alva noto & ryuichi sakamoto : summvs

alva noto & ryuichi sakamoto
summvs
r-n 132
raster-noton
triple fold-out cardsleeve


image:©japanese forms

I'm still way behind in my posts with regards to recent purchases
so I'll try and get in at least two posts this week. First up is the latest collaboration from Alva Noto and Ryuichi Sakomoto. Summvs is the fifth recording that the pair have made together over the past 9 years or so and it's another sublime piece. A fusion of Sakamoto's piano-based compositions and Carsten Nicolai's digital rhythms and computer/software manipulations leaning towards a lot more harmony and melody than we're used to from Alva Noto. Immerse yourself in the, atmospheric, relaxing, ambient electronic and acoustic tones that run through the whole album. Features two versions; sans the vocals, of “By This River” from Brian Eno's 1977 album Before and After Science. Highly recommended. one2zero

raster-noton / alva noto / ryuichi sakamoto / carsten nicolai

mark fell : multistability

mark fell
multistability
r-n125
raster-noton


image:©japanese forms


Well Mark Fell is certainly ending the year in multi-release style with several recordings all appearing in the last couple of weeks. With a flurry releases including a cassette tape only release on Alku Records; a CD + 7" single on raster-noton; another album on Mego as well as a (very) limited edition release to tie in with the Coherence and Proximity solo art exhibition, Mr Fell has indeed been a very busy man recently. As with recent raster-noton releases, Multistability comes in a lavishly packaged triple fold-out card sleeve with artwork/design by Mark Fell himself. Electronic abstract and minimal is how I'd describe the music contained within which, I suppose, some listeners might define as being not very accessible -it's doubtful that you'll be dancing to it at your local club sometime soon but I don't think that was ever the point of it anyway. I'll be listening to it (often) on headphones; in the dark; with a glass and a bottle of single malt close at hand. one2zero
....................................................................

Multistability chooses a theme that, though equally academic, is at least a little more trippy. In its most basic sense, the title refers to forms that contain two separate images at once, which the viewer can alternate between at will. A press release explains that Fell's new album is "split into two halves" and "contains two versions of itself," with recurring passages and "pattern-generating systems" somehow creating a multistable effect. ©Resident Advisor
....................................................................

Buy this disc @ raster-noton

mark fell / evol : head office transformation

mark fell / evol
head office transformation
alku75
alku records
limited edition split cassette available in black or white


image:©japanese forms

Well 2010 definitely remarks the return of cassette tapes for me. More and more artists and small (micro?)labels are releasing them and I've been tempted to buy several. Unfortunately my purse strings are a bit stretched right now so choices have to be made and I only pick up the occasional one. At the moment I eagerly await the arrival of the Conrad Schnitzler tape, that I recently ordered from Mirror Tapes, and am still enjoying the sounds of the Mr Maxted and Hilary Jeffrey tapes that I picked up earlier this year. In the meantime I'm listening to the synopated and strangely hypnotic sounds from Mark Fell (snd) on this split cassette which he shares with spanish computer music wizard Evol -who also runs the Alku Records label on which this tape is released. This is the third part of a split cassette series by both artists but I, unfortunatley don't have the numbers 1 and 2. In fact I have to thank my good friend GMA for providing with me this copy which he received, along with a 'white' case one, as a gift from Mark Fell. Soundwise it's rather good but the artefact might have been better if some artwork had been included. one2zero

Buy this tape @ Alku Records

New snd album available soon @ raster-noton

anbb - mimikry

anbb
mimikry
r-n 121
raster-noton
triple fold-out cardsleeve
includes 16-page booklet

image:©japanese forms

Well I thought that the latest recording by Senking had been raster-noton's best release in recent times until I heard the Mimikry album collaboration by alva noto and Blixa Bargeld (Einstürzende Neubauten / Bad Seeds) under the Anbb moniker. Bargeld and noto have produced a quite astounding album with the former providing lyrics and vocals and the latter the electronic sounds to accompany them. The music is far removed from Carsten Nicolai's (alva noto) usual glitch and microsounds and much more melodic than what we're acquainted with regards to his other recordings. On this disc, his experiments in sound embrace the conventional notions of song much more than one would have expected and in a quite enthusiastic manner. A perfect match to Bargeld's captivating vocals. Undoubtedly one of my albums of the year as well as being a perfect follow-up to the excellent Red Marut Handshake e.p.
Highly recommended. one2zero


