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2LP
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R-N 133LP
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Gatefold 2LP version. Alva Noto's (Carsten Nicolai) Univrs follows on from and develops the concept of the album Unitxt (R-N 095CD/LP). Whereas the focus of Unitxt was on the processing of rhythmic patterns ("unit" = unit of measurement, element) and information ("txt" = data, language), with Univrs the focus is on the conceptual differentiation of a universal language ("universum/universal" = unity, entirety). The 14 tracks on Univrs have evolved from a live context, hence, the approach is more continuous and dense. For the track "Uni Acronym," Alva Noto works again with the French vocal artist Anne-James Chaton. The track is based on a number of 208 three-letter acronyms (set in alphabetical order), creating a random narrative. The audio-visual performance of Univrs is based on the real-time manipulation of software-generated test images by audio signals. A customized hardware box triggers the video signal according to the value of the audio signal. The resulting color patterns change constantly without repetition. The visualization of Univrs (Uniscope Version) -- an expanded screen projection setup -- on a digital level combines a variety of modules demonstrating different methods of audio analyzing. The resultant signal processing is shown as a relay structure and is performed in real-time. Each module can be zoomed in on the expanded screen, enabling greater visual detail. The Univrs (Uniscope Version) was developed with the Touchdesigner software in close cooperation with Derivative in Toronto, Canada. Alva Noto would like to thank Anne-James Chaton for his on-going inspiration, Martin L. Gore for providing a sample for the track "Uni Rec," and Daniel Miller for advice and support. The album was mastered by Rashad Becker at Clunk, Berlin.
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CD
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R-N 133CD
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Alva Noto's (Carsten Nicolai) Univrs follows on from and develops the concept of the album Unitxt (R-N 095CD/LP). Whereas the focus of Unitxt was on the processing of rhythmic patterns ("unit" = unit of measurement, element) and information ("txt" = data, language), with Univrs the focus is on the conceptual differentiation of a universal language ("universum/universal" = unity, entirety). The 14 tracks on Univrs have evolved from a live context, hence, the approach is more continuous and dense. For the track "Uni Acronym," Alva Noto works again with the French vocal artist Anne-James Chaton. The track is based on a number of 208 three-letter acronyms (set in alphabetical order), creating a random narrative. The audio-visual performance of Univrs is based on the real-time manipulation of software-generated test images by audio signals. A customized hardware box triggers the video signal according to the value of the audio signal. The resulting color patterns change constantly without repetition. The visualization of Univrs (Uniscope Version) -- an expanded screen projection setup -- on a digital level combines a variety of modules demonstrating different methods of audio analyzing. The resultant signal processing is shown as a relay structure and is performed in real-time. Each module can be zoomed in on the expanded screen, enabling greater visual detail. The Univrs (Uniscope Version) was developed with the Touchdesigner software in close cooperation with Derivative in Toronto, Canada. Alva Noto would like to thank Anne-James Chaton for his on-going inspiration, Martin L. Gore for providing a sample for the track "Uni Rec," and Daniel Miller for advice and support. The album was mastered by Rashad Becker at Clunk, Berlin.
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CD
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R-N 103CD
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This is the second volume in the planned 5-volume Xerrox series by Alva Noto (Carsten Nicolai), the follow-up to Xerrox Vol. 1, released in 2007 on Raster-Noton. With volume 1, Alva Noto manipulated melodic structures with the process of copying field-recorded sound samples beyond recognition into fragile, ambient soundscapes. Volume 2 undertakes an intense journey and affords the luxury to take its time. While Xerrox Vol. 1 referred to the "old world" with its tradition deeply rooted in classical music, Xerrox Vol. 2 tries to access a "new world." It works with samples that have been gathered and developed in the U.S.A., the so-called "new world" where the album was largely recorded. The dramatic and dynamic approach of Xerrox Vol. 1 has since been replaced by a structural density. Instead of working with individual musical entities, the new album develops an overall, linear aesthetic that refers to musical strategies of film music. Hence there are no implicitly singular pieces, but open musical structures -- a journey without a predetermined target. The first four tracks of Xerrox Vol. 2 actually condense into one track, using samples of Michael Nyman and Stephen O'Malley (KTL, Sunn O)))). They combine into a soundtrack, as if in a movie, before fading away in a swell of reverb feedback. "Sora" originated as a rudiment from his collaboration with Ryuichi Sakamoto, performed as an encore during the 2004 Insen tour. Continuing on from "Monophaser 2," the album creates a dense and interwoven complexity which only gradually unfolds its depth. While "Teion" dissolves in the process of copying into another sample rate, "Teion Acat" re-condenses its quality. Xerrox Vol. 2 seems to be more playful than Vol. 1; following the approach of a live set, it is not as much obligated to theoretical concepts, intending to break a static framework before it gets too restricted. The eleven tracks on Xerrox Vol. 2 serve as documents of an immediately experienced time or as attempts to unfold in an endless space. In this sense, this recording comes close to the idea of the Aleph-1 project that tried to disappear, rather than occupy an endless space. In the end, one might ask where the journey will go.
