Twenty-five years after its original release, Markus Guentner‘s landmark debut album In Moll returns in a definitive 25th Anniversary Edition on Black Knoll Editions. Today, Guentner shares In Moll 3, the album’s most echoing and propulsive piece, as the latest track to be released from the anniversary edition. It follows the release of In Moll 4, a piece omitted from the album’s original vinyl pressing and now presented on vinyl for the first time.
Where much of In Moll drifts, In Moll 3 pulses. A persistent four-on-the-floor kick drum sits dry and plain at the front of the mix while shimmering chimes and deep synth washes echo into the distance behind it. For Guentner, In Moll 3 reflects the influence of GAS (Wolfgang Voigt’s ambient project), particularly in its attempt to capture a certain atmosphere and emotional quality.
“I think In Moll 3 definitely shows my love for GAS more than any other track I’ve made,” says Guentner. “Back then, it was really interesting for me to bring a 4/4 kick drum into an ‘ambient environment.’ When I started making it, I was thinking about the ‘feeling’ and ‘atmosphere’ that GAS gave me with some of his releases. But I didn’t want to copy him (there’s no way I could anyway, because of the complexity)… It was more like a challenge to capture that emotion that always grabbed me when listening to GAS.”
The track has drawn praise since the album’s first release. Andy Kellman of AllMusic wrote that it “features a persistent thump amidst puffy atmospherics and subtle layers of shimmering chimes; only the most dedicated fan wouldn’t mistake it for a prime Gas production.” Ambient Exotica called it Guentner’s “darkest, eeriest, most echoey offering,” praising the contrast between the dry, plain bass drum and the distant, echoey synths: “These anticlimaxes work flawlessly, making Track #3 an awe-inspiring Ambient Dub track.” In Moll 3 also appeared on Kompakt’s recent Connecting the Dots series, curated by electronic artist oskø (Max Hytrek), who counts In Moll among his favourite albums.
IN MOLL (25th Anniversary Edition) is scheduled for release 6 November via Black Knoll Editions. Buy a vinyl copy from Inverted Audio Record Store.