Recorded & mixed at Andere Baustelle Tonstudio and Studio Carsten Nicolai in Berlin between January 2009 and July 2010.
Cover "Wallstreet-Spider" from the series "Veruschka self-portraits" performed by Vera Lehndorff, NYC 1992-96.
Booklet Artwork : Blixa Bargeld
Photography : Andreas Hubertus Ilse
© raster-noton

Also available by anbb : Red Marut Handshake e.p.

Buy this album @ raster-noton / Download / Buy @ boomkat

anbb / raster-noton

senking - pong

senking
pong
r-n 122
raster-noton
audio cd + data cd
triple fold-out cardsleeve

image:©japanese forms

For some reason -probably due to me moving from one country to another and all the problems involved in doing so- I missed out on Senking's previous album on the raster-noton label, List, which came out in 2007. In fact I just realized that the last disc that I did buy by Senking was the Tap album, #4 in the Raster-Post series, and which was released way back in 2003! 'Pong' is not quite your usual raster-noton fare of clicks 'n' glitch abstract minimalism but much more subdued and downtempo. Soundwise let's say it's sort of like Pole meets Alva Noto. All in all a fabulous recording and one that should please anyone who enjoys contemporary electronic music. 'Pong' will easily be one of my top 10 discs for 2010. one2zero

"PONG – referring to the classic video game – is Senking's fifth release on raster-noton, moving its focus on stretched dubstep rhythms. To these slow motion grooves, he adds shredded melodies, sub basses and echoes, which create an atmosphere like an Angelo-Badalamenti-soundtrack known from David Lynch's movies. His electronic sound aesthetic reflects rather an organic texture than a machine made algorithm. In tradition of former dub producers, he generates his tracks while playing, and therefore they appear to be momentary. They are aware of the club, but do not want to serve it. At Berlin's CTM 2010 Senking proved that PONG can be massive on stage as well." © raster-noton

Buy this album @ raster-noton / Download / Buy @ boomkat

senking / raster-noton

frank bretschneider - exp

frank bretschneider
exp
r-n 108
raster-noton
audio cd + data cd
triple fold-out digipak

I've been waiting patiently for this to arrive ever since it was first announced way back in January and let's say: it was well worth the wait. Another great disc. I was fortunate enough to see Bretschneider play EXP live last November and this is the perfect companion piece to his performance. As usual the Raster-Noton packaging is lavish and beautifully crafted.one2zero

image © japanese forms

"Frank Bretschneider is widely known as a pioneer of the 'clicks & cuts' style, using microscopic audio snippets to create his sparse and abstract rhythm patterns. His albums under his own name and under his Komet alias have graced labels such as Mille Plateaux, 12k, as well as influential imprint Raster-Noton, which he co-founded in 1999 together with Alva Noto and Olaf 'Byetone' Bender.

As a studied graphic designer, Bretschneider's has always been interested in the interactions of sound and visuals. 'EXP' explores this concept with an 18 minute video, which uses particle algorithms to generate oscilloscope-like renderings of the album's tracks. Abstract and mesmerizing, the visuals perfectly match the scientific approach of the album, for which Bretschneider has used sounds of 'mechanics, electricity, magnetism, light and other radiation' as sources for his microscopic samples." © zero"

Buy this album @ raster-noton / Download @ zero"

frank bretschneider / myspace / raster-noton

mika vainio - time examined

on my turntable

mika vainio
time examined
92 page catalogue & 2cd
r-n 109


image: ©japanese forms

The year ends with Mika Vainio's
beautifully designed and lavishly-packaged catalogue and 2cd arriving from Raster-Noton. The 92 page book includes numerous, colour & monochrome photographs as well as texts by Daniel Klemm, Daniela Cascella and Carl Michael von Hausswolff. As usual this in an absolute must-have item for anyone who likes Vainio's music as well as for any avid Raster-Noton collector. one2zero

