Advent Drop with Tobias Thomas

We wrap up our Christmas run 2014 with a delectably nostalgia-tinged mixtape from long-standing Kompakt ally Tobias Thomas, Cologne's foremost selector when it comes to danceable drama and indie-flavored electronics. The brain and muscle behind the formative Total Confusion event series, he was one of the very first protagonists in modern club culture to embrace the divergent sonics from a then-nascent breed of new German acts like The Notwist, Tocotronic, Blumfeld, Fischmob and many others - thus building bridges between fomerly isolated scene habitats and de facto pioneering the notion of leftfield techno before it even existed. His selection is a more than fitting conclusion to our Advent podcast series, incorporating rare early outings from Kompakt staples like Jürgen Paape (under his long-lost Care monicker) or Wolfgang Voigt (as Mike Ink) alongside the idiosyncratic soundscapes of fringe pop mentor Arthur Russell or the nu-vintage dub textures of Rhythm & Sound. Forever sweet!