not silence, not noise – raster noton, russell

On days that feel empty and hollow, pieced together from the dirty scraps of a manic few weeks, I often don’t want to listen to hard, driving beats, or bright chirping melodies, and yet I need something to streamline a scatty state of mind. It snowed today too; the air is icy cold and still, echoless and dry. 

On days like this I return to Alva Noto & Ryuichi Sakamoto’s collaboration on Raster Noton. In parts it’s almost silent - the thin electronic hum giving weight to acute stillness. This track is taken from Insen, one of three collaborative releases the pair produced between 2002-2006.

Ryuichi Sakamoto & Alva Noto – Aurora

The more spritely collaboration, 23, between Tujiko Noriko and Aoki Takamasa produced more liney aural artefacts. Takamasa’s dry programmed brushwork and Noriko’s ethereal vocals are cohesive; the flat forms of their typical characteristics billow into cloud-like reliefs when in unison. 

Aoki Takamasa & Tujiko Noriko – Nolicom

Some of Arthur Russell’s sketches on First Thought Best Thought create the same effect; sustained sounds which occupy but don’t distract. These compositions are statuesque – more robust than the silky, fleeting collaborations above.

Arthur Russell – Tower Of Meaning E

Arthur Russell – Tower Of Meaning E

An alternative to these wondrous soundscapes is of course, the Buddha Box - shifting loops without beginning or end. Infinity for the price of a record. Buy these things, from the people on the right, and drown youself in an ambient nirvana.