Customer Reviews

Nah Und Fern

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4 star:		(1)
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When Mille Plateaux kicked the bucket in 2004, the four Gas albums under its auspices--Gas (1996), Zauberberg (1998), Königsforst (1999) and Pop (2000)--went out of print and began to sell for unthinkable prices. I bought them anyhow, and repeatedly argued with myself over whether I'd made a stupid move. I was $300 poorer, but the music was so special that perhaps the price tags made some sort of weird sense. Luckily this will all be moot for anyone patient enough to hold out for Nah und Fern, a remastered four-disc set containing all of Gas's full-length output for about half of what one CD used to cost alone.

There's no better time for Kompakt (co-owned by Gas, née Wolfgang Voigt) to share this with the world. Ambient music is gaining momentum, and Voigt's thumbprint is all over the work of Olaf Dettinger, Markus Guentner, The Field's Axel Willner, Yagya's Aalsteinn Gumundsson, and nearly everyone on 12k. Regardless of its historical importance, Nah und Fern contains some of the most breathtaking music in the entire ambient electronic canon. Voigt took classical music from composers like Wagner and melted it down into a deep, rich liquid, distilling it to its sonic essence. Often he would add a muted 50 Hz kick drum--more dreamy than clubby--to push the tracks forward; ironically, this only reinforced their sense of endlessness. But the reason Gas's work stands tall among the fold is because it doesn't simply create an atmosphere; these rivers of sound possess such luxurious depth that they seem to penetrate the skin and move throughout the body, such that the music isn't just lovely or enjoyable--it's actually therapeutic. One decade and several thousand ambient albums later, it remains a singular experience.

I have been waiting for this release and hoping that wolfgang voigt would remaster in my opinion some of the best ambient music on earth. This is Zauberberg,Konigsforst,Pop,and the self titled Gas releases in a cardboard box with sleeves for cases along with four case sized art prints of the cover with different shades of color. If you like what you hear on the samples you wont be dissapointed with the nice quality these cds give you. I listen to GAS music daily that is how good it is in my opinion. Wolfgang Voigt is trully a gifted artist and most anything on Kompakt label is good so check out their website and go to mp3s to hear samples. Take advantage of this while you can buy this now its a bargan!

Wolfgang Voigt is one of the cofounders of the German techno imprint Kompakt, and if you're familiar with its glistening electronica (a dominant and defining force this decade) you will grab this remastered boxset. Voigt's GAS project of the mid-late 90s was essentially one of the most important antecedents of ambient dubstep, and is visionary, beautiful music. Nah Und Fern is one of the boxsets of the year, and one of the greatest electronic releases of this decade.

Somehow, I have never even heard of Wolfgang Voigt and his work as "Gas", before I came across this set. As a major techno fan, I tend to buy most everything on the Kompakt label. I saw Nah und Ferm and decided it looked interesting. When I got home and put it on, I couldn't believe what I had been missing.

Although Voigt has won critical acclaim over the course of his career, he's still very much an "underground" artist - below many people's radar, even some hardcore electronic music aficionados, like myself. If you're in this group, "Nah und Fern" is an excellent way to introduce yourself to Gas (to be fair, buying the collected works of ANY artist is probably a good way to introduce yourself to them), as you get all four of his full length releases. You're on your own for his two 12"s, "Modern" and "Oktember."

Stylistically, Gas is a bit different than what one usually expects from a Kompakt CD, which should be no surprise seeing as these albums were originally released between 1996 and 2000. Beyond that, the music is not dance oriented in any manner. I suppose one could call it "drone" music, or something to that effect, but that seems too limiting. Aphex Twin's "Selected Ambient Works II" begins to give you an idea, but again, this comparison isn't that strong.

Gas creates sumptuous, undulating textures that seem to be at once stationary, and in constant flux. You can skip around the long tracks and things seem to never change, but when you're in the midst of the music, there is such a wealth of sonic information that it never becomes tiresome. One of the most interesting aspects of Voigt's music is the gentle rhythmic motion, which is incredibly similar to breathing. The music actually seems to inhale and exhale, which does two things: it lends the music a natural rhythmic structure that ties it closely to nature, and it aligns the attentive listener's breath rate with the music, thus lulling the listener into a state of deep relaxation and contemplation. It's really a remarkable effect, although it's difficult to imagine.

Occasionally, there are beats, but they're extremely minimal, repetitive, and they are far below the gaseous tonal clusters that define Gas's music. In this respect, it may not appeal to all fans of Kompakt-style techno. It's subtle music that demands your full attention. Anything less and it dissolves into the background. Some may find it difficult listening, but the majority will be enchanted by its serene beauty.

I highly recommend Gas to all fans of serious electronic music, and this collection is what you need. You get all the albums in a deluxe package, for essentially what you'd spend on two albums.

I've not noticed anyone else observe this fact: "Nah und Fern" *does* include Zauberberg, Koenigsforst and Pop. However, the first disc, labeled "Gas," is *not* the first Gas CD album. There are a few different versions of tracks that appeared on the first album, along with some tracks that I don't recognize (I own all of the original CD releases, but not "Oktember" [vinyl only release] or the vinyl LP releases which may have included different mixes). I think one track is actually a different version of a track from the second or third album. Sorry I don't have the details at my fingertips, but I don't have the recordings with me.

If you want a complete Gas CD collection, you will still need to track down the original first album release, or purchase the mp3s from Kompakt.

There is also an EP that predates the first album that can be found at the Kompakt site.

