Alva Noto
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Minimalism is always a hot trend amongst techno artists and listeners, but while many producers simply ape the surface style of originators like Rob Hood and Jeff Mills, Carsten Nicolai, AKA Alva Noto, might actually be the kind of artist those early pioneers of the concept envisioned when they were dreaming up their manifestos.
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An electronic music producer as well as a visual artist, Nicolai brings a pared-down, at times harsh but always uncompromising aesthetic vision to all of his work. Or, as Nicolai's website puts it he tries to work in the "transitional area between art and science," attempting to "overcome the separation of the sensual perceptions of man by making scientific phenomenons like sound and light frequencies perceivable for both eyes and ears." That sounds pretentious until you consider the impressiveness of his work, both musically and in terms of sculpture and conceptual art.
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On record, Nicolai's Alva Noto project takes the minimalism of techno artists and strips it to its most basic, brutal form, drawing from a palette of familiar sounds of the 21rst century such as modems, fax machines and other clicks and cuts.
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On record, Nicolai's Alva Noto project takes the minimalism of techno artists and strips it to its most basic, brutal form, drawing from a palette of familiar sounds of the 21rst century such as modems, fax machines and other clicks and cuts. Originally releasing on the seminal experimental label Mille Plateux, he went on to co-found the equally influential Raster Noton label alongside Olaf Bender and Frank Bretschneider.
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Raster-Noton has since been host to an impressive cast of artists included Mika Vainio of Pansonic, Thomas Brinkmann, Scanner, Coil and Wolfgang Voigt. He has also collaborated directly on several occasions with legendary Japanese electronic composer Ryuichi Sakamoto.
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Carsten's record designs show a similar approach to his music and fine art work, and in terms of graphic design, he has recently released a book consisting entirely of a collection of grids for designers and architects to reuse in their work. Also this year, Alva Noto has released the brilliant "Xerrox Vol. 2," which merges some of the harsher sound elements he is known for with warm ambience, creating a truly unique and futuristic aesthetic which seems almost physical.
