Wolfgang Voigt's GAS Project: the Poll

voigt's best work, in my opinion, still some of the most striking ambient music i've ever heard. i'm not sure which one i'll pick - when i listen to gas i find myself needing to pull out all of these.

― Mark Clemente, Thursday, 10 January 2008 21:04 (5 years ago) Permalink

not sure why the image isn't showing, but whatever.

― Mark Clemente, Thursday, 10 January 2008 21:05 (5 years ago) Permalink

pop i guess

― s1ocki, Thursday, 10 January 2008 21:14 (5 years ago) Permalink

I think pull out Konigsforest a little more, but it's all good.

― Alex in SF, Thursday, 10 January 2008 21:19 (5 years ago) Permalink

Aren't these hard to come by/horrifically expensive? I found a copy of Pop in HMV about 2 years ago and it looked like it had been there a while. Fantastic stuff but I don't feel qualified to vote as I haven't heard the others.

― mmmm, Thursday, 10 January 2008 21:53 (5 years ago) Permalink

I've been on a major Wolfgang Voigt kick lately. The GAS stuff in particular is perfect for this time of the year. As of right now I think I have to go with Zauberberg. Wish they would reissue all of these, although I did manage to get Pop and Zauberberg on CD a few years ago.

― lou, Thursday, 10 January 2008 21:58 (5 years ago) Permalink

yea they SERIOUSLY need to reissue these. i'm surprised that voigt hasn't.

i actually downloaded all of them from kompakt's mp3 website. you can get each of them for about the price of a new cd.

― Mark Clemente, Thursday, 10 January 2008 22:00 (5 years ago) Permalink

actually i'm not sure if oktember's on there.

― Mark Clemente, Thursday, 10 January 2008 22:00 (5 years ago) Permalink

I picked up his brother's Sturmgesten recently hoping some of the magic would be there... I didn't find it

― mmmm, Thursday, 10 January 2008 22:02 (5 years ago) Permalink

I'm also just re-visiting Pop Ambient 2007 and getting way more into it than I ever did originally--the first half in particular.

― lou, Thursday, 10 January 2008 22:04 (5 years ago) Permalink

königsforst for me

― omar little, Thursday, 10 January 2008 22:13 (5 years ago) Permalink

Zauberberg, and not just for the title alone.

Yeah, I bought these when they came out and was surprised to discover recently how expensive/rare these are now. I'm glad to hear that they are now available via the Kompakt site because they are timeless records.

― Bill in Chicago, Thursday, 10 January 2008 22:17 (5 years ago) Permalink

timeless, yes. i love these.

― sleep, Thursday, 10 January 2008 23:16 (5 years ago) Permalink

Konigsforst, definitely. I love how parts of it are so lo-fi that they sound almost mono.

― NoTimeBeforeTime, Thursday, 10 January 2008 23:23 (5 years ago) Permalink

absolutely timeless. quite addicting, too.

re: pop ambient 2007 - that gas track is one of his best, too, i think. ("nach 1912" or something like that?) it's incredible.

i might go with zauberberg, i'm not sure. it's possibly the most consistent of them.

but i think i might vote pop, it's such a weird, weird record. it's got this uneasiness to it, even in what most people think are the calming tracks. the way it shifts moods from soothing to disturbing, contemplative to restless, etc., makes it such an interesting listening experience.

― Mark Clemente, Thursday, 10 January 2008 23:32 (5 years ago) Permalink

königsforst for me

-- omar little, Thursday, 10 January 2008 22:13 (1 hour ago)

― am0n, Thursday, 10 January 2008 23:38 (5 years ago) Permalink

pop just over königsforst 4 me

― sleep, Thursday, 10 January 2008 23:46 (5 years ago) Permalink

i'd be interested in hearing why voigt decided to discontinue the gas project

― Mark Clemente, Friday, 11 January 2008 00:16 (5 years ago) Permalink

Königsforst

― Mark Rich@rdson, Friday, 11 January 2008 00:41 (5 years ago) Permalink

if anyone goes out and buys all of these i'd hate to see their GAS BILL!!!! HAHAHAHAHHA

― s1ocki, Friday, 11 January 2008 01:27 (5 years ago) Permalink

oh man

i still laughed though

― Mark Clemente, Friday, 11 January 2008 01:50 (5 years ago) Permalink

Automatic thread bump. This poll is closing tomorrow.

