Name: Michael Reinboth
Nationality: German
Occupation: Label founder at Compost, magazine founder and party organiser at Elaste, DJ, co-producer at Beanfield
Current release: Michael Reinboth is currently in the process of preparing a major book about the history of Elaste. While that project is projected for early 2024, you can, in the meantime, have a look at the new  Elaste Magazine Instagram site where Michael and his creative parner Thomas Elsner “post a lot of photos from back in the Elaste days.” Also, check Thomas's Insta site for more photos.

For the views of Compost artists:

[Read our Roberto DiGioia of Web Web interview]
[Read our Peter Gall of Web Web interview]
[Read our Halwa interview]
[Read our Zeitblom of Automat interview]
[Read our Achim Färber of Automat interview]
[Read our Sankt Otten interview]
[Read our Pyrolator interview]
[Read our Fred und Luna interview]
[Read our Felix Laband interview]
[Read our Ströme interview]
[Read our Ah! Kosmos interview]
[Read our Rainer Trüby interview]
[Read our URBS interview]

If you enjoyed this Michael Reinboth interview and would like to know more about Elaste, visit the mag's website.



There can be an incredible joy in just creating something for the love you have for it. Why did writing about music feel like a good place to start sharing for you? What did you personally enjoy about writing about music – an activity that is still looked down upon by many today?

Yes, yes agree, writing about music – which was my main part at/with Elaste – later on for various music mags, it was always a certain education, joy and challenge to learn, understand, dig in the deeper side of music. It became a passion. Unfortunately, my dream to write book(s) burst every time. There were always lots of ideas, but there was never enough time.

I can recommend starting with music journalism to anyone with the goal of working in the wide world of music - doesn’t matter as a producer, DJ, A&R or just on the periphery. It’s the best entrance. And it keeps you young. Music addicts always looking younger (laughs).

It gives you the compulsion and impulse to learn more about the topic rather than from just listening and most of all: it definitely makes you more open minded. If you're – for example – write a Talking Heads album review, it’s not only the facts about the people behind the music, the ingredients and the vibe. It’s also about where it goes to mentally - ideally, the continuing value of innovation, the development of styles and artists, where patterns are coming from and the political and social context.

There is often a perception that there is a big divide beween active music making and participating in the culture through fanzines, cover design, journalism, running a label etc How do these compare from your own perspective?  

Well, if you are a musician - unfortunately I am not - and you are able to do A&R, DJing, writing about music and doing more beside playing or producing that would be the perfect amalgamation and would make life more complete. It’s rare or a dream.

I did produce with / for Beanfield, and in the Elaste days I was in a new wave band called Bi-Music. But we never released anything with Bi-Music, ha.

That said, we were the first band ever who fused rap (!!) with new wave synth-sounds and Stooges riffs, a strange combination, a hybrid which doesn’t exist. It's a shame that we lost our mini-tape recordings. We played two live gigs in our hometown Hannover in 1979, where we set 100 white mice free on stage. They disappeared everywhere within nearly 10 minutes, in the corner of the rooms and were frightened to death running through the audience.

Oh my god, that was a desaster! Girls were crying, the owner of the club switched off the stage electricity. If you would do something similar today with animals, your career would be over.

Would you personally group DJing, which is also part of your repertoire, in the former or the latter category?

I see especially DJing as one of the best causal conjunctions to dig deeper, learn about music, to celebrate it, and get a certain clue about how music works, mathematically as well as mentally. This is all under the presupposition that you’re open minded … playing with variety - the full spectrum.

I started DJing in 1980 – simultaneously with the making of Elaste – and was participating in the culture through fanzines, cover design, journalism, running a label etc. All of that was an implication of my DJing.

I must admit that freestyle / variety DJs will rarely become very famous simply because people want to hear one particular style from a DJ. Really good full spectrum DJs are rare, or unknown. They are often local heroes but never on a worldwide Scale. Except Gilles Peterson. Big respect.

So the multifunctional work of cultural / genre aspects is very important – for me. That’s why I call my self and Compost a hybrid thang.

You've kept writing about music and interviewing artists for many years. What's your take on what good music journalism can and should do? Do you still enjoy reading about music – and if so, what are your preferred sources?

Oh yes, I would love to write more about music, but my time is limited. I have to focus on the label work. To be honest if I did have more time, I would sit in the studio producing or remixing. That would be more fun, idealistic, even if it’s for the love and sake of music, which is hard to fetch money with, while music journalism is unprofitable anyway.

I don’t read reviews so much anymore. I often find them to be boring, too lousy, too much hyper hyper. I am reading books. In the 80s / 90s I read a lot of non-fiction consumer books about music, -styles, jazz, electronica, crossover but trendy stuff, et cetera. But I stopped that, and recently I read especially biographies or auto-biographies of artists. I just finished two Bowie biographies and the fantastic autobiography by Keith Richards.

That may be an answer to your question: they are written by really good (ghost)writers and have a poetic impetus, and a dramaturgy, in harsh contrast to a maxi single 12” review.

Do you feel as though the often heard adage that writing about music is like dancing about architecure is true?

Ha, yes, there is a bit of truth in that. But I would qualify this a bit. Writing about music is like dancing around architecturally interesting buildings.

And let me make a smuggy note on top: A lot of young music journalists do not find (or know) where the door is. To check the ingredients and where they came from, who else is in the house et cetera.