Pop (Gas Album)

''Pop'' is the fourth album by German producer Wolfgang Voigt's Gas project, released in March 2000 by Mille Plateaux. Influenced by LSD experiences in a German forest and wanting to create a "pop sound" for his subculture of German techno, Voigt's music as Gas is characterized by looping layered orchestral samples over a bass drum, with his early work having somber atmosphere. ''Pop'' departs from this ambient techno sound in favor of ambient music that utilizes brighter musical elements with an emphasis on texture.

Critical reception of ''Pop'' has been generally positive, with some publications listing ''Pop'' among the best albums of the 2000s. After the release of ''Pop'', Voigt put Gas on hiatus for seventeen years until the release of '' Narkopop'' (2017), with ''Pop'' being reissued as part of the box sets '' Nah und Fern'' (2008) and ''Box'' (2016) during this time.

Background and release

Wolfgang Voigt is an electronic music producer from Cologne, taking part in German techno scene since the 1990s. Voigt co-founded the record label Kompakt with Michael Mayer and Jürgen Paape and has released over 150 records under dozens of aliases, the most well-known being Gas. Voigt's work as Gas drew upon his LSD experiences occurred in the German forest Königsforst and his desire to create a " pop sound" within his subculture. The name comes from Voigt's self-description of this music, characterized by looping layers of sampled orchestral music over a bass drum, as being "gaseous". All four albums produced under this name prior to its hiatus were released by Mille Plateaux, a Frankfurt-based electronica offshoot of Force, Inc. These albums were ''Gas'' (1996), '' Zauberberg'' (1997), '' Königsforst'' (1999), and ''Pop''.

''Pop'' was released in March 2000 by Mille Plateaux. Afterward, Voigt put Gas on hiatus for seventeen years before returning to it to produce '' Narkopop'' (2017). Gas's projects went out of print for a few years before the release of the box set '' Nah und Fern'' in June 2008, which featured all four albums and received positive reviews. ''Pop'' would also be included in the box set ''Box'' alongside ''Zauberberg'', ''Königsfort'', and the 1999 EP '' Oktember''. This box set was released on October 28, 2016, to critical acclaim.

Composition

''Pop'' is an ambient album with elements of new age that departs from ambient techno sound of Voigt's prior work as Gas. Gas' prior records sampled somber symphonic music over a low-frequency bass drum, while ''Pop'', in contrast, layers brighter mid- and high-frequency loops, ranging in musical purpose such as rhythm and melody, with nuances that create a "steady and sustained ambience". Gas' signature bass drum only appears on two tracks. ''Pitchfork'' likened the album to an "exercise in sonic texture", operating without the "linear motion" of prior Gas records and emphasizing timbre over melody and rhythm.

The first two tracks are nearly identical, using reversed crash cymbals, synthesizer passages, and raining. The third track features a downcast melody. These three tracks share a synthesizer drone that alternates between two pitches, paired with electronic effects that evoke warmth. The fourth track is the first to use the bass drum, paired with a chiming effect that AllMusic described as "simultaneously lulling and disquieting". The fifth track uses a warm layered drone, with a progression reminiscent of the first track of William Basinski's '' The Disintegration Loops''. The sixth track has an eerie tone evoked by its mixing of elements similar to the first three tracks. The seventh track is identical to the prior one, except paired with a bass drum.

Reception and legacy

Contemporaneous reviews were generally positive. AllMusic considered ''Pop'' "a crowning achievement for Voigt" and highlighted its rhythmic qualities and the nuances of its loops. ''Pitchfork'' found the album immersive and fascinating, recommending it to fans of Brian Eno's ambient projects and Aphex Twin's '' Selected Ambient Works Volume II''. ''Muzik'' wished ''Pop'' were in the music charts rather than "the poisonous banality we're accustomed to". After the release of ''Pop'', the Gas music project was put on hiatus for seventeen years until the release of '' Narkopop''. During this time, ''Pop'' was the most popular of Gas's albums. in late 2001, Kompakt released the first entry of the annual '' Pop Ambient'' series, which, according to ''Pitchfork'', was heavily influenced by the chime effect in the fourth track of ''Pop''.

The release of ''Nah und Fern'' led to retrospective commentary on ''Pop''. Critics generally considered ''Pop'' to be brighter than Voigt's other work as Gas. ''PopMatters'' found ''Pop'' placement at the end of ''Nah und Fern'' made its "relative...popness" contrast with the other albums, making the melodies more appreciable. Joshua Meggitt of ''Resident Advisor'' considered the first two tracks of ''Pop'' to be "some of the most beautiful music e hadheard". AllMusic felt the third track's melody and the fourth track's percussion were some of the few noticeable moments in the entire set. ''Pitchfork'' considered the album an "obvious entry point" for Gas's music. Three years after the release of ''Box'', ''Spectrum Culture'' deemed ''Pop'' "one of ambient's supreme achievements in sound design."

''Pitchfork'' ranked ''Pop'' the twelfth-best album of 2000, calling it "one of the year's most distinctive ambient releases". ''Pop'' was named among the best album of the 2000s by ''Resident Advisor'', ''Pitchfork'', and ''Fact''. In 2016, ''Pitchfork'' ranked it the eleventh-best ambient album of all time, calling it "Gas' most enduringly habitable sound world".

Tracklist

Notes

References

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Gas (musician) albums
2000 albums