The imagination of Carsten Nicolai, aka Alva Noto, is a special place. No matter how minimal, there’s always a subtlety to his beats. No matter how dry, there’s pleasure somewhere in the sounds. A love for technology, mundane and otherwise, is something of a cliche in electronic music, but Nicolai manages to throw himself into his work with such infectious enthusiasm that it remains fresh.
And his love for electronics can spread even to vending machines. I have to admit when I first heard this track, I almost had to laugh at the stream of numbers. But, the more your listen, the more you appreciate an aura of style buzzing about everything he does. I spoke to Nicolai in Montreal, in an interview I hope to finally sit down and transcribe this month. He is aggressive about everything he thinks, as he is evangelical about his ongoing mission to fuse music and art into a single aesthetic experience. Audiovisuals may not be new, but if you want someone with the fervor to make people take notice, the Raster Noton label founder should be high on your list.
Via our friend Tim aka the music of sound, an essential blog for sound designers and lovers of hearing.
In the meantime, enjoy Karsten Nicolai, the director as well as (as Alva Noto), the music, top. And from MUTEK, as shot by Landon Speers, with visuals by the lads at Derivative, to give you a taste of his recent live shows: