116. Michael Mayer - Immer (2002)

Another German microhouse record, except this time the tracks are chosen in such a way that they flow faultlessly from one to the next--you'd be forgiven for thinking this was all the work of the same artist. The consistency here is pretty astonishing, seeing that these are all (ostensibly) the work of different producers: what this shows me is that the Kompakt label (from the roster of which this record was compiled) maintains its aesthetic with such an iron grip that it effectively renders the idea of the "artist" kaput, the quality and styles of the music so similar from one to the next that it matters less who makes the music than who selects it--thus this album's being shelved under the name of the compiler, Michael Mayer. I'll name some highlights--the early 90s house organ of "A Rocket In Dub", the obsessive beat of "Gratis", and the almost cartoonishly Germanic "love" track "Perfect Lovers". The music doesn't perhaps reach the level of natural genius of Ricardo Villalobos' work, but it's of consistently higher overall quality--the whole thing is so expertly sequenced and recorded that any doubts about it being a little too monochromatic in style are rendered irrelevant. One Immer is probably all you need, but you need at least one.

MY RATING: 8.6

Rocket No.3 - "A Rocket In Dub"