Coming on like the smell of dry ice mingling with the mulch of rotting leaves in Autumn, Wolfgang Voigt’s atmospheric tribute to the forests surrounding Cologne is a feast for the senses. Since 1996, the Gas project has been one of the Kompakt founders’ more prominent ventures. While much of the seminal work was reissued eight years ago on Nah Und Fern, Kompakt have decided to revisit this bewitching techno fairytale once more with an expansive, loud-cut pressing.

It’s a project that warrants such treatment, with the true magic of Voigt’s creation becoming apparent in the subtle detail that a decent system can bring. A constant feature above the muffled 4/4 kick drums and billowing, shapeless melodic swells is the minuscule crackle of static, approximating the clamouring rustle of trees with needlepoint precision. Such touches mark out the depth in this most immersive of music – touches that would be lost without the correct means of listening.

Both chilling to the core and strangely comforting, Gas is the embodiment of electronic music that exists in an emotionally ambiguous state. Equally, it hasn’t aged in 20 years, lingering outside the trappings of time, much like the trees that inspired it in the first place.

Oli Warwick