New Releases

The following recordings are available for the first time digitally along with a redesigned cover. The releases have never been widely available apart from the MIKRO MAKRO collaboration with Mika Vainio. They are the early face and recording of Carsten Nicolai under Noto, and the early recordings of Alva Noto. They are sonic material, not musical. At the core of this collection of work you will find a source of raw audio rather than composed and arranged material. These tracks have created the foundation and base of his more recent catalogue.

The cornerstone of Nicolai’s more musical exploration and transformation as an artist is grounded in the change from Noto to Alva Noto. Noto’s early experiments were often released with catalogues and closely connected with the early installation work of Carsten Nicolai. They were part of the visual world he explores. We are now releasing these recordings as audio-only but it is important to note that many works, such as Telefunken, were not originally meant to exist as stand-alone. Unfortunately, the Loop records can’t be digital releases as they are created uniquely to the format of vinyl and lock grooves, but we are now making the full archive available to the public to provide them with context and give access to the early works.

N-012 . Alva Noto . Prototypes

2000

Prototypes was the first Alva Noto album and was originally released by record label Mille Plateaux. Recorded in 1999-2000 in Berlin, it was inspired by sculptural work from the Austrian artist Walter Pichler who is known for his radical architectural work. The record-only release on CD had ten tracks and is now available with one extra unreleased work.

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N-016 . Alva Noto . Modul 4

2001

MODUL 4 was part of a CD box and the second release under the pseudonym Alva Noto. The single track lasting twenty minutes explores the more ambient side of his music, or the body of his recordings. This work has been used as the background for some installations and environments created by the artist and was previously only available on CD.

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N-003 . Ø + Noto . Mikro Makro

1997

This was the first collaboration between Carsten Nicolai and the late Finnish electronic musician Mika Vainio. It was released as both a 10' clear vinyl and CD. MIKRO MAKRO comprises of two tracks, which were developed using samples from an MRI scanner that was interacting with Nicolai’s body. The pieces went on to become part of a soundtrack for an installation of the same name, which was exhibited in Turku, Finland.

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N-014 . Ø + Noto . Wohltemperiert

2001

WOHLTEMPERIER is the second collaboration with Mika Vainio and was recorded in New York City at the studio of the American, multi-instrumentalist Lary Seven. Seven is a big collector of analogue equipment and both Carsten and Mika were based in New York and had several sessions at this studio. All fifteen tracks were originally recorded on analogue tape and the record was released on CD only. The cover artwork was a doodle by Ralph Nicolai, the father of Carsten Nicolai, and a favourite image of Mika Vainio who selected it.

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N-002 . Noto . Spin

1996

Recorded in Chemnitz in 1995, Spin was the first release on both NOTO and NOTON as part of a book. The 26,5 x 25 cm publication, commonly known as Nerv + Spin, consists of seventy-eight pages and a CD containing twenty-four tracks, all titled Spin. Nocolai was interested in how speed has the power to change the atmosphere and experience of a track, so recorded twelve using an AKAI S01 MIDI digital sampler and made them available in two speeds. This is an exploration of perception, providing the listener with two platforms from which to view the same sonic material. Thanks go to the German electronic musician Frank Bretschneider for editing the recording.

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N-004 . Noto . ∞ (infinity)

1997

Infinity consists of seventy-two 'sound graffities' commissioned by contemporary art exhibition documenta X as part of an installation. Conceptually, the work confronts the public in non-traditional art environments, exposing them to sound fragments. The piece was broadcast across German radio stations and used in a radio play on HR2. Additionally, people were confronted with the work in public spaces, such as airports and shopping centres. At first Infinity was only available as a CD, but later that year the same material was used by Locked Groove records to produce a release on vinyl titled N-005.

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N-007 . Noto . Kerne

1998

Kerne was the first work released on Plate Lunch, an experimental electronica label founded in Germany in 1997 by Norbert Schilling. 'Kerne' is the German word for 'nucleus'; a seed or core. These eighteen tracks explore sonic analogue equipment from a structural rather than musical position. We hear Nicolai generating raw sounds. It was recorded at Voxxx, Noton Studio in Berlin, New York and Chemnitz in 1997. The recording has not been available since 1998 and was originally released as a CD.

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N-008 . Noto . Polyfoto

1998

Polyfoto is the CD supplement of an art book of the same title. The limited edition artproject catalogue is one-hundred-and-four pages and available in both German and English. The CD consists of five tracks and 1000 copies were available at Verlag für moderne Kunst, Nürnberg in 1998. The title track 3'22" was released on flexi disc with the entire recording first available on minimax CD. This is now available digitally for the first time.

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N-009 . Noto . Time..Dot

1999

TIME..DOT is part of the award winning series 20' To 2000 - "Twelve releases about the cutting edge of the millenium". Released in a plastic clam shell case, the Noto CD is 5" in diameter. The inner 3" is playable while the outer edge comprises of clear plastic. Within those central three inches are the works of twelve artists, who were invited to produce a special piece for the last twenty minutes of the year 1999. The duration of the CD is 20'17". The idea was to imagine the last twenty minutes of the millennium as a transition or new beginning, and should be seen as a sonic statement for the next century. The series was started by NOTON and includes work by Ryoji Ikeda, Scanner, CoH, Ilpo Väisänen and Komet amongst others. It received the Ars Electronica Golden Nica award the following year.

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N-010 . Noto . Empty Garden

1999

Empty Garden was originally released as a CD. This soundtrack was part of an art installation of the same title and designed for the Sony SRS-GS 70 shoulder speakers, which were worn by visitors. A single track became a soundtrack, allowing listeners to tune in to both the sonic piece and their surroundings. They were invited to visit the Empty Garden location in Tokyo; the music focused their attention on the higher frequencies of the area while they explored their environment at will. The show was exhibited at the Watari-um Museum, Tokyo, and published by concept store On Sundays.

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N-011 . Noto . Telefunken

2000

Telefunken was originally released as an usual audio CD; both left and right signals are identical. The CD contained thirty tracks combining audio and visual information for tube television. The left audio channel was to plug into the video- in, the right one was to plug into the audio-in. This audio material was also used for Carsten Nicolai’s installation, which shared the same title, and was initially presented in museums across the globe. This method has remained one of the core principles of Alva Noto's live performances, where he exhibits the visualization of sound. All the tracks are 0 dB - if you listen to them as Audio Tracks please be careful of your equipment as the audio impulses vary throughout the recording. Low volume is advised.

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N-019 . Noto . Autorec

2002

This recording was a supplement for a catalogue autopilot by Carsten Nicolai, published by Watari-um in Tokyo, Eigen + Art in Berlin and Milch Gallery, London. The CD has twenty tracks, or rough experimentations on rude sounds; a continuation of the sonic world of Kerne.

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