Over the past four decades, Michael Mayer has done many things: maintained an internationally renowned DJ career; co-steered the Kompakt record label, physical store, and online shop; and produced a slow but steady stream of singles and albums, both solo, and in collaboration with the likes of Superpitcher, Reinhard Voigt, Kölsch, Barnt, and – on his 2016 album, & - a plethora of talents from dance music and beyond. He’s also released several ground-breaking, legendary mix discs, from 1998’s gorgeous Neuhouse, to the epochal Immer mixes, plus contributions to both the Fabric and DJ-Kicks series. Key to all of this, though, is the decorous drive of his clear, yet open-minded aesthetic, and a wide-eyed, thorough-going appreciation for music in all its variety and complexity.
When talking about this deep love of music, Mayer’s eyes light up: he’s clearly got the spirit in him. “I enjoy digging in all kinds of genres. What I’m trying to excerpt from all that is something that could function within the realms of Kompakt or my DJ sets. I’m constantly trying to find inspiration somewhere to take the label or my DJ sets to the next level. My life is hunting down tracks, identifying them, and trying to bring them to the world somehow.” You can sense this broad aesthetic purview in the albums he’s released via his Imara imprint: new albums from Heiko Voss and Servicio Al Cliente; reissues of Nigerian psych-rock with Ofege, the American soul-funk of Greenlove, and classic Cologne electronica by Schlammpeitziger.
As Mayer clarifies, though, this all weaves back into his calling as a selector. “I will always be, first and foremost, a DJ. Everything else I do, being production, curating the record store, curating the label, I’m doing all that with the heart of a DJ.” When asked what’s core to being a DJ, why it’s so important to him, he replies, simply, “It’s like a compass to navigate through this world. I’m striving to bring joy to this world, and make people happy, but at the same time, there’s always this educational thing. You want to play them the best possible music and the most state-of-the-art music right now.” Sometimes, that music is Mayer’s own, and he’s also always slowly working on new productions; there’s an EP, maybe an album to come, but it’ll take its own sweet time.
Ultimately, though, Mayer’s reflections on the work he does suggest an approach to life that’s built around care and consideration; around the spirit of sharing, both sharing the music that Mayer spends his time digging out for listeners, and sharing the space of the club, the venue, but also the collective, the crew, the heads that gather together wherever there’s a great night to be had. “I deeply care about this music, this company, the scene, the people,” he concludes, reflecting on his multi-faceted career to date. “It’s a whole filtering thing: filtering through the bullshit and presenting what I think is music that should be heard.”