I bought "pop" when it was new and current based on reviews. I had enjoyed mat jarvis' em;t release as "Gas" and thought would be similar. I was disappointed. Though Voight's "pop" didn't have anything patently wrong with it, I failed to distinguish it from a hundred other "similar" ambient cd's I owned or had heard. It certainly didn't sound like the e;mit, but I just didn't get it. though both jarvis and voight can be labeled ambient, they are not related in any way. A friend of mine gave me voight's other Gas albums. I still didn't get it and thought they sounded too similar. I sold "pop" and gave back the other voight/gas cd's. I was really impatient and inflexible & didn't know/couldn't grasp I was in the presence of works of genius. between then and now, I consider myself as someone who has recovered his hearing. On buying this box --based on some of the user reviews here, I impulse rebought voight's Gas. maybe I've become more open-minded and honest --listening habits changed, etc.--, but this time there was immediate chemistry between me and these records. I rank this up there with anything in my 3000+ cd collection.

Customers need to know that the vinyl and CD versions of Nah und Fern are completely different. Since Amazon merged reviews of two different products with the name Nah und Fern, their product information update page doesn't contains fields that allow this particular issue to be corrected, and the editors' review doesn't clarify the issue either, I'm posting this review to let people know.

The reviewers' discrepancy is in the description of the vinyl version, which is now nearly impossible to find. *Not one of the vinyl tracks appears on the CD set and vice versa.*

The CD box set consists of reissues of Gas's first four albums (with the first album alone being remixed). All four albums have been remastered, which seems to bother listeners who feel the original releases were slightly less muddy. I owned all four albums before acquiring the box set and still do. While I know what people mean about the sound being more nebulous, I don't find that to be a problem on a series of ambient albums meant to be heard at/as a distance.

The LP consists of a completely new track titled "Nah und Fern," followed by remixes of Zauberberg, Koningsforst and Pop (Gas albums 2-4), in which familiar material is re-edited and remixed. Each of the four cuts takes up a single side.

The track "Nah und Fern" (A) has Gas's signature sound -- blurred etheric shifts over a kick drum in the distance -- but features two sustained high tones that move by half-steps. None of the other Gas tracks do this. It is also slightly more sinister than any of the other releases by Gas (including the 12" *Oktember* on Mille Plateaux, *Modern* on Profan, and the 3" Gas CD *20 Minuten Gas Im November/20' To 2000 November* on Raster-Noton).

The mixes/edits that follow (A2-B2) all use telescoping, and feature breakdowns and parts that weren't emphasized on the original cuts. The differences, like the original material, are subtle and might not even be noticed by a casual listener.

But for completists like me, who have loved nearly everything by Voigt under this pseudonym, those differences and that one new track will be enough reason to seek out the vinyl-only version.

If you own the first four Gas albums already, the CD box set might be redundant, whereas the vinyl version of Nah und Fern will be completely new, and will appeal to people who haven't the patience to listen to all four albums.

Here's track list of the LP (I've included the tracks' durations):

A: Nah Und Fern (10:12)
B: Zauberberg (14:05)
C: Königsforst (15:18)
D: Pop (14:54)

Let me be frank: Buy this album. If you like ambient music at all, you would be a fool to pass this up. All four classic Gas albums in a wonderful box package, what could be better? Purchase now before these albums become obscure again.

I once played the track "Four" off the Gas album "Pop" for a bunch of French friends, and one of them replied that there was no way he would ever be caught listening to, much less enjoying this music, even though I had played what I thought was the most accessible track in Gas' catalog. I guess it speaks to that stereotypical cultural division between French and German - one, warm, lively, melodic, whimsical; the other, cold, mechanical, sterile... Despite my friend's review, this is music that pulsates with life and energy, though the latter ranges from enveloping and blissful (see the first track from the self-titled album and "Pop") to menacing (see Zauberberg IV and V). Throughout, however, this is music (and I apologize if this has already been said many times about Gas) to get lost in. That pounding kick that appears in a lot of tracks somehow never gets old, perhaps because its buoyed by such gorgeous (although inscrutable) melodies. This music is rich with texture that crackles with age, but also has a grandeur that is reminiscent of Basinski's "The Disintegration Loops."

The self-titled album strikes me as the rawest, least polished of the four, but that also gives it an immediacy that the others sometimes lack. The second track combines that trademark Gas kick with textures that seem to shape shift in the air above, cloud-like. Modern transportation comes to mind. Repetition is obviously key to this music, but for all its mechanized touches, there's something very organic to it; the cover art of forests makes a lot of sense. Although my favorite track from the set is "Four" from "Pop," I usually find myself listening to Zauberberg, since I think it most seamlessly covers the range between the disparate tones and moods he often works within. While all the albums are excellent, I think "Pop" is the strongest departure from the other three, as it introduces textures that are more overtly natural (insects, running water), but he integrates these into his trademark sound with very interesting and pleasing results (see "7" off "Pop"). Like exploring a forest, there are always layers upon layers to this music, secrets to be found.

I have probably listened to "Pop" about 300 times or so. I put it on every night before I fall asleep. There are lots of ambient albums, but few that captivate you and make you feel truly relaxed. Even albums from Aix Em Klemm and Stars of the Lid (as much as I love them) usually contain that one louder track that shatters your reverie when you're feeling most calm.

I listen to "Konigsforst" and "Zauberberg" every so often, and have yet to listen to the S/T all the way through. K & Z are darker and more beat-driven than "Pop", but just as euphoric. What I like about "Pop" is its drugged-out, mysterious feeling. Although it was inspired by Voight's taking LSD in Germany's Black Forest, it sounds more like the deepest depths of the ocean to me, though I sometimes agree with his sentiments. The album puts me in a spiritual mood, working as a mind-expander that makes me think about the universe, all that has been, and all that will be. "Pop" clears your mind and at the same time, enraptures it. As soon as the bubbling sound of the first track comes on, all my worries simply melt away.

If you're a fan of SOTL, Biosphere, the Dead Texan, Loscil, Oval, you will like this album.