The cover of German beat maestro Justus Köhncke's second full-length album depicts a bunch of scribbles written sloppily on a sheet of graph paper; oddly fitting for an album that thrives on tweaking a minimalist techno formula so exhaustingly observed by an ever-increasing cadre of bedroom composers throughout the world. Köhncke has consistently proved himself to be one of the most interesting acts in the Kompakt label's stable of pop-inspired avant-gardists, and it's here that he really gets to work and tosses all perceptions of cold, impersonal German tech-house right out the window. Was Ist Musik? only hints at minimalism ("Der Augenblick", "2After909"), and more often strives for pure pop-house perfection. And perfection it achieves - opener "Lucienne" rides a funky old-school groove all the way into a paradisiacal Alpine sunset, giving way to the canny disco of "Was Ist Musik?" The entire album is that rare mythical beast: a techno album served with a smile, lacking all pretense and poise. Justus leaves us with his best track to date: "So Weit Wie Noch Nie", a life-affirming house classic that sounds as good in bed as it does on the dancefloor.
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