Superpitcher

Predicting Aksel Schaufler’s next step remains difficult, much like gauging the direction of other producers tied to Cologne’s Kompakt imprint. Under the Superpitcher alias he first surfaced in 1999 via a 7" placed in the Kreisel 99 series, then reached the label’s main catalogue the following year with “Shadows,” an eerie trip-hop production seemingly designed to soundtrack a 3 A.M. drive down a foggy urban alley, featured on the Total 2 compilation. In 2001 he supplied a piece to Kompakt’s inaugural Speicher 12" and issued the three-track Heroin EP, whose tracks explored contrasting moods; the dreamy, somber “Tomorrow” later appeared on that year’s Total 3. Total 4, released in 2002, carried another Schaufler contribution—an straightforward electropop cover of Brian Eno’s “Baby’s on Fire.” Shortly afterward came his second 12", Yesterday, containing reworkings of both “Tomorrow” and “Heroin.” Steady remix assignments followed for Dntel, Carsten Jost, Contriva, Phantom/Ghost, the M.F.A., and Charlotte Gainsbourg. Kompakt put out the production albums Here Comes Love in 2004 and Kilimanjaro in 2010, along with the 2005 mix set Today, and later assembled key selections for the double-vinyl anthology So Far So Super issued on Record Store Day 2016. Fresh Superpitcher material returned in 2017 as The Golden Ravedays, a 24-track album rolled out across twelve separate releases throughout the year. Beyond solo work, Schaufler has joined forces with Kompakt mainstay Michael Mayer under the SuperMayer name and with Mauricio Rebolledo as Pachanga Boys.