Alva Noto - Transform (2001) [SAA Album Club discussion Thread] - Music Banter Music Banter

Go Back   Music Banter > The Music Forums > Avant Garde/Experimental
Register Blogging Search Today's Posts Mark Forums Read
Welcome to Music Banter Forum! Make sure to register - it's free and very quick! You have to register before you can post and participate in our discussions with over 70,000 other registered members. After you create your free account, you will be able to customize many options, you will have the full access to over 1,100,000 posts.

View Poll Results: Rate!
Excellent 1 14.29%
Very Good 2 28.57%
Solid 3 42.86%
Average 0 0%
Poor 0 0%
Crap 1 14.29%
Voters: 7. You may not vote on this poll

Reply
 
Thread Tools Display Modes
Old 01-31-2011, 06:02 AM   #1 (permalink)
...
 
dankrsta's Avatar
 
Join Date: Apr 2010
Posts: 1,776
Default Alva Noto - Transform (2001) [SAA Album Club discussion Thread]

Alva Noto - Transform (2001)



This album was the second choice from the SAA Album Club, recommended by Janszoon.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Janszoon View Post
Alva Noto—Transform (2001)
Alva Noto is one of several stage names for German musician and visual artist Carsten Nicolai. Wikipedia actually has a pretty good description of his music, so I'll defer to that: Nicolai transforms sound by looping oscillators and tone generators. He does not use sequencers, but edits his work to give his compositions rhythmic structures. Clicks and glitches are not used as ornamental additions to the compositions but make up the essential rhythmic and harmonic elements of the work. He frequently samples electronic information transmission sounds such as fax tones, modem sounds and telephone pops and clicks are sampled and organised.
So, how do you like it?
__________________
dankrsta is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 01-31-2011, 06:15 AM   #2 (permalink)
one-balled nipple jockey
 
OccultHawk's Avatar
 
Join Date: Dec 2010
Location: Dirty Souf Biatch
Posts: 22,033
Default

I'm going to start with some hate. But before I do I want to say if someone totally ripped into one of my suggestions it might kind of hurt my feelings. So Janszoon, I appreciate the suggestion. It's nothing personal.

This album is completely dull, genre driven, uninspired, pretentious, directionless trash. This is a generic glitch record that doesn't go anywhere with it from start to finish. If this were metal, it would be like JUST the drums and basslines to the fifth Metallica record. On Wiki it says he performed at the Guggenheim and MoMA! What a crock! How lame and pretentious and unknowledgeable can these jerk-offs be?

Quote:
'Transall cycle' "approaches the problematics of speed, the vision of utopia and the dissolution of our ideas into fragments."
OccultHawk is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 01-31-2011, 06:46 AM   #3 (permalink)
Mate, Spawn & Die
 
Janszoon's Avatar
 
Join Date: May 2007
Location: The Rapping Community
Posts: 24,593
Default

Quote:
Originally Posted by OccultHawk View Post
I'm going to start with some hate. But before I do I want to say if someone totally ripped into one of my suggestions it might kind of hurt my feelings. So Janszoon, I appreciate the suggestion. It's nothing personal.

This album is completely dull, genre driven, uninspired, pretentious, directionless trash. This is a generic glitch record that doesn't go anywhere with it from start to finish. If this were metal, it would be like JUST the drums and basslines to the fifth Metallica record. On Wiki it says he performed at the Guggenheim and MoMA! What a crock! How lame and pretentious and unknowledgeable can these jerk-offs be?
Yeah, but what do you really think?

This is an album that took a couple listens to click with me so I can understand not immediately being blown away by it. It's a grower though, and in my opinion it's a very good album. I don't know what "genre driven" is supposed to mean but I actually find Alva Noto's style pretty unique so I don't think I can agree with you there or with the idea that it's "uninspired". Also I strongly disagree that the album is directionless, it builds in structure in an interesting way as it goes on. In fact that's one of the things I really like about it. Not sure why we're comparing this album to metal albums but if I were to do so I'd compare it to early Sunn 0))): minimalistic and immersive.

