Song of the Day: Michael Mayer - Mind Games

Every Monday through Friday, we deliver a different song as part of our Song of the day podcast subscription.  This podcast features exclusive KEXP in-studio performances, unrealeased songs, and recordings from independent artists that our DJ’s think you should hear.  Today’s song, featured on the Afternoon Show with Kevin Cole, is "Mind Games" by Michael Mayer (and featuring Ed Macfarlane), from the 2016 album & on !K7 Records.

Michael Mayer - Mind Games (ft. Ed Macfarlane) (mp3)To many observers, the DJ life seems a solitary one. They're most often seen onstage alone behind a laptop, and their song and sample selection typically presents a unique vision. But for veteran German DJ Michael Mayer, collaboration is the key. On his latest album, he invites a different guest on every track, making & a fitting title. Over his close-to-30-year career, Mayer has not only helped along many other artists as co-owner of label Kompakt but has also been celebrated for his own music, which looks both forward and back, balancing reverence with innovation to create new danceable sounds. Most songs on & are warm and inviting, and lyrically romantic, no matter what their subject, like today's featured song, "Mind Games", a warning to a troublesome lover that enough is enough. Even as guest vocalist Ed Macfarlane (of Friendly Fires) sings "You rule me completely but you hide your cards even in my arms", you can still find a welcome embrace in the track's hypnotic techno and house grooves.

Michael Mayer is a constant performer, but as of now he has only a select few appearances coming up around Europe, like at Mondo Disko in Madrid on December 15. No U.S. dates are scheduled, at least as of yet, so keep checking his Facebook page for new information. For now, here's another track from &, featuring Hot Chip's Joe Goddard on vocals: