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Michael Reinboth - How Compost Records Survived 3 Decades

·1 hr 25 min·2 clips

The show begins live, slightly behind schedule. The hosts treat the delay as a technical check and let it blend into the warm, informal mood of the broadcast. The guest arrives with clear enthusiasm around him. Michael Reinboth talks through the selector’s mindset, saying he plays what he believes in rather than chasing a safer crowd-pleaser. He wants to see the room react. That means accepting that some records connect right away while others need time before people understand them. He does not sound troubled by that. For him, the point is to stand behind the music and trust the longer arc of taste. He also draws a clear line between being a mixer and being a selector. His own comfort sits with the selector’s role, the one that presents records one by one and lets the music speak for itself. He connects that preference to older DJ practice. He comes from a time when people simply played records, and he remembers club nights moving from 70s jazz grooves into newer electronic and trip-hop cuts. The conversation keeps circling back to records as objects. Vinyl still matters to him, and the idea that it is dying does not really hold up in this room. The hosts keep the energy friendly and visibly engaged. Their back-and-forth gives the whole piece the feeling of a real studio conversation rather than a polished promo. There is a little looseness in the pacing. That looseness fits the setting, because the episode values warmth and lived experience more than neat packaging. The closing stretch turns toward thanks, demos, promos, and future music exchange. It leaves Reinboth sounding like someone who still believes the scene survives by trusting ears, records, and the people who know how to listen.

As heard by us

A vinyl-first conversation about taste, trust, and standing by the records you play.

The episode turns on a simple but sturdy idea: play what feels right, trust the room, and stand behind the records chosen. The guest comes across as more interested in the selector role than in technical mixing, and that preference gives the conversation its center.

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Why you'd press play

You want a selector's view on why a record can need time to catch on.

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