Alva Noto - Univrs

01. uni c
02. uni fac
03. uni asymmetric tone
04. uni rec
05. uni dia
06. uni iso
07. uni mode
08. uni acronym feat. Anne-James Chaton
09. uni asymmetric noises
10. uni deform
11. uni asymmetric III-IIII
12. uni syc
13. uni asymmetric sweep
14. uni pro

Univrs is classic Alva Noto: glitchy, meticulously produced, and driven by very cerebral ideas. As you might guess from the titles and cover art, it follows the same concept as his 2008 album unitxt. The label explains it thusly: "Whereas the focus of unitxt was on the processing of rhythmic patterns ('unit' = unit of measurement, element) and information ('txt' = data, language), with univrs the focus is on the conceptual differentiation of a universal language ('universum/universal' = unity, entirety)." Just like unitxt, the album features a vocal appearance from Anne-James Chaton, who reads through a "random narrative" of three-letter acronyms on the track "uni acronym."

The album has a visual element as well, based on the "real-time manipulation of software-generated test images by audio signals," which Nicolai achieved by means of a custom built "unitxt box." This routine features in Alva Noto's live performances of the album, and can be seen on a DVD that comes with a special edition version of univrs, which will be available through Raster-Noton's website...www.residentadvisor.net