"In the past thirteen years Mika Vainio has exhibited in some of the major art spaces in Europe, and he has collaborated with both a number of important artists and curators. Since his musical work has been in the focus of attention, his installations have never gained the broader recognition they deserve — without good reason. In the present book, an overview will give a clear outline of this segment of his oeuvre. Also his realized soundtracks for other artists, in the genres of video, film and dance are included. Each work is presented with a significant selection of images (installation views, visuals or sketches) and an explanatory text to deliver its basic idea. In the two essays Carl Michael von Hausswolff and Daniela Cascella – longtime companions and collaborators — delicately introduce Vainio’s conceptions to further enlight the reader’s understanding. On the enclosed CDs one can find a selection of tracks created for the respective installations and soundtracks." (© raster-noton )

Web:
mika vainio raster-noton pan sonic

frame.sync / raster-noton

on my turntable

raster-noton
offf lisbon '09
frame.sync

Not Available

image: ©japanese forms

A very rare and exclusive compilation CD released to coincide with Frame.Sync ; a one-time installation project at Offf '09 (an International festival for post-digital creation and culture)which took place in Lisbon, Portugal in May this year. Beautifully designed and packaged; the CD features most of the label's artists. Given away free to anyone who bought a ticket for the festival. one2zero

This copy; courtesy of GMA.

"In cooperation with Derivative's TouchDesigner, Raster-Noton and Offf'09 present:
FRAME.SYNC, a multi-visual space + exclusive cd compilation featuring tracks
by all participating artists: COH, alva noto, atom™, byetone, Frank Bretschneider,
Kangding Ray, nibo, pixel, Pomassl, senking, signal, SND and special guests
Fennesz and Vladislav Delay. Free with ticket for offf festival in Lisbon." (© raster-noton )

Web:
frame.sync raster-noton

pixel - the drive

on the turntable:

pixel
the drive
rn-106

raster-noton

pixel

image: ©japanese forms


Imagine you're lying, dozing in your garden, or in a park somewhere, on a warm, sunny afternoon; you can hear the distant drone of an airplane; the hum from the endless stream of cars and trucks on the outskirts of the town; and the far off beat of some neverending rave fading in and out across the distance... all mixed together. This is what this album sounds like to me. At least that's been my first impression and... I like it. In fact, I like it much more than the snd release (featured below) on the first listen. Both discs are, however, much better than most of the dross you'll hear in your average day but don't expect to hear them in your local superette. one2zero

Read what raster-noton says:

"Pixel’s third album `the drive` is meant to be the soundtrack to his imaginary journey by car across the U.S.A., a road movie encoded in the track list. with warm and deep guitar amplifier hiss and feedback in connection with floating rhythms he creates very organic sound patterns. the music might evoke images of deserts, chemical warfare plants, rugged landscapes, rocket takeoffs and hectic suburban night life." (© - raster noton)

Also available as mp3 download.

Buy:
raster-noton

Download:
raster-noton

snd - atavism

on the turntable:

snd
atavism
rn-107

raster-noton

snd

image: ©japanese forms


Second-only release on the raster-noton label for snd, this is the follow-up album to the Blir compilation that included some rare tracks from hard-to-find 12inchers as well as some new recordings. That was issued way back in 2005! So any fan of the raster-noton label will be more than happy to see this brand new release from the snd duo of minimal-techno meisters Mark Fell and Mat Steel. I really enjoyed the 4,5, 6, EPs released last year but like this a lot less than the other discs released on the r-n label so far this year (notably those by atom™ & alva noto). Not to worry though as I'll probably grow to like it after I've given it a good few listens.
As with other r-n releases; the packaging -including inversed, embossed album title is beautiful.


Also available as mp3 download.

