It hasn't been that many times when I've listened to an album on vinyl after listening many times on CD. This album is an example of that. The reason I'm in a need to express this is the huge difference in the experience of it all.
The album is on the heavy side of Experimental Electronic Music with clicks and cuts holding a special place all along. Alva Noto aka Carsten Nicolai uses these clicks and cuts not as a melody, but rather as a rhythm altering component. And of course he uses the round bass kicks. These will absolutely throw any mixer out of charts. It's all red. I witnessed the true power of these kicks x while listening on vinyl and my jaws dropped. Moreover, the volume was not on a high level anyway. I cannot imagine listening at mid volume let alone max. The mixer would commit suicide before the first track "u_07" ends. Same effect may happen in "u_04" also.
The album is experimental that is for sure, but most of the tracks have an underlying feeling that the general style does not sway far from Minimal Techno and Minimal House. Believe it or not, you can even feel some funkiness in some tracks. This album is made up of the live performances of Alva Noto hence can be called as more uplifting. Of course from uplifting you shouldn't think about the Uplifting Techno's of the previous eras. It is more uplifting compared to his previous album works.
Alva Noto is also to perform in Istanbul on the 18th of February. It must be stated that under normal circumstances, the performances of Carsten Nicolai have a more powerful and rhythmic texture to it. In this sense it would be harder to expect a performance full of Drone and Noise like his album "Xerrox Vol 2". Xerrox series are dedicated to a cycle of photocopying and is trying to envision the process. There is to be another follow up for this series, but it is yet to come.
Unitxt is one of the best albums Alva Noto has yet produced. Naturally I am subjective and some of this praise is due to my Minimal Techno background and the feeling of live performance, yet it is pure, simple and powerful all around. There is no way this can be objective. It is one hell of a pleasure to listen it.
To buy this record:
@ Discogs
@ Music Stack
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