― ILX System, Tuesday, 15 January 2008 00:01 (5 years ago) Permalink

these are so good.

Konigsforst for me, altho "Oktober" is pretty amazing. By the way, I don't think it was a 12" - it was released as part of the Raster-Noton 20 to 2000" series as a 3" CD in 5" plastic.

― sleeve, Tuesday, 15 January 2008 00:43 (5 years ago) Permalink

my mistake - discogs had it listed as a 12", but i've never actually seen the physical release so i wouldn't know. it is pretty amazing!

― Mark Clemente, Tuesday, 15 January 2008 00:56 (5 years ago) Permalink

i've only heard three of these, but based on that, Pop wins.

― the table is the table, Tuesday, 15 January 2008 01:10 (5 years ago) Permalink

probably my favorite music ever, i have to go with the s/t lp but really all of these are like 11/10

― winston, Tuesday, 15 January 2008 01:26 (5 years ago) Permalink

i'm pretty sure "moderne" is still in print; i see it often enough anyway.. the other stuff is mille plateaux and i don't think they've gotten around to reissuing anything since restarting last year or whatever

must mention the tal track that opens pop ambient 2002 and closes that harvest cologne comp.. beyond gorgeous...

All the mint stuff is absolutely essential too (there needs to be a comp of it)

― winston, Tuesday, 15 January 2008 01:33 (5 years ago) Permalink

oktember 12" = track one of the koningsforst cd issue + 20 to 2000 on the flip (i've never heard the 20 to 2000 cd -- so i'm assuming here)

― resolved, Tuesday, 15 January 2008 16:22 (5 years ago) Permalink

here's the discogs' link, fwiw.

― Mark Clemente, Tuesday, 15 January 2008 16:26 (5 years ago) Permalink

ha, selling for $80. i can't believe how much gas stuff sells for.

― Mark Clemente, Tuesday, 15 January 2008 16:27 (5 years ago) Permalink

well, prices LISTED on discogs are often a bit higher than the real value... oktember is one of the more expensive ones. if you look at the market price history for the 2xlps, there are a bunch offered at ridiculous prices but the ones that actually sell are priced much lower (altho still quite expensive)

― resolved, Tuesday, 15 January 2008 16:47 (5 years ago) Permalink

yea i think i saw one of the albums (in cd version) sell for $30 or $40 on amazon once, which is very expensive but not horribly so.

― Mark Clemente, Tuesday, 15 January 2008 16:57 (5 years ago) Permalink

Voigt's 20 to 2000 contribution, "20 Minuten Gas im November," was released under his own name, not as Gas, and was exclusive to the series. it was not the b-side of the "Oktember" 12"

― Mr. Hal Jam, Tuesday, 15 January 2008 17:08 (5 years ago) Permalink

I voted Pop; probably my favorite ambient album by any artist.

― rockapads, Tuesday, 15 January 2008 19:08 (5 years ago) Permalink

Zauberberg for $270

http://www.amazon.com/gp/offer-listing/B0000064R7/ref=dp_olp_2/105-0171235-9350048?ie=UTF8&qid=1200427715&sr=1-1

― Mark Rich@rdson, Tuesday, 15 January 2008 20:09 (5 years ago) Permalink

lol

― am0n, Tuesday, 15 January 2008 20:12 (5 years ago) Permalink

wow

― Mark Clemente, Tuesday, 15 January 2008 20:20 (5 years ago) Permalink

you'd think they would do the the favor of shipping it.

― Mark Clemente, Tuesday, 15 January 2008 20:21 (5 years ago) Permalink

i'd be interested in hearing why voigt decided to discontinue the gas project

That said, check out the MassStab and Studio 1 series because those are pretty great as well. Similarly minimal, but with dense patterns of samples instead of washes of sound.

― Bill in Chicago, Tuesday, 15 January 2008 23:59 (5 years ago) Permalink

Automatic thread bump. This poll's results are now in.

