Noton Germany

Review: Back in 2008, noted experimentalist Alva Noto began a sporadic series of albums that were far more focused on dancefloor-inspired rhythms than his usual eccentric and inspiring fare. Unieqav is the third and, we're told, final part of the series. The album is apparently meant to be a sonic representation of an underwater dive, a conceptual theme which manifests itself through the storied producer's use of deep and atmospheric chords, fluid and occasionally glistening electronics, and rhythms that evoke images of ever-deeper dives into the dark, cold depths. Rhytmically, there are nods to electro, IDM, dub techno and Autechre, though the mood remains laidback and intoxicated throughout.

Review: "Alphabet" is the pairing of French poet and sound artist Anne-James Chaton with former Raston-Noton man Alva Noto. Their debut album features Chaton's spoken word mutterings, which range from repeating a series of numbers to looped one word phrases via the annunciation of phonetic sounds, carefully filtered and layered into dark but inviting drones, cold wave and ambient experimentalism. It's all inspired by Etymologiae, an etymological encyclopaedia compiled in the seventh century by Spanish scholar Isidore Of Seville, and despite that weird and wonderful source material makes for an enthralling and atmospheric listen.

Review: Alva Noto and Ryuichi Sakamoto's collaborative partnership reaches back to the turn of the century, when Noto was touring Japan and invited to rework some of Sakamoto's material. Since then, they've delivered a modest but important body of work via Raster-Noton and produced the soundtrack to major Hollywood film "The Revenant". In the wake of last year's "Glass" released on Noto's Noton label, this live album captures the duo in full flight at Sydney Opera House. Noto's immaculately sculpted tones and textures carve out space around Sakamoto's trademark delicate, lingering notes, resulting in an absorbing listening experience as emotionally engaging as it is technically astounding.

Review: Alva Noto and Ryuichi Sakamoto's collaborative partnership reaches back to the turn of the century, when Noto was touring Japan and invited to rework some of Sakamoto's material. Since then, they've delivered a modest but important body of work via Raster-Noton and produced the soundtrack to major Hollywood film "The Revenant". In the wake of last year's "Glass" released on Noto's Noton label, this live album captures the duo in full flight at Sydney Opera House. Noto's immaculately sculpted tones and textures carve out space around Sakamoto's trademark delicate, lingering notes, resulting in an absorbing listening experience as emotionally engaging as it is technically astounding.

Review: While many experimentalists are still coming to terms with the death of the late, great producer and live performer Mika Vainio, his spirit lives on via occasional archival releases. This latest one is particularly special, as it presents a rare live recording - apparently the only one in existence - of Vainio's three-way collaboration with fellow electronic minimalists Ryoji Ikeda and Alvo Noto. Across 11 movements, the trio thrilling moves through droning ambient, Autechre-ish re-imaginings of Jamaican dancehall rhythms, concrete-clad electro and pulsating abstract techno, before returning to where they began. It's a dizzying and hugely enjoyable journey that somehow gets the perfect balance each of the contributor's trademark style.