Gas (stylized as GAS or G A S) is the main musical project of German

electronic Electronic may refer to: *Electronics, the science of how to control electric energy in semiconductor * ''Electronics'' (magazine), a defunct American trade journal *Electronic storage, the storage of data using an electronic device *Electronic co ...

musician and composer

Wolfgang Voigt Wolfgang Voigt (born 1961) is an electronic music DJ and producer from Cologne, Germany, known for his output under various aliases, such as Gas. He signed on numerous record labels, including Warp, Harvest, Raster-Noton, Force Inc, Astral Indu ...

(born 1961). The project was created as an expressive medium inspired by his experiences with taking

LSD Lysergic acid diethylamide (LSD), also known colloquially as acid, is a potent psychedelic drug. Effects typically include intensified thoughts, emotions, and sensory perception. At sufficiently high dosages LSD manifests primarily mental, vi ...

in the

Königsforst ''Königsforst'' is the third album by Wolfgang Voigt's Gas project. It was released in December 1998 on the Mille Plateaux label. The album is named after Königsforst recreation park, near Voigt's hometown of Köln, in which his youthful exp ...

, a German forest situated near his hometown of

Cologne Cologne ( ; german: Köln ; ksh, Kölle ) is the largest city of the German western States of Germany, state of North Rhine-Westphalia (NRW) and the List of cities in Germany by population, fourth-most populous city of Germany with 1.1 m ...

, for long periods in his youth. He has claimed that the intention of the project is to "bring the forest to the disco, or vice-versa".

History

Wolfgang Voigt began creating music under the name of Gas starting in 1995, when he released the EP ''Modern'' on the label Profan. However, he has regarded individual pieces created from 1989 onward as being part of the Gas project, marked by a compiled 2008 release under his real name. A hiatus for the Gas project started after the release of '' Pop'' in 2000, but this concluded when in 2008, Voigt's own label

Kompakt Kompakt (Labelcode: LC 12012) is a Cologne-based electronic music independent record label and vinyl/CD distributor, owned by Wolfgang Voigt, Michael Mayer (musician), Michael Mayer and Jürgen Paape. They specialize in microhouse and minimal t ...

re-released all four of his Gas albums, albeit with subtle changes made to the tracks, as a four-CD box set entitled ''

Nah und Fern ''Nah und Fern'' (English: ''Near and Far'') is a boxed set collecting the four albums released by Wolfgang Voigt under the Gas alias between 1996 and 2000, released on 10 June 2008. An edited double vinyl edition was also released alongside the ...

''. A limited double vinyl version of the set was also released, with one track from each album per side. In 2016, Kompakt reissued '' Zauberberg'', ''

'', ''

Oktember ''Oktember'' is the second EP by German musician Wolfgang Voigt's Gas project. It was released in February 1999 on the Mille Plateaux ''A Thousand Plateaus: Capitalism and Schizophrenia'' (french: link=no, Mille plateaux) is a 1980 book b ...

'' and ''Pop'' as a 10-LP box set called ''

Box A box (plural: boxes) is a container used for the storage or transportation of its contents. Most boxes have flat, parallel, rectangular sides. Boxes can be very small (like a matchbox) or very large (like a shipping box for furniture), and can ...

'', again editing or expanding many of the tracks. Voigt has intermittently revived the project for remixes and released new Gas albums since, including ''

Narkopop ''Narkopop'' is the fifth studio album by Wolfgang Voigt's Gas project, the first album under the moniker in 17 years and his first on Kompakt. The album was released on 21 April 2017. Reception On the review aggregate site Metacritic, ''Narkopo ...

'' on April 21, 2017 and '' Rausch'' in 2018.

Musical style

Gas's music is primarily regarded as

ambient techno Ambient techno is a subgenre of techno that incorporates the atmospheric textures of ambient music with the rhythmic elements and production of techno. It was pioneered by 1990s electronic artists such as Aphex Twin, Carl Craig, the Black Dog, Pe ...

and

minimal techno Minimal techno is a subgenre of techno music. It is characterized by a stripped-down aesthetic that exploits the use of repetition and understated development. Minimal techno is thought to have been originally developed in the early 1990s by Detro ...

, combining

ambient music Ambient music is a genre of music that emphasizes tone and atmosphere over traditional musical structure or rhythm. It may lack net composition, beat, or structured melody.The Ambient Century by Mark Prendergast, Bloomsbury, London, 2003. It u ...

and 4/4

techno Techno is a genre of electronic dance music (EDM) which is generally produced for use in a continuous DJ set, with tempo often varying between 120 and 150 beats per minute (bpm). The central rhythm is typically in common time (4/4) and often ch ...

