, as warm keys converge on reverberating vocals to form a soothing, slow-building cut that’s perfect for sunrise, sunset or anywhere in between. More