The Answer Is In The Beat

Diamond Version: EP4 + EP5 (Mute, 2013)

June 23, 2013 at 8:59 pm | Posted in Reviews | Leave a comment

Experimental techno from Carsten Nicolai (Alva Noto) and Olaf Bender (Byetone). Less abrasive and more dancefloor friendly than some of their Raster-Noton material, but still gets pretty noisy and glitchy. EP4 opens with “Get Yours”, which is like a minimalized version of something that could appear on Ed Banger or Boysnoize, and “Get Yours (Version)” is a more smoothed out dancefloor edit of the same track, with a bit more of a bassline. “Live Young” has an electrified pulse and numbers counting up interspersed with the word “years”, somewhat like the material Raster-Noton has been releasing by artists such as Anne-James Chaton. The numbers gradually go up to 100, but the music generally stays the same the entire piece. “When Performance Matters” starts with uptempo clicking and throbbing, and a yummy layer of feedback noise. The feedback noise fluctuates, but the beat pretty much stays the same.

On EP5, “The Future Of Memory” is where things get closer to the type of abrasive rhythmic glitch-noise Raster-Noton is best known for, with looped sinewave buzzing, brief edits and more actual progression throughout the track. Seriously a banging track. “Operate At Your Optimum” has a bit more of a bounce to it, almost sounding like some sort of feedback-laced glitch-ghettotech track, I’m sure it would sound crazy if you pitched it up higher (I don’t have the actual 12″, just the digital version). “Sense And Simplicity” is another minimal, glitchy track that progresses a little bit and has some cool edits. “Make.Believe” has some major beat trickery, with nervously twittering beats that puzzle your mind as to where it’s coming from and where it’s going. The beats are at a rapid, skittery enough pace that a creative drum’n’bass DJ could mix the track in a set, even if it doesn’t really sound like drum’n’bass.

Overall, I’d say EP5 is much more interesting, as EP4 gets a bit too repetitive. All 5 EPs were released on vinyl by Mute, and I was under the impression that they were going to release a CD compilation of the entire series, but Discogs says the comp only came out in Japan limited to 100 copies, so I dunno.