Gas: Nah Und Fern

Label: Kompakt

We try to avoid sticking compilations on this list, but every now and then something so special comes along, we would be derelict in not citing it. Gas’s Nah Und Fern is essential on so many levels – as a meticulously compiled box set, as a piece of important history, as pure entertainment. Box sets are a mixed blessing – bloated, expensive, unwieldy – and an electronic box set may seem even more daunting, but Kompakt’s 4-CD package of the complete works of Wolfgang Voigt’s immensely influential Gas is truly something special. Voigt is one of the most important figures in electronica, one of the leading forces in the birth of Cologne’s minimal-techno scene, which transformed dance music into a genuine cultural force. Here is Voigt’s work in the late 1990s, digitally remastered, mostly ambient but with subtle use of rhythms and loops to give the music an atmospheric, hypnotic edge. You don’t have to be a deejay or a club hound to love Gas; fans of Eno’s ambient work will love it too. Voigt later went on to found Kompakt, one of the world’s greatest labels – of any genre – and now finally have this long-awaited compilation of his finest work, with more than five hours of music! Absolutely indispensable in every way. (James)