Music Reviews

Alva.Noto

Transform

Mille Plateaux

Do not adjust your CD player once this disc interacts with the laser. It’s just this artist’s own special way of welcoming you into his uncomforting world. Where frequencies are shifted then broken, pitch is folded like a space/time continuum, Transform lies in territory that is as ominous as it is enthralling. Like a movie where every scene must be viewed to comprehend it, the slightest change in the ear-ringing crackles, beeps, clicks and lacerated noises on this release must be noticed to fully appreciate it. Underneath this beast lies gradually incubated beats, giving off only the slightest semblance of conventional rhythms. But a label like Mille-Plateaux thrives on this type of mechanical imbalance. Like a more arctic, but repetitive Pan Sonic, Alva Noto is glitch-ridden and misanthropic on Transform, but unmistakably enthralling.

Mille Plateaux, 4456 Rue Des Erables, Montreal QC, H2H 2C8; http://www.mille-plateaux.com


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