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CD
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R-N 079CD
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Transform by Alva Noto (Carsten Nicolai), originally released on Mille Plateaux in 2001, is now being re-released on Raster-Noton. The album, released as a CD, comes with a new cover and is digitally remastered. On Transform, Alva Noto meant to reduce the aesthetic of pop to the bone. Rather than in pop music, where the basic focus lies on harmonic and melodic forms, on Transform, they give way to pure rhythm structures derived from only sine tones and white noise, which nevertheless communicate on an emotional level. Transform is the first part of Alva Noto's Transall series (along with the EPs Transrapid, Transspray, Transvision: 2001-2005), and after his first release on Mille Plateaux, Prototypes (2000), marked his next step into a more rhythmically-oriented phase of his work.
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CD
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R-N 078CD
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Originally released in 2007. Originals are unique, be it genetic codes or image and sound documents. Their copies are mere means of distribution. To secure these originals from misuse is the main issue today. The essence and potential of the copy mostly is disregarded. We live in a world of constant reproduction, where only the replication counts as original, the single object is a sheer copy of the prefiguration, which is abstract and becomes an icon. The uncountable number of multiplied images confirms the original, but immediately the copy withdraws and assesses its own value. By using the technique of copying the copy, it also often contains mistakes and abstractions that differ from the original. These simplifications and deformations inherent to the copy process lead to a gradual loss of its connection to the original and results in a substantial change of meaning. Although there is still a core of the actual source, the original message disperses in the white noise of reproduction. In the end, the observer can hardly differentiate if the origin is part of the information transferred. If there is still an integral material component of the original or can this only be projected... these questions remain unanswered. What finally remains is the process of copying itself. It becomes a creative tool by analytically accomplishing something new. The mutating copy provides space for development -- the copy becomes original again. Xerrox is the new, self-contained project by Alva Noto, which like his "Transall" series (Transrapid, Transvision and Transspray) is intended to be released in five parts during the next years. On Xerrox, Alva Noto works with samples from muzak, advertising, soundtracks and entertainment programs. These sounds we hear randomly in everyday life and thereby they become an always-present and available public domain. With Xerrox, Alva Noto manipulates these recognizable melodic (micro) structures by the process of copying. He alienates them beyond recognition so the results manifest their connection to the original only suggestively. In this respect, the original is copied to the original. Alva Noto used several samples from these sources: Narita airport Tokyo, in-flight program Air France, telephone wait-loop Lufthansa, hotel Apollo Paris, Suizanso hotel Yamaguchi, Seven-Eleven Tokyo, Forma London, Reaktor and www.kkmovie.com.
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CD
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R-N 063CD
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Originally released in 2005, this is a 21-minute CD EP by Alva Noto aka Carsten Nicolai. Transspray is the third part of the Transall Cycle. Marco Peljhan (Slo) was approached to accompany the CD with a sleeve note, in regard to the content of the release. The text hopefully allows the audience a wider insight into the themes behind the recordings.
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CD
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R-N 062CD
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Originally released in 2005, this is a 21-minute CD EP by Alva Noto aka Carsten Nicolai. Transvision is the second part of the Transall Cycle. Transall approaches with the problematics of speed, the vision of utopia and the dissolution of our ideas into fragments.
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