“I’m going to rip this classic apart” Michael Mayer on remixing Cafe Del Mar

Energy 52‘s Café Del Mar is one of the most iconic tracks in dance music. Released in 1993, this instrumental trance anthem was named after the famous beach bar on the Balearic island, becoming synonymous with the euphoric, sun-soaked vibe of Ibiza’s dance culture. Crafted by German DJs Kid Paul and Cosmic Baby, the track’s mesmerizing melodies and uplifting harmonies encapsulate the quintessential sunset moment, making it a staple in the sets of DJs worldwide.

As a seminal classic it’s no stranger to a remix, but Superstition has upped the ante with this latest batch of mixes from two of the most revered acts in electronic music, Orbital and Michael Mayer.

A key figure in Cologne’s electronic scene, Michael Mayer co-founded the influential Kompakt label, contributing significantly to its direction and success. Known for his meticulous remixes and collaborations with artists like Superpitcher and Kölsch, Mayer’s work spans genres, touching on microhouse, experimental, and ambient techno. Beyond producing, Mayer’s mix CDs, including contributions to the Fabric and DJ-Kicks series, highlight his broad musical taste and ability to curate pioneering sounds.

With his new remix out now, we caught up with him to discuss his approach to tackling Cafe Del Mar. 

Over the years, your work has spanned multiple genres within electronic music. Who were some of your earliest influences, and how have they shaped your approach to music production and DJing?

The earliest influence must be my late mother’s kitchen radio. From morning to evening, it blasted “Schlager” music throughout the house, a pretty cheesy, Cliff Richard-ish, very popular form of German pop music. However, it was always the final songs before the hourly newsbreak that caught my attention. Those were always instrumentals because they were easier to fade out. I’m still playing some of those tracks I’ve discovered there: Space’s “Magic Fly,” Alan Parsons’ “Lucifer,” or Hot Butter’s “Popcorn.” Then came the ’80s with synth-pop and new wave. Like many of my generation, I can draw a straight line from my earliest musical memory until house and techno emerged. It has always been the instrumental, minimal, electronic sounds that got to me.

Looking back at your career, what would you consider pivotal moments or projects that significantly influenced your artistic trajectory?

At the age of 12, I received an Italo Disco and Hi NRG mixtape from a neighbor. It had such a massive impact on me. From that moment on, all I could think about was becoming a DJ – and so I did. Ten years later, after moving to Cologne, I met my now friends and business partners Wolfgang & Reinhard Voigt, Jürgen Paape, and Jörg Burger. They weren’t DJs but producers and ran labels – very much with a DIY ethos and dead set on creating their own vision of electronic music. We complemented each other perfectly; everything fell into the right place.

When approaching a track as iconic as “Café Del Mar,” what was your initial vision or concept for the remix?  Can you describe some of the specific techniques or equipment you used? 

When Tobias Lampe from Superstition asked me if I’d be up for the task, my first thought was: Okay, I’ve got to do this! I’m going to rip this classic apart, exorcise the trance demons that tortured me in the early ’90s. Trance wasn’t my cup of tea at all back then, but it was impossible to escape. I found it kind of ironic that the task of remixing THE biggest trance track was bestowed on me. I only had some of the original MIDI files, no samples, stems whatsoever. That gave me all the freedom I needed to create my sound aesthetic. It was important to me to respect the epicness of the original while adding a completely different, raw vibe that would fit in my DJ sets. Eliminate the cheese, inject a more edgy and sincere element.

“Café Del Mar” is often seen as encapsulating the spirit of an era. In your view, what makes this track so timeless, and how did you aim to preserve or enhance this in your remix?

As I mentioned before, this whole trance phenomenon was very remote from my musical taste back then. I used to play much deeper house and techno at the time, and I was very skeptical toward these big commercial raves and the first superstar DJs that reigned that scene. Nevertheless, there were some tunes that were impossible to not like… call them guilty pleasures: Lunatic Asylum’s “A.L.S.O.,” Sven Väth‘s “L’Esperanza,” or Cybordelics’ “Adventures Of Dama.” These tracks marked the beginning of a new kind of pop music, and I hated/loved the hell out of them.

Do you have any personal memories or experiences tied to the original “Café Del Mar” that influenced your approach to this remix? 

I find it easier to remix a classic that I do not “love.” I wouldn’t touch my personal all-time favorites because I deem them PERFECT. Why bother making them worse? In the case of “Cafe Del Mar,” I saw enough wiggle room for a Mayer remix to make sense as the original is far enough from my musical DNA.

Having contributed significantly to electronic music both as a producer and label head, how do you view your legacy in the industry? What do you hope to achieve or influence in the coming years with your music and through Kompakt?

Kompakt just turned 31 years old. We’ve released almost 500 records on the mothership plus myriads of others on its sublabels. As a label and distributor, we’ve helped countless artists and labels to achieve recognition. I’ve always seen myself as a servant to the cause, happy to get my hands dirty and work very hard outside the studio or DJ booth. Community building is the essential element in the independent music business. Nowadays, everything is much more ego-driven, and a lot of music sounds very formatted. I still see Kompakt and my work as a driving force in defying genres and opening up free creative spaces. It’s about never being boring, like the Pet Shop Boys once said.

Cafe Del Mar (Michael Mayer Remix) is out now on Superstition