Alva Noto Transall Series
As Alva Noto, sound artist Carsten Nicolai is the master of pointillist digital funk, balancing […]
As Alva Noto, sound artist Carsten Nicolai is the master of pointillist digital funk, balancing crystalline sine waves, angular, synapse-jiggling grooves, and bursts of seething static. On Transall, a trio of elegantly packaged 3 CDs, Nicolai focuses on the interlocking themes of the increased speed of information flow, the proliferation of post-digital utopias, and the fragmentation of ideas. The music has a dark, surprisingly aggressive feel, as Nicolai sculpts his sparse, rhythmic pieces out of sub-bass pulses, percussive pops, sine tones, and snippets of radio transmissions. Yet even at its most fragmented and abrasive, that undeniable Noto funk will have you bobbing your noggin whilst marveling at the harsh beauty of Nicolai‘s finely fragmented crackles, buzzes, and hums.