mike ink's (?) GAS project: classic or dud.

So anyway, yeah, I love Gas. Gas is a gas. I only have Zauberberg and Pop, but those are great, great. Also his track on the In Memorium Gilles Deluze comp. on Mille Plateaux -- the best of that bunch. The opening organ drones on Zauberberg can make me cry if I'm in the right mood -- that's what I hoped Popol Vuh would sound like when I read about them in Baddaboom Gramaphone. Sacred music.

I've only downloaded about 30 MP3s in my life, but 3 of those are Mike Ink tunes, which I like (I think one is called "Jingle Bells.") Any club kids want to offer any suggestions there? Is Mike Ink the goods on the dance floor?

pop is the only one i'm overly familiar with outside of the tracks on deluze and mods and trans 4. ian penman had a review in the wire when pop came out which pretty much nailed the concerns i had: "virgin pure" vs. "vergin bland", how much does this stuff differ from teutonic new age?, couldn't we just tart it up a bit on occasion? (yes, i know that's not voight's intention, but it's much the same problem i have with pole...the tenative line between narco- hypnosis and complete negligibility.) it's a risk that all ambient- style music runs, the tension between "furniture music" and being active listening, losing the listener completely via boredom rather than contemplation. it's probably a topic we've broached and needs more space than i can give. a guy who came into the store today called it "electronic classical mood music" so there ya go.

And wouldn't it more properly be called "Wolfgang Voight's Gas Project"?

pedant. ;)

These questions assume that all who follow music passionately hate new age, an unspoken given since the late 80s. Most people say that modern ambient music has a tension that 80s new age lacked. The latter was about placid relaxation, while the former has a darker thread that makes it more complex, sophisticated, etc. I’m not so sure. In any case, Gas’ Pop is the perfect record for such a discussion, because those first few tracks have zero tension and much relaxing surface beauty (things change as the record progresses, though.)

Personally, I think there is something to the idea that some Kranky artists and folks like Gas really are new age for the discriminating young record buyer. That is, I don’t think they are all that different. Maybe it’s more important for people to own up to liking some qualities of new age than come up reasons why Windy & Carl or Labradford are so different than Mark Isham. This is probably all material for another thread, sorry, just trying to entertain myself here at work.

Omar – I’d start with Zauberberg, yes. It will introduce you to the signature Gas sound, which changed considerably for Pop (but stayed just as good.)

Sorry about the pedantic quip.

Is Gas material getting a little less murky? Crackle and hiss were an everpresent feature of WV's work around the time of "Zauberberg", but what I've heard of the later stuff seems cleaner.

Hope to contribute further later on.

Pedant Pedant Pentax is Wolfgang's brother Reinhard.

Is the first Gas record any good?

Wolfie must surely bear a significant influence on several producers, Cologne and elsewhere. This ranges from acid house to ambient. From what I can tell, Markus Guentner is the most directly influenced ambient-wise. (His record is greight, btw.) However, the W. Voigt tracks that have popped up on the various Kompakt compilations -- as Mint, All, and Tal, if I'm not mistaken -- have pretty much stuck to the beatless/throbless ambient side.

A rough attempt at listing all of his aliases: All, Audio 1, Burger/Ink (w/ J. Burger), Dextro NRG, Filter (not that Filter), Freiland, Gas, Grungerman, Mike Ink, Klar, Love Inc, M:I:5, Mint, Planet Lovecore, RX7, Sculpture (w/ J. Burger), Stardate 1973 (w/ J. Burger and Walker), Strass, Studio 1, Tal, Vinyl Countdown, WV. He has started just as many labels, it seems.

I totally agree with Mark re: new age. I wouldn't doubt that there are several records filed in the new age section at Borders that eerily resemble what snobs like us refer to as grate ambient/experimental techno. Most of us only know new age through commercials for those Pure Moods comps, or those environmental CDs that they stock next to the candy rack at gas stations.

When does ambient become new age? What ingredients turn empty background music into something more? Where does Gas fall?

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Well I have been thinking a bit about this since the postman made me very happy with Total 2 und 3 and Pop Ambient 2001. I'll sort of try some thoughts out, mind you I'm not sure about this yet. A sociological answer would, depending on its degree of constructivism, state something like there is no inherent difference in the music but it all comes down to packaging, our own expectations and history as listeners, the way we handle certain taste-taboo's.

Examples: there's this track on Total 2 which is pretty much a J-M Jarre rip-off. Now Kompakt is a cool German label for minimal techno so we 'en masse' accept this track as nice music, where I reckon most of us will probably not admit liking Jarre (I'll admit here that I indeed have all his albums up to Zoolook but keeping quiet on having enjoyed his music). Anyway, have you noticed that when deviding 70s synth /ambient groups this is done with what I suspect are mostly non- musical reasons. Kraftwerk = cool, because German, written into history by black producers as important influence. Eno = cool, theorizes his music for detached functional uses, down with Talking Heads, used to be in Roxy etc. Tangerine Dream = on the fence, but we can say we like them because part of kosmisch German cool. Vangelis = barely on the fence but he did the Blade Runner soundtrack. Jarre = shite, because he gives big concerts.

Anway, one way to verify this would be doing blindfolded tests, but I suspect we would still force our expectations on our judgements. I for one find it almost impossible to hear music absolutly free of all these pre-defined meanings (probably happens best when you are a child and on the dance floor when rushing the first couple of times, after that you built in expectations on that experience, yeah?).

To bring it back to Gas. I know for a fact I will like 'Zauberberg' before I hear it. This Heidegger-on-the-mountain-with-a- sampler/Thomas Mann/Nietzsche-wandering-in-contemplation vibe it gives off just fits too well into things that interest me. One wonders if 'Zauberberg' was called 'Music for ya Chakra's Vol.III', put in a cover with say a Pink Buddha we would discussing it here.

Anyway, nothing to worry about in a "I am a hypocrite" way, since we the love of the music is genuine, just a more complex play of meanings than just "liking-it-because-it-sounds-nice". Of course I have some doubts about the degrees we "construct" music. I for one love to "read" music into being, there are plenty of people who don't do this but probably use different strategies to "construct" the music they like. Any thoughts?

Which one?

I'm catching up with Gas and at the moment Koningsforst is my favorite esp. the 5th track. I'm flashing slow approaches to a giant forest planet or just some archetypical forest of the unconscious. It's holy/awe-full music isn't it?

Is the self-titled album very different from the post-Zauberberg stuff?

Where does Oldfield fit in?

Uncool...he plays guitar. ;)
Shall we start a Mike O. revival?

But wait The Orb used to play Hergest Ridge during their early DJ-sets in what was it? Heaven? So cool after all. :)

Ha! I searched this thread to comment on this very track. Just picked up Koningsforst over the weekend & now I'm deep inside it & yes, this track is so great. It starts w/ one dark evil string loop that repeats & then as it develops, this sacred organ chord keeps trickling in until it takes over the loop by the end & then it sounds safe and happy. I keep humming it here at work.

Is there an All full-length?

"To put it crudely: artists like Gas and lots of Kranky acts are into sound as intoxicating ether, whereas as (I feel like) New Age artists are into creating a soundtrack for elevating your chi."

i think this is THE KEY DIFFERENCE. the pop ambient people are more into "sound as sound" whereas new age seems to be "cheeseblind" or uninterested in invoking sounds from their synths that don't sound syrupy and cheesy as hell. maybe i haven't heard enough new age, but none that ive heard sounds as hypnotic and vast as the pop ambient stuff.

i really need to stop posting when i'm stoned