Album Review: Various Artists – Pop Ambient 2014

The beauty encased within the ten tracks of Kompakt’s latest Pop Ambient compilation is like nothing I have ever heard before. Each track disarms, welcoming and inviting you into the world of the Cologne-based house and techno label, revealing to you its softer, more thoughtful side. Each track usurps the last, enticing you with a calming ambience; perhaps it would be more appropriate to compare these numbers to romantic sonatas rather than to simple electronica.

I’m trying hard not to make this a love letter to Kompakt, but from the soft and comforting sounds of Thomas Fehlmann in the opening throes of the album, to the unsettling Mikkel Metal, each track is a scene in a film, or even an entire film unto itself. The pretext of the album – a library of ambient electronica – may at first seem one dimensional, boring even, but incredibly, the journey gets better. Simon Scott’s ‘Fur Betty’ is an aching, growing song that pulls on your heart strings, reminding you in its wordless prose of lost lovers and forgotten dreams.

The album gives a platform for some of Kompakt’s most treasured and highly respected artists too. Ulf Lohmann returns to the fold, ending his six-year hiatus with the label, delivering two absolute tearjerkers. Marsen Jules and Wolfgang Voigt are also welcome features of the compilation, proving just how strong the Kompakt family is. This compilation marks the 14th time Kompakt have disclosed their most gentle moments, and I can only pray that they make at least 14 more.

– Liz Ward