Kompromat

KOMPROMAT is the alliance of Vitalic and Rebeka Warrior (Sexy Sushi, Mansfield.TYA). Their debut album Traum und Existenz, released in 2019 on Clivage Music (Vitalic’s label), laid the foundation for a dark, impactful universe.

In January 2025, they return with PLДYING / PRДYING on Warriorecords, a label founded by Rebeka Warrior. This new record explores themes such as prayer (pagan or otherwise), funeral rites, transitions between worlds, as well as pleasures of the flesh, dance, and ecstasy—like a divine invocation through music.

Genres blend together: EBM, Cold Wave, New Wave, and radical techno. The duo enjoys blurring boundaries. While German accompanied the first album, this time English carries their new stories.

The record also features voices close to the band: Vimala Pons and Sonia DeVille appear like echoes from other worlds. From the very first track, I LET MYSELF GO BLIND, we are invited to let ourselves be swept away, eyes closed, ready to let go. I DID NOT FORGET YOU, written with Rahim Redcar (formerly Christine and the Queens), speaks of loss and memory in a universal way. Another collaboration, this time with London artist Farah, GOD IS ON MY SIDE is a very long, deeply atmospheric track, a trance-like piece that invites listeners to drift into the beyond. PLДYING / PRДYING also includes tracks made for the body: LIFT ME UP is a hymn to pleasure, both sensual and dance-floor-ready. ONLY IN YOUR ARMS makes one lose their footing through its intoxicating arpeggios.

The mixing by Stéphane Alf Briat (Air, Flavien Berger, La Femme) gives the album an organic dimension, fusing saturated vocals and synthetic sounds. Visually, Théo Mercier and Erwan Fichou, longtime collaborators of the group, draw inspiration from Jean Cocteau's film Orphée, creating a powerful symbolic visual universe that is both minimalist and profound.