Wolfgang Voigt - already well-known musician, co-founder and co-owner of the label Kompakt, desperate techno-producer unexpectedly prepared and made a very unusual, and in fact very odd release on one of the most actual today's labels raster-noton. At once I can say that this release took its honorable place on my shelf in one line with other masterpieces of experimental music. This release is a book, or more exactly photoalbum-book a little bit larger than A4 format. Under the dust cover hide about 60 pages with ambient photos of forest, they are a little bit fuzzy, indistinct and when first seen they seem to be repetitive. But these are only first impressions until music starts playing. After several times you listen to the album you start understanding both the photos and the concept of this release.The additional disc (also intentionally hidden inside the book's secret storage) contains only 5 compositions - "Der Wald", "Das Moor", "November 89", "Nah Und Fern", "Tal 90". In English they are translated as - forest, bog, close and faraway… All the compositions are extremely long - more than 10 minutes of sounding, and the most interesting fact is the dates of their creation - 1989, 1990, 1992 and 1998. They sound so that you can't say exactly when they were recorded, very skillful, delicate mastering was made by the German mastering-engineers.
Compositions sound one by one in their own intricate succession so that it becomes absolutely obvious that these are really the elements of one general picture. Damped, overflowing sounds - but this is not quite ambient, this is the true sound-design based on the ambient fundamentals. All is so experimental and breathtaking that it evokes pleasant, warm feelings of surprise - nobody has listened Wolfgang Voigt in such unusual form. Music here has nothing similar to Gas - but the hypnotic effect impresses greatly. Probably we can get acquainted with the reverse side of the compositor's creativity, all music here is filled with the uncommon compositor's solutions. It's absolutely possible that this work will disappoint Gas's fans or, on the contrary, will interest them more, but I doubt that anybody will stay indifferent. This record would have no sense without this magic book. Watching the photos and deepening into them listening to the slow music you can really get to the world of surrealism, to the German genius's roots.
Associations with music - autumn, Cologne, fog, dampness, smoke of factories and plants far off, rushing of trains that pass through and the city lights. Should be listened strictly early in the morning in autumn, when alone and by the appropriate weather.
- raster-noton