― ILX System, Wednesday, 16 January 2008 00:01 (5 years ago) Permalink

wow my gas bill joke just gets more and more prescient in hindsight. WOW

― s1ocki, Wednesday, 16 January 2008 00:01 (5 years ago) Permalink

i'm surprised there weren't more votes for zauberberg

― Mark Clemente, Wednesday, 16 January 2008 02:35 (5 years ago) Permalink

The first two tracks of Zauberberg back-to-back kill me. Highs not quite as high as Königsforst though. Pop is amazing but definitely its own thing. Also search All singles.

― Mark Rich@rdson, Wednesday, 16 January 2008 02:37 (5 years ago) Permalink

So is there anywhere one can buy Oktember at a reasonable price? It's not on the Kompakt site. And is Modern 12" only?

― toby, Wednesday, 16 January 2008 12:43 (5 years ago) Permalink

Mark- It's the third track on Zauberberg that really gets me. This album somehow manages to both creep me out and pacify me at the same time.

Also, the only way to suitably describe the last track is heavenly.

― lou, Wednesday, 16 January 2008 13:00 (5 years ago) Permalink

yea zauberberg is really bizarre, isn't it? you have the first and last tracks which are completely gorgeous - yea, heavenly, the third track (which is one of my favorite Gas tracks) which kind of envelopes you in this really calm way, but all the other tracks are downright creepy.

― Mark Clemente, Wednesday, 16 January 2008 14:29 (5 years ago) Permalink

the last track on konigsforst always makes me think of a sunrise because it sounds like a warped/looped "william tell overture", that waking-up music they use in cartoons

― am0n, Wednesday, 16 January 2008 15:37 (5 years ago) Permalink

i wonder if any classical heads can trainspot what pieces he samples

― am0n, Wednesday, 16 January 2008 15:42 (5 years ago) Permalink

I actually thought about e-mailing Alex Ross about Gas. He's probably pretty busy though.

― Mark Rich@rdson, Wednesday, 16 January 2008 15:57 (5 years ago) Permalink

Yeah, I was in the main room (arrived two hours early) and it was indeed amazing. I thought the visuals were fantastic, way more interesting than I'd ever have expected.

― toby, Tuesday, 2 June 2009 18:55 (3 years ago) Permalink

reinhardt: is that all the record do?
wolfgang: yeah bitch, that's all the record do

― moonship journey to baja, Tuesday, 2 June 2009 21:09 (3 years ago) Permalink

Gas
19:00, 21:00 / Wolfgang Voigt - one of the most influential figures in contemporary electronic music - brings a stunning audio-visual creation to the Barbican
16 October 2009
Cinema 1

^ Did you lot know about this already? Apologies if old news.

― Peinlich Manoeuvre (NickB), Wednesday, 9 September 2009 19:50 (3 years ago) Permalink

I keep this 4cd box close to William Basinski's Disintegration Loops because either one makes me want to listen to the other. Some day, Basinski should do disintegrating Gas loops.

― StanM, Saturday, 28 May 2011 21:33 (1 year ago) Permalink

the very high pitched sounds on pop bother me

― nuclear power, jet propulsion, radar, laser beams, cordless phone (abanana), Saturday, 28 May 2011 22:21 (1 year ago) Permalink

2nd half of pop >>>>>>> 1st half

― blank, Saturday, 28 May 2011 22:31 (1 year ago) Permalink

Yea. It's a lot more varied on the latter half and it has Untitled 4, which is by far my favorite Gas track.

― The Sunspots In Your Eyes Are Actually Cataracts, Mr. Rudich (AWALL), Sunday, 29 May 2011 11:14 (1 year ago) Permalink

2nd half of pop >>>>>>> 1st half

― blank, Sunday, May 29, 2011 1:31 AM (14 hours ago) Bookmark

OTM, in fact I figured this was so obvious that it barely needed to be said.

― NoTimeBeforeTime, Sunday, 29 May 2011 13:22 (1 year ago) Permalink

Why haven't I ever listened to this before???

― Sean Carruthers, Sunday, 29 May 2011 15:56 (1 year ago) Permalink

Just listened to the first one straight though and damn, so good. Only scored lower here b/c it's less heard I think.

