after their mental scapes and french kicks first eps on pont neuf records, french duo alva are back with a new 5-tracks maxi, steam lights, on their own imprint virage records. they carry on with in their deep/club vibe while bringing in some new and fresh sound designs. it oscillates between dreamy atmospheres ( all very slow , steam lights ) and hypnotical sequences ( mirage ), but there is an obvious common factor to the tracks : the groove, carried by strong basslines and punchy drums.-
virage records is back with another house oriented 4 tracker, welcoming artists new to the family : german duo das carma and french house producer nephase. a side is warm and deep with an outstanding piano sample (a1) and bubbly basslines (a2), while b side is energic and groovy with punchy drums (b1) and jacking rhythms (b2).
after two first tracks and a debut ep mental scapes released in 2016 that explored various electronic atmospheres, alva are back with a second opus french kicks. we can find the paw of the parisian duo, whether their pads with large chords, their groovy basslines or their melodies mixing fresh sounds and old school references.
zeb wayne returns with a majestic and scintillating song titled ‘wulfman’, featuring a trio of top tier remixers including alva noto, calibre and radio slave. following the release of ‘float’ on rekids last year, ‘wulfman’ is a beautiful song that demonstrates how musically versed wayne is as a producer, blending a serene vocal by ziwi, with intricate sounds to create a truly beautiful song from start to finish. alva noto, who composed the film score for the revenant alongside ryuichi sakamoto, as well as being the co-founder of esteemed minimal imprint raster noton, is the first of three heavyweight remixers. the renowned german producer employs his signature elements of grit, static and glitch resulting in an inimitable melancholic cut. well respected for traversing numerous electronic music sub-genres, as evident in his recent album on craig richards’ the nothing special, calibre ups the energy in his remix using sultry synths, syncopated percussion and mesmerising effects. concluding the colossal package, rekids founder radio slave creates a club-ready reinterpretation of his own, complete with fine-tuned kicks, looped vocals and a heady bassline.
with the ep mental scapes, alva shows a first short format resolutely house. every track is an evolution, a progress. downtown - with its rhythmic part supported by the disco and deep atmospheres - is reminiscent of the influence of the 90s french house on the duos tracks. the shore is a very deep production with a groovy and a minimal bass, with these incisive hi hats and rides, and this sensual vocal. lighthouse uses several musical registers between techno, soul and ny house. the outro, playground, recorded in one shot, is a short downtempo track to enclose in a groovy way this first ep from the parisian duo.
exzellente remixes von zwei der feinsten acts der elektronischen musik, alva noto und plaid, für monkeytowns jungtalent gajek. während carsten nicolai aka alva noto das verspielte *restless water shapes* in einen steinkalten düsteren bassline-roller mutieren lässt, zaubern plaid mit euphorisch strahlender electronica ein lächeln in alle ecken unserer gesichter hinein. diese maxi wirkt wie eine hypermoderne clubnacht komprimiert auf 2 tracks.
after a break of 5 years, alva noto continues his xerrox series with »xerrox vol. 3«, entitled »towards space«, a journey that started with »xerrox vol. 1«, referring to the »old world«, and »xerrox vol. 2«, heading »to the new world«.
>univrs< follows on from and develops the concept of the album unitxt (raster-noton, 2008). whereas the focus of unitxt was on the processing of rhythmic patterns (unit = unit of measurement, element) and information (txt = data, language), with univrs the focus is on the conceptual differentiation of a universal language (universum/universal = unity, entirety). the 14 tracks of univrs have evolved from a live context, hence the approach is more continuous and dense.
welcome back sebastian s solo work! after the excellent his first mix cd wa wu we and first solo ep voices around the fire , he came back with two excellent songs. on a side, alva is dubby, psychedelic house. it sounds like more techno version of omar-s. this track will be great dj tool for everyone. on b side, lyssna då björkarna viskar is peaceful ambient house with the sound of bird s singing.
for its ten tracks the album will readopt two original tracks and two alternative versions from the ep while additionally introducing six completely new songs. as a very special feature >katze< and >mimikry< will feature vocals/words by the model veruschka (known from the movie >blow up< by m. antonioni). the album will be released with a special 16 page booklet that will present original text/drawings of blixa bargeld that developed during the recordings.
being friends and admirers of each others work for a long time, electronic music composer / visual artist alva noto (carsten nicolai) and composer / voice- artist blixa bargeld (also known as singer of einstü,,,rzende neubauten and guitarist of nick cave and the bad seeds) decided to join forces to initiate a collaborative project in 2007.
WIR BAUEN EINE NEUE STADT (ALVA NOTO & WOLFGANG VOIGT RMXS)
12 Inch 01.06.10
baustelle is the title of the new album by agf and gudrun gut under their collaborative name, greie gut fraktion. to accompany the long player, they have also released a 12 inch of the lead song, wir bauen eine neue stadt, complete with remixes by alva noto and wolfgang voigt.
xerrox vol. 2 undertakes an intense journey and affords the luxury to take its time. 
,,while xerrox vol. 1 (r-n 78) referred to the old world with its tradition deeply rooted in classical music, xerrox vol. 2 tries to access a new world . it works with samples that have been gathered and developed in the usa û the so-called new world û where the album also has almost completely been recorded.
,,the dramatic and dynamic approach of xerrox vol. 1 on vol. 2 has been replaced by a structural density. instead of working with individual musical entities the new album rather develops an overall, linear aesthetic that refers to musical strategies of film music. hence there are no implicitly singular pieces, but open musical structures û a journey without a predetermined target.
nach beendigung des >transall< zyklus & der veröffentlichung der >xerrox< serie nähert sich alva noto seiner früheren rhythmischeren arbeit an. >unitxt< könnte eine fortsetzung seiner >transspray< arbeit sein und erinnert in seiner radikalität und die 90er werke von pan sonic
alva noto aka carsten nikolai zeigt uns das weisse rauschen der reproduktion & nimmt das kopieren als kreatives tool wahr. theoretisch, aber nicht trocken
carsten nicolai aka alva noto + ryuichi sakamoto treiben ihr projekt weiter an. nach >vrioon< und >insen< wird mit >revep< nun weiter an der akustisch - elektronischen schnittstelle gerabeitet
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