Catalunya Calling

Wolfgang Voigt

Gas, Kompakt, Cologne

Looking for the perfect beat. Few people have done their research as seriously as Wolfgang Voigt. One of Kompakt's (Cologne's techno empire for those who might not know) founders as well as a mentor and an on-going source of inspiration for peers like Michael Mayer, Superpitcher or his brother Reinhard Voigt, he is an eloquent and often heard voice in a genre that is usually much more ‘minimal’ about its public expression. Using more pseudonyms then Alexandria's library has bookshelves (Mike Ink, Studio 1, Freiland, Wassermann or Gas are just some of them), this proud burgher from Cologne has been hunting high and low in all of the various woods electronic music offers. Along the chase, Voigt developed a passion for conceptual work and highbrow commentary. He coined minimal techno with seldom heard precision and cold winter's day ambiance (Studio 1), rethought rave (Wassermann) or secured himself a place in the feuilleton with his reference-heavy pop-culture project Gas. Evolving around citations from the works of Richard Wagner, Thomas Mann, T.Rex and Queen while staying an ambient-loving technocrat, Voigt created a world of its own. Jumping Jack Flash, anyone?