― Mark, Tuesday, 31 May 2011 03:02 (1 year ago) Permalink

Pop is the first one I heard, and I still love it, but Königsforst will probably always be my fav

― Z S, Tuesday, 31 May 2011 03:17 (1 year ago) Permalink

someone gave me a cd of wolfgang voigt and it's all piano and kick drum and i really don't know what to make of it, except i recognise one of the tracks from something, it's just weird, like it makes me want to clean the house a lot

― Crackle Box, Wednesday, 1 June 2011 14:07 (1 year ago) Permalink

Gas is the only thing of his I've heard, afaic. Love it, but never felt compelled to start searching everything else yet.

― StanM, Wednesday, 1 June 2011 20:47 (1 year ago) Permalink

― are there any socks left that are not some kind of sub rosa markers (nakhchivan), Wednesday, 1 June 2011 21:12 (1 year ago) Permalink

Does anyone know why Voigt decided to change tracks number 1 and 3 on the first Gas album when it was released on Nah und Fern? And where do the new tracks 1 and 3 come from? Are they unreleased tracks from the same era, or stuff that was on the vinyls, or what? I just acquired the original CD of Gas, and track 3 especially is gorgeous, an epic cosmic groove that's crisper than anything on the latter Gas releases. It's a pity Nah und Fern got rid of those tracks; the replacements aren't bad, but the original CD might be the best Gas release of them all.

― Tuomas, Friday, 30 March 2012 09:27 (1 year ago) Permalink

Also, am I the only one who feels many Gas tunes, especially those on Zauberberg and Königsforst, are reminiscent of Arvo Pärt's compositions? There's kind of a similar sense of non-motion and solemn spirituality to them.

― Tuomas, Friday, 30 March 2012 17:40 (1 year ago) Permalink

I read an interview where he discussed samples, he was a little coy but did mention Schubert IIRC.

― mmmm, Friday, 30 March 2012 18:10 (1 year ago) Permalink

Yeah, I think the classical stuff he samples is way older than Pärt, but what he does with it feels similar to Pärt, at least to me. Pärt has several "cyclical" (don't know what the correct music theory term is here) compositions that remind of Gas's loops.

― Tuomas, Friday, 30 March 2012 18:16 (1 year ago) Permalink

reinhardt: is that all the record do?
wolfgang: yeah bitch, that's all the record do

2 1/2 years late, but LOLOLOL

― Clarke B., Sunday, 1 April 2012 00:00 (1 year ago) Permalink

Reinhardt has better beats, though.

― Tuomas, Sunday, 1 April 2012 19:58 (1 year ago) Permalink

― piano toilet (am0n), Thursday, 5 April 2012 21:46 (1 year ago) Permalink

Should I buy Nah und Fern if the only thing I've heard is Pop?

― Captain Jean-Luc Godard (Leee), Sunday, 3 June 2012 22:09 (11 months ago) Permalink

yes

― sleeve, Monday, 4 June 2012 03:10 (11 months ago) Permalink

Without reservation.

― Lil' Kim Philby (Call the Cops), Monday, 4 June 2012 06:34 (11 months ago) Permalink

You should, but be warned that the versions of Gas and Königsforst on Nah und Fern are slightly different/inferior to the original CDs, as discussed above. Track 5 of the Nah und Fern version of Königsforst has been inexplicably compressed, and sounds a lot less "deep" than the original version. Since the remastering was done by Jörg Burger (a long-time collaborator of Wolfgang Voigt), I can't imagine it's a mistake, but I have no idea why the change was done. And with Gas, the Nah und Fern version replaces tracks 1 and 3 of the original CD with totally different tracks... They're not bad, but IMO they're not as good as the originals either; the original track 3 is especially beautiful, a cosmic groover that's more reminiscent of old school ambient than of the slowed-down droney stuff on later albums.

Thankfully, after Nah und Fern came out, you don't have to pay crazy prices for the original CDs, so you can easily acquire the original Gas and Königsforst, if you want to hear those versions. And the Nah und Fern versions of Zauberberg and Pop are probably even better than the originals. They don't mess with the sound or the tracklist, but they extend a few of the originals; most obvious of these is track 6 of Zauberberg, which is over 3 minutes longer on Nah und Fern.

