GAS - Narkopop (Kompakt)

"From Ancient Greek ναρκόω (narkóō, “I put to sleep”); in terms relating to drugs, it is a back-formation from narcotics, which ultimately derives from the same source.

narco - Pertaining to stupor, sleep, or a state of unconsciousness."

It was never been easy to write about Kompakt records. Why? Because there is certain trigger in your brain, that responds when you sense that "Kompakt" marker. Like when you see that fast food chain "MCcsomething", and ultra famous water + sugar drink "Coke Cola". You know what it is. And you know it is good. As a label Kompakt wasn't first who tried to play the game of pop-consumerism and underground music, art and media, all under one roof, one banner. but they are only one who, in mine humble opinion made it. They were the first who walked that fine line and still walking.


        

But most of us wouldn't never hear or become the witnesses of super-global success of Kompakt if there weren't Wolfgang Voigt's GAS project. Voigt even said: " GAS is the vision of a sonic body between Schönberg and Kraftwerk, between French horn and bass drum. GAS is Wagner goes glam rock, and Hansel and Gretel on acid. GAS is there to take you on a seemingly endless march through the under woods - and into the discoteque - of an imaginary, nebulous forest."
I would not spend my time on writing the history of Herr Voigt and Kompakt, you can do it on your own. But have to mention GAS. try to imagine the sound of walking through the woods, and imagine the trees that making a symphony, that tree over there is violin, that tree is the trumpet, and so on. And of course there is conductor and compositor all in one person: Wolfgang Voigt. GAS changed the face of ambient music, it gave that wagnerian feel, that sense of epic and greatness - not a wallpaper or elevator music.


                           

When you hear previous albums like Pop, Königsforst, or Zauberberg, you will, I guarantee, you will see ambient music presented as a art form, or even it would transcendent the experience of "plain old records listening". It will push you more and more into the "forest".


                           


First of all I know my words sound so grandiose, and there is a fact that I am the fan (not the fan, but fanatic), and it all sounds like I want to sell you something, so hard.
No, just walk away. And when you find the right time, put Narcopop on, and you be the judge, like you always are. Like a guy who has listened GAS for some years, maybe the greatest difference between these records, is that simple, minimalistic kick-drum, but once melodies get into your nervous system it will become part of the "forest", like your footsteps when you walk. and that is another magic of this album, everything has its part, just like in opera, every step, word, sound... everything has its part and purpose. And here we have magic.

Maybe I didn't tell you everything i know, I didn't made strong point here, or maybe this isn't review at all. I just follow the old path through the forest...
 

Darth Vutrax - Battlecruisers In Starlight (Krv! Produkcija)

LO-FI psychedelic space warmongering bard is back! I When this space traveler/warrior/musician visited us, some of use took the opportunity to listen and review his strange, minimal music, and the writer of this lines was mesmerized (for non-serbo-croat readers, sorry, It was my transitional period from my native language to English) with the material that was in his (bloody) hands. His album Intergalactic or No Galactic At All was combination of weird space sounds, ethno instrument, supersonic flute, made of rarest Ulgharis wood, and atmosphere from distant worlds.


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That was then, now let us hear/see what a couple of light years spend all over the Galaxy, and all that experience has brought us. If first album was all about dark atmosphere of deep space traveling and first contact with us, now this EP is little more coherent then album. Opening track is  of imperial march, a soundtrack for all the fallen ones in the battle for Cerni XIV, called The Fall of Cerni Xiv, with usage of some strange flute-like instrument. cause maybe those warriors will rise again and defend their planet. It is only beginning.

Cosmic Demon revelations is track of madness if you ever find yourself somewhere in depths of Universe, and summoned demon show itself in front of your eyes. cause my knowledge of  language of Urgalis people is not worth to be mentioned, I could only imagine what was going on there.
But track is, if you keep your ears open and concentrate on the music, you will hear quite realistic interplanetary battle, I guess between multidimensional demon and our bard - with lo-fi synth sounds that follows the battle, like a flag that our ancestors use in their own battles - but without iron and steel, instead there is high tech space materials, and far advanced tech. Like some strange machine or computer wrote a diary of the epic battle. Quite dramatic. Like an Aphex Twin's track - you can't lay in your sofa, nor you can dance to it. You can only focus your senses on the sounds, and listen archetype myth, of confrontation between monster and some humanoid being.


My favorite track is Towards the Great Attractor is pure sonic synth orgy. Like the engines of the ship sings and star ship's computer are singing in syncopation, as they and their passenger are approaching something with great gravitational force. This tune, will be a cherry on the top on my next ambient/electronica mix, that is for sure.

And the forth track actually is evidence that Blues, in it's classical form, is space:time phenomenon. track called continuum . "OH, Urgalis (Jewel of Universe), explicitly shows that homesick and existential crisis is not only Human thing.
It is universal feeling, which serves as beacon for all creatures of Universe, to show us where The Source of all things is... at least we all must search for it, even to give our physical bodies in search for it. And as I said, Blues is one of the great pylon for a beacons of light in the darkness.
But I must confess, I guess that bard made this EP very fast, while he was on course to Earth. He put the musical standard bar so high with his first (at least for earthlings), and if you really want to see genius true of Darth Vutrax, I recommend his album, but in the meantime this will keep us warm/cold, until his return.