Sine Waves & Saturated Synapses

Signal

This Thursday, Make It New will be taken over by Non-Event who are, once again, presenting a very special showcase by Raster-Noton; a German electronic music record label founded in 1996 by Olaf Bender, Carsten Nicolai and Frank Bretschneider. Based in Chemnitz, Germany, Raster-Noton merged in 1999 from separate labels Rastermusik and Noton. The collective label's aesthetic focus is rhythmic, minimal electronic music alternating between playful pop and introspection, partnered with unconventional and equally minimal packaging design.

Non-Event, Basstown, and the Goethe-Institüt Boston present
RASTER-NOTON SHOWCASE
with SIGNAL
+
solo sets by
Alva Noto
Frank Bretschneider
Byetone

Thursday, May 15th
Middlesex Lounge
315 Massachusetts Ave
Cambridge, Mass
doors: 9pm
show: 10pm
21+ / $10



Below is more information on the acts, but be sure to listen to the podcast, compiled by Susanna Bolle of the Boston Phoenix and Non-Event.

SIGNAL is Raster-Noton’s supergroup, featuring Carsten Nicolai (aka Alva Noto), Olaf Bender (aka Byetone), and Frank Bretschneider. The trio performs intense, hypnotic music to a spectacular backdrop of graphical information that reveals the complex geometry of the sounds in play. Most of their sound sources are taken from a huge memory bank of music from long jamming sessions dating from the early days of Raster-Noton. These are processed and folded into a taut and energetic web of electrostatic rhythmic clicks, bristling static, and deep bass pulses that are unexpectedly sensuous and undeniably funky. Their most recent release Robotron came out in 2007. This will be SIGNAL’s Boston debut.

Musician and visual artist CARSTEN NICOLAI (aka ALVA NOTO) works in the transitional area between art and science. In his intensely dynamic work, Nicolai plays with the rules of physicality. Clicks and glitches are not used as ornamental additions, but make up the essential elements of the work, which is often structured around the rhythmic grooves of hip-hop and R&B. Nicolai has performed in many of the world’s most prestigious spaces including The Guggenheim, MOMA SF, MOMA Oxford, NTT Tokyo, Tate Modern, and Venice Biennial. This will be Nicolai’s Boston debut.

FRANK BRETSCHNEIDER is a founding member of Raster-Noton and one of the pioneering figures in ultra minimal post techno. Using the most basic sound sources (sine waves and white noise), Bretschneider creates minimal, flowing pieces with delicate textures and complex rhythmic patterns. Described as “abstract analogue pointilism,” “ambience for spaceports,” and “hypnotic echochamber pulsebeat,” Bretschneider’s subtle and detailed music is echoed by his visuals: perfect translations of the qualities found in music into visual phenomena.

OLAF BENDER (aka BYETONE) is a founding member of the Raster-Noton label, as well as its lead designer. Bender creates his music digitally, assembling sine tones into complex sound fabrics of deep sub-bass and rhythmic clicks and crackles. He creates abstract animations to support his abstract music —transforming the rhythm of the music into a graphic equivalent, which he controls in real time. His new album, D.O.A.T. (Death of a Typographer), is due out on Raster-Noton shortly.


Website: Raster-Noton
Podcast: Raster-Noton Showcase Preview