― Tuomas, Monday, 4 June 2012 09:10 (11 months ago) Permalink

That is the kind of comprehensive breakdown I have waited a couple years for...

― Lil' Kim Philby (Call the Cops), Monday, 4 June 2012 10:40 (11 months ago) Permalink

Even though it's nice that Nah und Fern provided those who didn't buy these albums in the 90s with a cheap way of acquiring them, I think it's kinda shitty that (as far as I know) Voigt/Kompakt never released any proper info on what tracks were changed, or why they were changed. (For a compilation like this, some liner noter by Voigt or Burger would've been more than welcome.) If you read the vague blurb on the Kompakt website, it kinda gives you the impression that they've added some extra tracks to the albums, there's no mention of the missing two tracks from the original Gas CD. And it also has this bit:

At the beginning of the re-release project, Wolfang Voigt thought about re-mastering all of the 4 GAS albums and make them more contemporary. JÖRG BURGER and WOLFGANG VOIGT started their adventurous mastering trip through the world of today's magic tools and plug-ins. Yet with growing amazement, BURGER/VOIGT diagnosed GAS' persistent, almost stubborn resistance against any "refreshing" attempts. For authenticity reasons, they then decided to preserve most of the original GAS sounds and versions.

...except that track 5 of Königsforst has gone through exactly the sort of digital "refreshing" they mention there; I guess that's why they say they decided preserve "most" of the original tracks.

― Tuomas, Monday, 4 June 2012 11:29 (11 months ago) Permalink

the packaging is cheesy, too.

― nerve_pylon, Monday, 4 June 2012 12:42 (11 months ago) Permalink

The Nah und Fern packaging is as deliberately obfuscatory as they come. Personally, I'd rather have two versions out there than one... makes life interesting. Plus you get to geek out on compression comparisons etc.

― Lil' Kim Philby (Call the Cops), Monday, 4 June 2012 12:49 (11 months ago) Permalink

I don't what's cheesy about the Nah und Fern packaging, I think it looks nice, and it's very much in line with packaging of last three Gas albums (the first one has 90s style abstract cover art instead of the nature photos). As for "geeking out" on comparing the different versions of the albums, I don't think that's the reason most people bought the comp. I'm pretty sure most people just wanted to have a reasonably priced compilation of albums that were out of print and ridiculously pricey on the second hand market, so it's a bit disappointing Voigt didn't give them that. I mean, I would kinda understand it if the remastering made everything sound different, then it would be a legitimate "reinterpretation" of the original material. But it isn't: that one track on Königsforst is the only one that has a notable sonic difference to the original material. So it feels kinda pointless to release a comp that's almost the same as the original albums, but not quite.

― Tuomas, Monday, 4 June 2012 13:02 (11 months ago) Permalink

We can only assume that he had personal issues with those tracks that vary.

― Lil' Kim Philby (Call the Cops), Monday, 4 June 2012 13:33 (11 months ago) Permalink

...except that track 5 of Königsforst has gone through exactly the sort of digital "refreshing" they mention there; I guess that's why they say they decided preserve "most" of the original tracks.

― Tuomas, Monday, June 4, 2012 7:29 AM

track 6 also sounds different

― shit_ebooks (am0n), Monday, 4 June 2012 15:37 (11 months ago) Permalink

We can only assume that he had personal issues with those tracks that vary.
― Lil' Kim Philby (Call the Cops), Monday, June 4, 2012 9:33 AM

george lucas syndrome

― shit_ebooks (am0n), Monday, 4 June 2012 15:38 (11 months ago) Permalink

track 6 also sounds different

Hmm, I haven't noticed much of a difference there... Maybe the low-pitched drone is a bit more in the forefront in the Nah und Fern version? The difference certainly isn't as noticeable as with track 5, though.

― Tuomas, Monday, 4 June 2012 19:37 (11 months ago) Permalink

the packaging is cheesy because it's cheap and flimsy, rather uninspired and one-dimensional (enlargements of outtake forest photos?), not nice to the CDs inside, and contains no liner notes or track info.

