Alva Noto

This latest Alva Noto production is quite excited and rhythmical, especially in the first part (tracks 1 to 10), shaking the audience through multiple communication codes, modulated in sound frequencies that are always well synchronized, touchy and reactive. This seems to be the ultimate recording; an elaborate and synthetic frontier, a computation of the "musical text" fashioned by multiple interfaces and software integrations. When listening to "unitxt", even the unaccustomed listener is immediately struck by how music composition has been unavoidably transformed by new working models, digital technologies and non-mainstream strategies. Transcending genres and being recognized as a master seems to be a gift of nature for Carsten Nicolai, who is also known for being resistant to challenging collaborations. The project is a result of endless research and derives some of its success from often being on the edge of club sounds - difficult to make work, given the artist's origins in the avant-garde enclave. It has been attempted by many, but only a few have succeeded. Here, on the contrary, the effect is majestic, while maintaining separate sensitivities, specifically distinguishing sounds and concepts. The section running from track 12 to 24 is equally rich and interesting. It's a sort of of alphabet of frequencies, painstaking audio-samples, as if to emphasize - for conceptual and geometric rigor - how much the author is deeply tied to the abstract avant-gardes, the first forms of modern art history.  (NEURAL)