If you're the kind of person who gets worked up into a rage every time you listen to something that's associated with fine art or that you think is "pretentious", I'm honestly surprised that you'd even want to participate in these discussions. I seems like it would just get your blood pressure up every week.
Janszoon is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 01-31-2011, 07:19 AM   #4 (permalink)
\/ GOD
 
Ska Lagos Jew Sun Ra's Avatar
 
Join Date: May 2010
Location: Nowhere...
Posts: 2,179
Default

I don't know, I kind of liked it. Disappointed a tad I had to crank up my volume to max even to hear it, though. Very unique, however. Reminds me a lot of experiments I used to do loading non-audio files into audacity as binary. The one thing I really like about this is the assumption that it uses no drum machine(and if it does, don't tell me, it'll break my heart) but produces those perfect beats simply with the strange tones. Something really enthralled me about how it'd break into a techno-beat every once in awhile but utilizing completely non-drum machine means.

Occulthawk complains a lot above about this being a sterile album. I feel that's almost like complaining a horror movie is too disturbing. The point of is to be very sterile, and mechanical. It's kind of the dry feeling of living in a technologically subdued society. The boldness in being that 100% anti-pop, and not giving the listener an easy ride, is what makes this album truly unique truly, as the label denotes, avant-garde.
__________________
Quote:
Terence Hill, as recently confirmed during an interview to an Italian TV talk-show, was offered the role but rejected it because he considered it "too violent". Dustin Hoffman and John Travolta declined the role for the same reason. When Al Pacino was considered for the role of John Rambo, he turned it down when his request that Rambo be more of a madman was rejected.
Al Pacino = God
Ska Lagos Jew Sun Ra is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 01-31-2011, 08:42 AM   #5 (permalink)
one-balled nipple jockey
 
OccultHawk's Avatar
 
Join Date: Dec 2010
Location: Dirty Souf Biatch
Posts: 22,033
Default

Quote:
Originally Posted by Janszoon View Post
Yeah, but what do you really think?

This is an album that took a couple listens to click with me so I can understand not immediately being blown away by it. It's a grower though, and in my opinion it's a very good album. I don't know what "genre driven" is supposed to mean but I actually find Alva Noto's style pretty unique so I don't think I can agree with you there or with the idea that it's "uninspired". Also I strongly disagree that the album is directionless, it builds in structure in an interesting way as it goes on. In fact that's one of the things I really like about it. Not sure why we're comparing this album to metal albums but if I were to do so I'd compare it to early Sunn 0))): minimalistic and immersive.

If you're the kind of person who gets worked up into a rage every time you listen to something that's associated with fine art or that you think is "pretentious", I'm honestly surprised that you'd even want to participate in these discussions. I seems like it would just get your blood pressure up every week.
By 'genre driven' I mean in no way pioneering.

But Sunn 0))) makes my balls tingle, this doesn't.

I don't mind something being artsy and pretentious if the artist can back it up.
OccultHawk is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 01-31-2011, 08:49 AM   #6 (permalink)
one-balled nipple jockey
 
OccultHawk's Avatar
 
Join Date: Dec 2010
Location: Dirty Souf Biatch
Posts: 22,033
Default

Quote:
Occulthawk complains a lot above about this being a sterile album. I feel that's almost like complaining a horror movie is too disturbing. The point of is to be very sterile, and mechanical. It's kind of the dry feeling of living in a technologically subdued society. The boldness in being that 100% anti-pop, and not giving the listener an easy ride, is what makes this album truly unique truly, as the label denotes, avant-garde.

That's a good point except I didn't think of it as 'sterile'. After I bring my blood pressure down a bit I'll give it another go with that angle in mind because I can see that as a positive attribute but one I didn't have the insight on my first full listen. Maybe you can hold my hand through it when I'm ready to try again?
OccultHawk is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 01-31-2011, 10:03 AM   #7 (permalink)
Mate, Spawn & Die
 