― the late great, Monday, 4 June 2012 19:42 (11 months ago) Permalink

Hmm, I haven't noticed much of a difference there... Maybe the low-pitched drone is a bit more in the forefront in the Nah und Fern version? The difference certainly isn't as noticeable as with track 5, though.

― Tuomas, Monday, June 4, 2012 3:37 PM

to me it is. on headphones i can hear what i can only describe as 'shitty digital reverb' added to the new version

― shit_ebooks (am0n), Monday, 4 June 2012 19:54 (11 months ago) Permalink

but you prob have to be listening for it or doing back to back comparison. like i didn't notice track 5 was different until you mentioned it and sure enough i hear it now

― shit_ebooks (am0n), Monday, 4 June 2012 19:56 (11 months ago) Permalink

i think the difference in sound is most notable in comparing the original s/t cd on mille plateaux to the nah and fern version

― the late great, Monday, 4 June 2012 20:01 (11 months ago) Permalink

if anybody wants i'll trade an unplayed nah und fern boxset for a s/t mille plateaux CD

― the late great, Monday, 4 June 2012 20:02 (11 months ago) Permalink

the packaging is cheesy because it's cheap and flimsy, rather uninspired and one-dimensional (enlargements of outtake forest photos?), not nice to the CDs inside, and contains no liner notes or track info.

Well yeah, but other than the CD-unfriendliness (and the only other way to squeeze 4 CDs into one package is the thick "wallet" case, which has its own problems), those things apply to the original albums as well. I agree that liner notes would've been nice, but maybe Voigt thought that would take away from the mysticism of the whole project? I mean, the original albums don't even say "written and produced by Wolfgang Voigt" or stuff like that, they just read "Musik - Gas", or "Musikkonzept: Wolfgang Voigt", as if Voigt merely came up with the concept, but the actual music is coming from somewhere else.

― Tuomas, Monday, 4 June 2012 20:05 (11 months ago) Permalink

if that's voigt's thinking then that's a weak excuse ... if he cared about mysticism he wouldn't release like 150 identical sounding 7"s

the original CD releases are not any cheaper or flimsier than any other jewel-cased CDs, but i'll tell you what, the nah und fern box is just about the flimsiest dance music reissue box i own ... i mean the pole reissue set were also more or less a no-brainer and that turned out 10x better

― the late great, Monday, 4 June 2012 20:10 (11 months ago) Permalink

i just remember getting the box and feeling very very ripped-off

― the late great, Monday, 4 June 2012 20:11 (11 months ago) Permalink

I'm not sure what you mean by "flimsy"? I bought the box soon after it came out, and it's still in almost pristine condition, even though I'm not known to be extra careful with records, and I've changed apartments in between. I didn't feel like I was being ripped off, since I got 4 hard to find records for the price of little over one regular CD.

― Tuomas, Monday, 4 June 2012 20:21 (11 months ago) Permalink

Are you guys really complaining about the little box these came in? Did you expect some giant "Goodbye, Babylon" wooden crate or something?

― Josh in Chicago, Monday, 4 June 2012 20:48 (11 months ago) Permalink

I got the s/t on German Amazon for €6 the other day.

― Lil' Kim Philby (Call the Cops), Thursday, 7 June 2012 05:54 (11 months ago) Permalink

If you check around, there are a lot of copies floating out there for less than 20 dollars...

― Lil' Kim Philby (Call the Cops), Thursday, 7 June 2012 05:55 (11 months ago) Permalink

Is the book/CD thing on RN worth having?

― Lil' Kim Philby (Call the Cops), Thursday, 7 June 2012 06:03 (11 months ago) Permalink

Yay got my <i>Nah und Fern</i>. ^_^

― Liz Leeemon (Leee), Saturday, 9 June 2012 23:07 (11 months ago) Permalink

After listening to the original Gas for a week solid, I am of the opinion that Voigt fucked with the legacy almost purely because track 3, good as it is, sounds so heavily influenced by Basic Channel.

― Lil' Kim Philby (Call the Cops), Tuesday, 12 June 2012 17:40 (11 months ago) Permalink

btw

― StanM, Tuesday, 12 June 2012 20:56 (11 months ago) Permalink