Funky Handicap

Michael Mayer is the co-owner (with Wolfgang Voigt and Jürgen Paape) of Cologne label, store, and distributor Kompakt, one of the strongest and most consistent dance-music imprints in the world. Mayer, 34, also maintains an aggressive global touring schedule as a DJ; produces superlative tracks and remixes that draw on '80s pop, house, and minimal techno; and is an avid cook, mixing ingredients (think "minimal pasta," among other things) as effortlessly as he mixes records. Mayer's DJ sets sweep from teasingly sexy and luscious to menacingly hard and banging. He has an uncanny ear for pacing and timing and layers tracks to reach massive, nearly unbearable buildups and euphoric peaks, as demonstrated on the stellar Immer and Fabric 13 mix CDs.

In December, Mayer issued his debut album as an artist, Touch, an uneven but inviting stroll through his swirl of influences. Tracks like "Neue Luthersche Fraktur" have instant appeal as sweaty, hands-in-the-air club anthems, while others, like the steamy slow burner "Lovefood," showcase Mayer's brooding, darker side. The Jukebox was conducted in Cologne's Kompakt offices in August, two days after the marathon Kompakt 100 Festival.

The Age of Love: "The Age of Love (Watch Out for Stella Club Mix)" (1990) from Classic Acid (Moonshine)

Michael Mayer: [Hi-hat kicks in.] Ah, I know it. It's old. Yeah, that's a fucking classic; it used to be so big here in Cologne. You'd drop it at a party, and people would freak out. It was one of the biggest anthems for the Cologne gay scene. The first years of techno here—'91, '92, '93—the gay community was much heavier involved into the club and techno here in Cologne. When I hear this, I always remember the times when clubs like Space Club were on and all the cute gay guys with their slim dresses [laughs].

Seattle Weekly: What was Cologne like in the early '90s?

Mayer: It was one of the techno capitals in Germany. Berlin, Frankfurt, and Cologne had the most solid scenes, the best clubs and stuff. I moved here in '92, and yeah, Cologne was totally on E [laughs], but in a very good way.

I always thought that the Cologne party scene was very particular, much different from other cities in Germany. There's a special vibe. I dunno, it's difficult to explain, but I'm always happy to be back in Cologne and play here. Then I always remember why I'm here in the city. It's always a bit more relaxed, not too hysterical in a way. People are cool, friendly, and they know how to party.

Telex: "Moskow Diskow" (1979) from The History of the House Sound of Chicago (BCM)

Mayer: [immediately] Telex, "Moskow Diskow."

SW: Did you listen to much of this old stuff?

Mayer: Yeah, sure! I mean, I'm a disco kid. I grew up with disco music, especially late-'70s, early-'80s stuff. My first favorite discotheque where I went every weekend, they played all this stuff all night long. All this disco stuff, the Italian stuff—which came years later—but this was the main attraction at the club. They had this four-color laser show and this music. For me, it was paradise. This is where I come from.

SW: What kind of music did you listen to when you were small?

Mayer: I grew up more or less in the countryside, in the Black Forest area of Germany. I was very lucky to have this club in my neighborhood. It used to be Europe's best discotheque, voted by some disco magazine. It was called Drops, a big discotheque for 3,000 people, with a swimming pool and a lion cage and whatever [laughs]. Typical '80s disco—OK, there's a pizzeria, and there's a second floor, you know, those kind of places. They were always totally up to date musically. They played imports; they had a radio station, a pirate radio station, where they played 12-inches all day long, [with] specialized shows for funk, for acid house, for ['80s Europop producers] Stock-Aitken-Waterman's kind of sound, which I really liked as well. For me that was such a big help, because they played all this music to me that I could listen to at this radio station. They played disco history from the last 10 years and the latest stuff and everything.

From a very early age, I was totally obsessed with all facets of nightlife, of discotheques. The technical side, the lights and sound system and everything, totally. I love old discotheques, original old discotheques. There are a few very nice ones. [There's] one in Portugal—it has this perfect Saturday Night Fever floor, with the lights inside it [laughs].

Basic Channel: "Octagon" (1994) from 12-inch (Basic Channel)

SW: For some people, Kompakt is the new Basic Channel, the influential mid-'90s label that helped define the German techno sound.

Mayer: Kompakt isn't one sound; it's an ocean of sounds, everything from ambient to hard techno. Basic Channel was a very strict concept; Kompakt is not. Kompakt is the most open system you can imagine—if it's not drum and bass [laughs]. We love to embrace all kinds of musical genres and styles, and just colors. Basic Channel was very rigid in their concept. I think there's a big, big difference. You can say what Wolfgang [Voigt] used to do [under the pseudonym] Studio 1 during this period [had] big similarities to our work, but now I think, no.