Buy:
raster-noton

Download:
raster-noton

alva noto - xerrox vol.2

alva noto
xerrox vol.2
rn-103

raster-noton

image: ©japanese forms


I've been following the releases on raster-noton, and listening to most of the label's output, for quite some time now and this latest alva noto offering is again up to the label's high standard. A companion -follow up- to last year's Xerrox 1 and an excellent piece it is. Lavishly and beautifully packaged, as is usually every release on r-n, this Vol.2 in the series is, in my mind, one of the best ever from noto. Those who've already listened to Ekkehard Ehlers' Plays John Cassavetes or William Basinski's The Disintegration Loops vol.1 will find that Xerrox 2's opening track is very similar to the Ehlers and Basinski pieces but all in all this is an absolute must have for all serious lovers of electronic music.

Also available as an mp3 download.

Buy:
raster-noton

Download:
raster-noton

aiff-tiff - raster-noton

on the turntable:

aiff-tiff
booklet & cd
idea / raster-noton

image: japanese forms

60 page booklet and compilation CD which features tracks from recent RN releases by alva noto, Byetone, Frank Bretschneider and Signal. Booklet features all the aspects of the raster-noton audio visual concepts and photography. (one2zero)

Buy aiff-tiff from raster-noton

nhk - unununium

on the turntable:

nhk
unununium
rn-111


NHK is a collaboration of Kouhei Matsunaga and Toshio Munehiro who have been working together since 2006 when they both lived in Osaka. Kouhei started making music back in 1992 focusing on rather experimental compositions. he has been working with various artists such as Merzbow, Asmus Tietchens, Sean Booth (Autechre) and Pan Sonic’s Mika Vainio. On NHK EP Kouhei and Toshio are turning towards rough digital techno.(© raster_noton)

"If you've been feeling the latest direction of Alva Noto's new Unitxt project or Byetone's recent remix work, and got a good buzz from the Ae album, this is most certainly for you. ULTRA ULTREA HEAVYWEIGHT!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!" (Boomkat)

Unununium is a available on vinyl only from raster-noton or as a download from Boomkat. (one2zero)

Download Unununium : from Boomkat

kangding ray -automne fold

on the turntable:

kangding ray
automne-fold
raster-noton / r-n094


image: japanese forms


More sublime recordings from the raster-noton label. This week's offering from frenchman, Kangding Ray. Although I prefer his previous release "Stabil" this one does have its moments. It may be the spoken word parts that confuse me; as we're not to used to hearing much "vocals" on anything on the label. It is, nonetheless, a very fine recording indeed. (one2zero)


buy:
raster-noton


website: kangding ray

David Letellier aka kangding ray was born in France and is today based in Berlin, he evolved as a guitarist and drummer in various bands whose influences ranged from rock and pop to jazz before moving into electronic music.
(© raster-noton)

Following his highly successful debut "stabil" (r-n073), kangding ray releases his second full length record on raster-noton, entitled "automne fold".

With "automne fold", david letellier has evolved from the quiet, pristine flow of his debut record to sounds that are raw, dark and organic on this second release. pulsating rhythms become lost in within walls of saturated strings, words are spoken over bowed acoustic guitars, and analog synths collide with urban field recordings.
vocals are a central theme through the record. treated as raw materials, like any other sound, the voice operates as beat, speaks melodies or sets themes.

In some moments, "automne fold" retains the emotional simplicity of traditional song structures, where message and images come together, but also manages radical abstract textures, when tracks morph in closed forms of static sounds.

"automne fold" is an instrumental record, an album of 14 "folded" tracks, and a cinematic journey between groove and the senses.(© raster-noton)

wolfgang voigt - gas (book+cd)

on the turntable:

wolfgang voigt
gas
raster-noton (r-n 102)

image: japanese forms


Though beautifully packaged and presented in the usual, lavish raster-noton way, I was a bit disapponted by the photography. The images being a bit too repetetive in their style for my taste. The release, nonetheless, remains a captivating one musicwise. Packaged in a hefty (24cm x 29cm) book of photos of dozens of the wooded images we have come to associate with earlier Gas releases ;it comes complete with a rather fetching, red foil-embossed dust cover. A must-have for anyone who enjoys Voigt's atmospheric sounds and all true raster-noton collectors. (one2zero)