Janszoon's Avatar
 
Join Date: May 2007
Location: The Rapping Community
Posts: 24,593
Default

Quote:
Originally Posted by Skaligojurah View Post
I don't know, I kind of liked it. Disappointed a tad I had to crank up my volume to max even to hear it, though. Very unique, however. Reminds me a lot of experiments I used to do loading non-audio files into audacity as binary. The one thing I really like about this is the assumption that it uses no drum machine(and if it does, don't tell me, it'll break my heart) but produces those perfect beats simply with the strange tones. Something really enthralled me about how it'd break into a techno-beat every once in awhile but utilizing completely non-drum machine means.
From what I've read he doesn't use any kind of sequencers (including drum machines presumably). The sounds are sampled, partially from found electronic sources, but I think mostly from oscillators, then he stitches everything together piece by piece in a sound editing program.
Janszoon is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 01-31-2011, 10:10 AM   #8 (permalink)
\/ GOD
 
Ska Lagos Jew Sun Ra's Avatar
 
Join Date: May 2010
Location: Nowhere...
Posts: 2,179
Default

Quote:
Originally Posted by Janszoon View Post
From what I've read he doesn't use any kind of sequencers (including drum machines presumably). The sounds are sampled, partially from found electronic sources, but I think mostly from oscillators, then he stitches everything together piece by piece in a sound editing program.
Yeesh, that has to take some level of dedication. Really comes off well, sounds very precise.
__________________
Quote:
Terence Hill, as recently confirmed during an interview to an Italian TV talk-show, was offered the role but rejected it because he considered it "too violent". Dustin Hoffman and John Travolta declined the role for the same reason. When Al Pacino was considered for the role of John Rambo, he turned it down when his request that Rambo be more of a madman was rejected.
Al Pacino = God
Ska Lagos Jew Sun Ra is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 01-31-2011, 11:46 AM   #9 (permalink)
Killed Laura Palmer
 
ThePhanastasio's Avatar
 
Join Date: Sep 2010
Location: Ashland, KY
Posts: 1,679
Default

A lot of times, when listening to albums of a particular style I'm not familiar with that is more or less "new to me", I'm concerned that I've missed the point upon first listen. With this album, if not just concerened that I've missed part of the intended effect, I'm slightly concerned that I've missed some of the nuances in the bass; my headphones did not seem very receptive to the album, unfortunately.

The first minute and a half was almost unlistenable, initially. I started the album, and then decided it was not the time to devote nearly an hour to the work in its entirety; I wasn't ready for it yet.

Finally, I opted for an empty house, a dark room, a set of headphones, and very intent listening. What I found surprised me. While the use of electronic sounds, painstakingly patched together to create the music itself, seemed initially completely cold, detached, and to steal a word from previous opinions on the album, "sterile", as the album progressed, it felt a lot less frigid than initially believed.

It doesn't seem so much created to evoke any strong emotion in the listener per say, but it is superb mood music. Not that the mood it seems to cause the listener to be overcome by is particularly happy or comfortable, but it is very effective at inducing a particularly uncomfortable, uneasy mood: Something's happening.

At times, it seems to project images of ravers, dancing, slack-jawed, and zombie eyed dancing amidst chrome machinery as far as the eye can see. (See Module 7) At others, it feels alarmingly like R2D2's wet dream. (See Module 3) Overall, however, it's a superb show of editing skill, supremely interesting, and something I definitely crave listening to again...with better headphones, of course.

Nice recommended album, Janszoon.
__________________

It's a hand-me-down, the thoughts are broken
Perhaps they're better left unsung
ThePhanastasio is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 01-31-2011, 12:04 PM   #10 (permalink)
They/Them
 
TockTockTock's Avatar
 
Join Date: Nov 2010
Posts: 1,914
Default

When I first went to look up this album, I went to youtube. I listened to Module 7 and hated it. I thought it was idiotic and annoying. Then, when this album was elected to be the next to listen to, I reluctantly downloaded it to my MP3 player. After I began to listen to Module 3, I got to listen to it better. You can't really listen to this album without headphones or ear buds - it makes a huge difference. I was actually surprised to hear how layered, yet simplistic, it all sounded. I then began to listen to the other Modules, and actually found that itsounded a bit funk-driven and had a very modern-sounding beat. I have to say I love this album (and I am still surprised). I even find the "songs" a bit soothing, so I sometimes listen to them before I go to sleep. Module 3 is my favorite...

Last edited by TockTockTock; 01-31-2011 at 04:35 PM.
TockTockTock is offline   Reply With Quote
Reply

Thread Tools
Display Modes

Similar Threads



© 2003-2024 Advameg, Inc.