Wolfgang Voigt's GAS Project: the Poll

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

yes

Without reservation.

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.

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

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.

the packaging is cheesy, too.

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.

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.

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

...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

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

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.

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.

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

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

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

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

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.

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

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

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.

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

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

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

Is the book/CD thing on RN worth having?

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

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.

btw

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0fuvRcjRLog

What album by another artist would you suggest if I'm looking for something similar to this?

KOMPAKT Pop Ambient poll

a couple of the kompakt pop ambient collections, maybe? especially 2007. not all of them are good but 2007 is really beautiful, one of the best imo, and there is even a GAS track on there -- "nach 1912", and it's one of my favorite voigt pieces.

other stuff that also has that ominous, menacing, and really unnerving feeling, imo, is some philip jeck. i was just listening yesterday to the the first tune off jeck's album 7 called "wholesome" and its just spectacular and really minded me of GAS. "wholesome" is not particularly ominous in any way, its gorgeous, but a lot of other philip jeck stuff is certainly pretty foreboding and has a similar feel to some of the darker GAS tunes. i had some other jeck stuff on shuffle yesterday (sands and some others) and i'm thinking that if you like voigt you might like jeck.

also, maybe this one vladislav delay album, "multila"? (i'm not hugely familiar with the other delay albums)

if you're looking stuff in a similar world to the 4/4 beat GAS songs, i'd also recommend maybe some basic channel. when i first got into GAS i felt like i could listen to spacey ambience w/ a minimal 4/4/ beat for hours and hours and hours, and i did!

try some yagya (aka Aðalsteinn Guðmundsson)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MYB0gCOjzgc

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7ogGBfGvzQ0

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CH_9qXmVf4k

when the field debuted 'from here we go sublime' he mentioned in a lot of interviews how heavily influenced he was by voigt/GAS, but tbh i never really felt there were huge sonic similarities, and i definitely never felt like the field was ever in the same ballpark as GAS as far as quality goes

i forgot about yagya! wow, beautiful, especially that snowflake 7 tune. totally in this vein.

if you guys are familiar with paxahau, the internet radio station based in detroit, they used to play a TON of this kind of stuff, and i just had that station playing all the time. i haven't listened in years so i don't know what kind of stuff they're still playing.

you might like the album shenzhou by biosphere.

really surprised that no one in the world of music criticism has connected the dots between the gas LPs and the music of german electronic pioneer roland kayn. especially his late 70s works like "infra", which have the same submerged, womb like ambience as the darker gas tracks. i mean, throw a high-pass kick drum under this kayn piece and you have it:

http://rootstrata.com/rootblog/wp-content/uploads/2011/01/Nastie-excerpt.mp3

also for more modern stuff that's similar, check the first porter ricks CD on chain reaction...

or fluxion.

imho pop has too much light but 6 and 7 is what I expect to listen once I get admitted to heaven.

OK this Yagya stuff is like woah.

this whole global systems silently moving (rod modell?) album is a decent enough GAS ripoff
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cjsopzdExzE

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, June 12, 2012 12:40 PM

i tend not to think this for some reason when i'm not actually listening but zauberberg is super basic channelly on any track w/ a beat

to me, basic channel is all about the electronic pulse and the squiggle, whereas gas is super earthy magic mushroom music.

^might finally tip me over into giving gas another go

generally sure maybe but i think the first b.c. comp and zauberberg are not far from each other in terms of that distant yet somehow space-filling wooz of sound

i would say that "port gentil" by porter ricks is the exact midpoint between gas and basic channel

...or perhaps it just illuminates your point that bc and gas aren't far apart.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fWlGppXEc2I

track 3 on zauberberg is astonishing, i used to listen to that on loop for hours