Wolfgang Voigt's Gas Box 10LP +4CD set has just arrived. Of Voigt's*countless one-off side project monikers, it is his work as Gas which has gained the most critical acclaim. And for good reason - this is some of the finest dark ambient minimal techno you could ever hope to find. And after sixteen years of various abridged and modified reissues, Voigt has presented the albums Zauberberg,*Königsforst, and Pop in their entirety, along with a bonus disc featuring "Tal 90", (previously released in Various -
Pop Ambient 2002) and "Oktember*B" from the
Oktember EP from 1999.
The set is housed in a sturdy slipcase with embossed jackets for each release.*The discs are contained in glossy black paper sleeves with GAS logo printed on both sides. The accompanying hardcover 12" x 12" art book with digital images of the Königsforst also contains four CDs of the music from the set.
Inspired by Voigt's youthful LSD experiences in the Königsforst (a German forest situated near his hometown of Köln), served as the inspiration behind these releases. Voigt claimed that he wanted to
"bring the forest to the disco, or vice-versa".
Wikipedia offers an excellent description of the Gas sound:
Quote:
Each album consisting of several long tracks of dense, hypnotic, atmospheric sound. All Gas material shares a characteristic sound, consisting of an ambient wash of drones and loops, usually accompanied by a repetitive four-on-the-floor kick drum underneath the multiple layers of music. Occasionally a song will just drift on its own ambience.
Indeed, most of the time there is no clear musical progression in a Gas track, as Voigt seems to be more interested in exploring depth of the stereo field, utilizing subtle shifts in sound. Because music under the Gas alias lacks any trace of orthodox melody or chord change many would not describe it as musical. However, the sources of Voigt's samples are often of musical origin, encapsulating "old pop record stuff" as well as classical music such as Richard Wagner and Arnold Schoenberg.
|
It also notes that critics have described Gas music as,
"similar to hearing a band playing very far away, underwater, or from behind walls." By any measure, this is a milestone ambient box set and an essential piece of any ambient record collection.