. It is the most abstract of Voigt's many projects, with albums consisting of several long untitled tracks. All Gas material shares a characteristic sound, based on a hazy ambient wash of drones and sampled loops, "barely-audible fragments of horns, strings, record hiss and wind", usually accompanied by a repetitive

four-on-the-floor Four-on-the-floor (or four-to-the-floor) is a rhythm pattern used primarily in dance genres such as disco and electronic dance music. It is a steady, uniformly accented beat in time in which the bass drum is hit on every beat (1, 2, 3, 4)."T ...

kick drum The bass drum is a large drum that produces a note of low definite or indefinite pitch. The instrument is typically cylindrical, with the drum's diameter much greater than the drum's depth, with a struck head at both ends of the cylinder. Th ...

. ''

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'' described it as "an outdoor rave, heard floating through the air from a neighbouring village". Voigt has declared it to be "GASeous music, caught by a bass drum just marching by, that streams, streams out through the underwood across the forest soil". He also said it "

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around in constantly overlapping loop structures" and "there is no definite start nor end". His live performances, which he performs using

MIDI MIDI (; Musical Instrument Digital Interface) is a technical standard that describes a communications protocol, digital interface, and electrical connectors that connect a wide variety of electronic musical instruments, computers, and re ...

controls and

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, have this same organic quality. He commented that he builds his tracks using samples, which are manipulated beyond recognition to create what can better be described as textural environments than songs. He described the technique as "a certain kind of loops and reverse, and alternated reverses, which has no ending and no start, and it's just totally confusing". Most of the time there is no clear musical progression in a Gas track and, because it lacks any trace of orthodox melody or chord change, many would not describe it as musical.Voigt has responded directly to this statement in this

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article in an interview with online music journal ''Globecat'':

Q: In your Wikipedia entry, whoever wrote it says: "Because Gas music lacks any trace of melody or chord change, many would not describe it as *musical*." How would you respond to the writer of the article -- and where do you personally draw the line between "musical" and "non-musical," if there is such a line?

A: I think the boundaries between "musical" and "non-musical" are in a state of flux. Otherwise, I do not really care about any "musicality" related to GAS. Emotions, structure, aesthetics are more important to me. Melodies in the classical sense are not supposed to be in GAS, although they exist, as hidden and overlayered as the chord changes. But you have to notice them.

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 Wilhelm Richard Wagner ( ; ; 22 May 181313 February 1883) was a German composer, theatre director, polemicist, and conductor who is chiefly known for his operas (or, as some of his mature works were later known, "music dramas"). Unlike most op ...

and

Arnold Schoenberg Arnold Schoenberg or Schönberg (, ; ; 13 September 187413 July 1951) was an Austrian-American composer, music theorist, teacher, writer, and painter. He is widely considered one of the most influential composers of the 20th century. He was as ...

Discography

All Gas tracks are untitled, except the ''Modern'' and ''Oktember'' releases.

Albums

*''Gas'' (1996) –

Mille Plateaux ''A Thousand Plateaus: Capitalism and Schizophrenia'' (french: link=no, Mille plateaux) is a 1980 book by the French philosopher Gilles Deleuze and the French psychoanalyst Félix Guattari. It is the second and final volume of their collaborativ ...

*'' Zauberberg'' (1997) – Mille Plateaux *''

'' (1998) – Mille Plateaux *'' Pop'' (2000) – Mille Plateaux *''

'' (2017) –

*'' Rausch'' (2018) – Kompakt *''Der Lange Marsch'' (2021) – Kompakt

EPs

*''

Modern Modern may refer to: History * Modern history ** Early Modern period ** Late Modern period *** 18th century *** 19th century *** 20th century ** Contemporary history * Moderns, a faction of Freemasonry that existed in the 18th century Phil ...

'' (1995) –

Profan Kompakt (Labelcode: LC 12012) is a Cologne-based electronic music independent record label and vinyl/CD distributor, owned by Wolfgang Voigt, Michael Mayer and Jürgen Paape. They specialize in microhouse and minimal techno, and are known for ...

*''

'' (1999) – Mille Plateaux

Singles

*"Zeit" (2020) –

Compilations

*''

'' (2008) –

*''

'' (2016) –

Remixes

*Love Inc. – "Hot Love (Gas Mix) (1995) *Markus Guentner – "Regensburg (Gas Mix)" (2002) *The Field – " Cupid's Head (Gas Ambient Mix)" (2014) *

Robyn Robin Miriam Carlsson (born 12 June 1979), known as Robyn (), is a Swedish pop singer, songwriter, record producer, and DJ. She arrived on the music scene with her 1995 debut album, ''Robyn Is Here'', which produced two Billboard Hot 100, ''Bil ...

Kindness Kindness is a type of behavior marked by acts of generosity, consideration, rendering assistant or concern for others, without expecting praise or reward in return. Kindness is a topic of interest in philosophy, religion, and psychology. Kin ...

– "Who Do You Love (Wolfgang Voigt GAS Mix)" (2016)

Footnotes

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Gas (Musician) 1961 births German electronic musicians Ambient musicians Living people Techno musicians