Prototypes
is quite an unconventional record. Taking inspiration from the likes of
contemporary musician Pierre Henry as well as Autechre or Scanner, German
artist Carsten Nicolai, aka Alva.Noto’s music is as intense as it is hermetic.
Using all sorts of different sources to compose his highly complex collages,
Nicolai produces a surprisingly acoustic electronica. Contradiction in
terms, it is in form even more. But, although the result proves to be very
challenging, the sounds generated by the machines are more intriguing every
time. Prototypes is not an ordinary record in the sense that, like
Pierre Henry’s work, or Scanner’s as it happens, it is part of a bigger
project. In that situation, it always feels like there is a piece of the
jigsaw missing, and it is very true here. You can only imagine this album
as part of a visual performance. This doesn’t undermine the quality of
Nicolai’s work.
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