Originally established to put Munich’s Compost label, which had been typically focused in the soul/jazz vein, into the dance floor realm by taking a more tech-house and disco direction, the offshoot Black Label series has become an entity unto itself. A compilation of Black Label pressings 9 to 18, series two, brings together a combination of established producers like Patrick Pulsinger and Move D as well as newcomers like TJ Kong & Nuno Dos Santos and DJ Enne. If you’re a fan of the label, and have missed a few pressing, then this is a great opportunity to pick up a big chunk in one hit.

Opener The Clap by Patrick Pulsinger starts the album on a humourous and funky electro tip with Snax’s singing “Everybody got the clap from you, and it’s burning too” – make of that what you will!. Shahrokh SoundofK’s Chicago is just as fun – no, seriously. From here it goes slightly deeper with the Llorca Remix of A&R by Studio R, to the more instrumental and jazzier Your Rolling Hills by Move D.

Latin flavours meet techno in Technncada’s mix of Circus Bells by TJ Kong & Nuno Dos Santos. In contrast, Lazise by DJ Enne and Zwicker’s Kumquat are much more minimal and drop the tempo back a notch. More acidic, dubby and almost psychedelic tech house flavours follow courtesy of Phreek Plus One’s Laser Rock and Zwicker’s I Get My Kicks At Nighttime. Patrick Pulsinger’s ethereal and cleverly constructed Try To Do featuring G-Rizo, and the stompier and darker Start To Play by Wagon Cookin and TJ Kong & Nuno Dos Santos’ epic The Deep End close.

Light and ethereal sounds, contrast with dark, acidic and minimal sounds at times but the tracks are unified by a tech and electro house ancestry, with space funk, disco bleeps, Chicago shuffle and Latin thrown in for a bit of spice.