Michael Mayer has influenced a generation of musicians. As an artist, Mayer remains tirelessly motivated to DJing, in the studio or behind his desk at KOMPAKT, the label he co-owns. His recording career spans four albums, 23 EP’s, nearly 170 remixes and he mixes for fabric and Immer.

& is Michael Mayer’s third full-length, a personal album that speaks like his DJ sets – embracing his love for music, rhythm and atmosphere – and the dancefloor in front of him. On &, Mayer collaborated for every track on the album. “All of those involved are good friends of mine and not random choices selected from some Top 100 list. These people mean a lot to me – and by that the music we produced together is heart driven and emotionally powered. I felt we had a mutual privilege to share time together in the studio creating what you hear”.

& follows a long phase of solitary studio work, but Michael is returning to a pattern of collaboration that’s been significant throughout his career. From his early band Forever Sweet (with Reinhard Voigt and Tobias Thomas), Zimt (with Matias Aguayo) or most recently Supermayer (with Superpitcher).This new wave of partnerships can be traced to the series of back-to-back DJ sets he played throughout 2015. “In the past, I would always take the safe route and DJ with those I would also want go to bed with”, he says with a grin. “Then I found myself opening up. I got this desire to share the decks with DJs who may not share the same records in their crates but who shared a sense of adventure and challenge in playing together”.The most inspiring moment that comes to mind were his sets with Seth Troxler. “We challenged ourselves without borders, a purpose that lead to what ‘&’ is all about”.

As diverse as they are, all the tracks that result from this long and winding road create a cohesive story and present the elasticity of Mayer’s musical galaxy. Michael gladly leaves it to the rest of the scene to discuss the different grey shapes of club culture. For him there is only one club culture – a playful and open-minded one that’s easy to comprehend after you hear ‚&’.

~ Thomas Venker, Cologne, 2016

Tracklist
A1 Michael Mayer & Roman Flügel – We Like To Party
A2 Michael Mayer & Burger / Voigt & Voigt – Disco Dancers
A3 Michael Mayer & Gui Boratto – State Of The Nation
B1 Michael Mayer & Ed Macfarlane – Mind Games
B2 Michael Mayer & Kölsch – Germination
B3 Michael Mayer & Miss Kittin – Voyage Interieur
C1 Michael Mayer & Joe Goddard – For You
C2 Michael Mayer & Agoria – Blackbird Has Spoken
C3 Michael Mayer & Hauschka – La Compostela
D1 Michael Mayer & Prins Thomas / Irene Kalisvaart – Comfort Me
D2 Michael Mayer & Barnt – Und Da Stehen Fremde Menschen
D3 Michael Mayer & Andrew Thomas – Cicadelia