For the first time ever a book presents the visual aspect of Wolfgang Voigt's comprehensive GAS project. It is not meant to be a monolithic retrospective of his visual work, but it features a broad spectrum of photographic images taken between 1995 and 1998 showing many different moods and perspectives of Wolfgang Voigt’s cosmos. what they all have in common, however, is the mystical focus and seemingly, the blurring of boundaries between lightness and darkness, happiness and depression, kitsch and art, pixels and leaves. and the enclosed music cd, voigt has opened his treasure chest and presents some well-selected, rare jewels from the very early days (and nights). four of the five tracks have never been released or played before. (© raster-noton)

buy:
raster-noton

download:
boomkat

byetone - death of a typographer

on the turntable:

byetone
death of a typographer
raster-noton / r-n092

image:japanese forms

Back again following a rather long hiatus, due to me relocating (again), one2zero will be trying hard to make up for lost time with some posts on a more regular basis. First up is the excellent release from Byetone -Death of A Typographer. Also, thanks to my good friend Chris for letting me discover a whole host of exciting new sounds over the past few months. (one2zero)

buy: raster-noton

website: raster-noton


,death of a typographer’ is meant to be a snap shot. the release was recorded in a winter week in berlin. only the pre-released single ,plastic star’ was created in sunny athens. the album contains the original session version of ,plastic star’.

the music of ,death of a typographer’ carries the special sound of raster-noton - but it is different: the tracks act as focal points, as elegy of an latently flowing stream, a stream that still moves on even when the music has long faded away. the tracks do not necessarily move forward, they rather open up a dark abyss which seems deepest in ,capture this I’ and II. byetone manages to achieve a remarkable metamorphosis of the organic, the tracks don't reveal any of the elements of conventional composition techniques but somehow they seem to show through the static sound body. with ,heart’ byetone finishes the album in a very dark manner. isn't there any hope? not in berlin winter.

,death of a typographer’ poses us riddles, even the title reminds of peter greenaway's ,the draughsman's contract’. for the vigilant spectator the ambiguous artwork will reveal the ,death of a typographer’. (© raster-noton)

signal - robotron

on the turntable:

signal
robotron
r-n069



raster-noton's flagship signal - olaf bender, frank bretschneider and carsten nicolai - is something like the reference group of one of the pivotal labels of new minimal electronic music. but although only having released one cd so far, their sessions and concerts have been very influential until today. some of those tracks of the past years now result in a compilation that joins the work of the three masterminds of raster-noton, but not like a simple aggregation of egos, much rather like a conversation in which every discourse modulates the other and in the end it is not possible anymore to distinguish between each individual contribution. in this sense, signal would be a superego that serves a process in which the rule, coincidence and interaction play equal parts. this blends into an open and democratic music that has some of kraftwerk’s melancholy in it. thus, signal are their spiritual heirs. (© raster-noton)

buy: raster-noton

website: raster-noton

frank bretschneider - rhythm

on the turntable:

frank bretschneider
rhythm
rn082



„rhythm“ is neither pop nor avant-garde, but deals simply with the basic principles of any modern music: rhythm.

frank bretschneider takes his, never simple, but all the more heartfelt relationship to rhythm and it’s complexity, to an intense inventory and, this time, works less out of suspenseful abstract sounds, than out of grooves. the terseness and precision of previous works remains, as well as a preference for high-voltage sounds halfway between noise and tone. new is the assemblage of the material. a combination of programming, composition and construction, which draws a clear distinction to his preferred loop-based work on foregone albums, is connected with bretschneider's very idiosyncratic aesthetic of digital sound: controlled and objective. the whole follows simple mechanical states: on/off, forward/backward, up/down, slow/fast, loud/quiet, dull/brilliant, soft/hard and is characterized by the absence of any romanticism. still this return to the elementary, the fundamental, does not diminish the music to dance-floor functionality, instead bretschneider always stays emphatically musical and manages to generate sophisticated and complex rhythm-structures, which respectively induce minimal deviations in frequency and timing relationships to generate a surplus of funk.

In all, „rhythm“ is probably bretschneider’s most direct, clear and concentrated work yet. (© raster-noton)


buy / download:raster-noton website: frank bretschneider