Wolfgang Voigt

As his Gas alias has ascended to legendary status since its last outing in 2000, Wolfgang Voigt has spent the better part of the last decade conspicuously absent from techno's mainstream. There have been a few singles here and there, but the Kompakt label founder whose vision so influenced the shape of '90s techno minimalism has otherwise been content to let others take the lead. Now comes Freiland Klaviermusik, a curious 13-track concept album that hearkens back to the kind of late '90s adventurism that was run-of-the-mill for Kompakt's experimental pre-cursor, Profan, the label that has incidentally been revived for this album and its preceding singles. Freiland Klaviermusik is stringently minimal in design, featuring only a deep throb for a beat and rolling piano dirges that liken the record to an evolution of early 20th century German classicists such as Arnold Schönberg. An uncompromised and individual statement coming at a time when the mnml set has diluted and commercialized minimalism for the club masses, this record isn't for everyone and has already chaffed the ears of quite a few reviewers with its singles. But for those who love their concepts grand and imbued with historical reference, Freiland Klaviermusik rewards repeatedly.