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<\/a><\/figure>\n<\/div>\nALVA NOTO \u2013 XERROX VOL. 5<\/a><\/em><\/strong><\/h3>\nNo less than four years after 2020\u2019s Volume 4<\/em>, we finally can welcome the closing part of the Xerrox <\/em><\/strong>series that Alva Noto<\/a><\/em><\/strong> (Carsten Nicolai) <\/em><\/strong>started in 2007. I doubted the series would ever come to a close, because of other releases that came in between, like HYbr:ID<\/em> I-III<\/em> and various movie soundtracks.<\/p>\nThe Xerrox <\/em><\/strong>series is based on the concept of repeating digital copies as in a sonic photocopier, each time with subtle distortions, and finding out what happens to the sound. Can (digital) distortion evoke emotional resonance? This was perhaps most clear in the first part of the series (2007), but later in the series the music became more personal and emotional \u2013 including more melodic layers to temper the abstract, digital edge. It felt as if the xeroxed artifacts slowly disappeared into the background.
Volume 2<\/em> appeared in 2009, and it wasn\u2019t until 2015 that Volume 3<\/em> \u2013 an attempt to make the unknown and the infinite tangible \u2013<\/em> was released. Volume 4 <\/em>departed from abstract sounds to create a more vulnerable and accessible work. Nicolai<\/em> <\/strong>referred to it as a \u2018love story\u2019.<\/em> <\/p>\nXerrox Vol. 4<\/em> was arranged for performances with Ensemble Modern<\/em> in 2021 (Frankfurt, Germany) and in 2024 on November Music in Holland. (If you\u2019re interested in how the sounds of Xerrox Vol. 4 <\/em>translate into ensemble arrangements: the full 2021 performance is still available on YouTube<\/a>.)<\/p>\nAnd now here is the concluding edition, finally completing the word X.E.R.R.O.X. spelled by the five covers.
\u201cThe copying process is now less visible through software manipulation; rather, it unfolds as the artist describes melodic and acoustic images that are then manipulated, copied, and transformed into new patterns during composition.\u201d<\/em> <\/p>\nThe performances with Ensemble Modern<\/em> have left their mark on the latest edition: \u201cThis experience of working with acoustic classical instruments has flowed into the compositional process for Xerrox Vol. 5. Certain instruments are designed with potential orchestral translation in mind.\u201d<\/em>
It\u2019s not hard to imagine how Vol. 5 will sound in a string arrangement setting, so who knows what the future may bring. <\/p>\nVolume 5<\/em> is even more personal and emotional than Volume 4.<\/em> It is \u2019embued with melancholy and the bittersweet essence of farewell\u2019. <\/em>And that is not just the farewell to the series, but also farewell to people who were close to Nicolai. Such as the passing of Ryuichi Sakamoto<\/em>, with who Carsten Nicolai<\/em> has often worked (and who was an admirer of the Xerrox<\/em> series).<\/p>\nThe subtitles of the different parts of the series are an indication of its expanding universe: Old World<\/em> (Vol.1), To The New World<\/em> (2), Towards Space<\/em> (3), Transit Extrasolar Territories And Inner Worlds<\/em> (4), and, finally, Sailing With The Ion Wind In The Ocean Of Dissolution<\/em> (5).<\/p>\nTogether, the series is a fascinating journey that starts with abstract and somewhat distant electronics but gradually transforms into melancholic and sensitive arrangements fit for orchestra performance.<\/p>\n
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The Xerrox <\/em><\/strong>series is based on the concept of repeating digital copies as in a sonic photocopier, each time with subtle distortions, and finding out what happens to the sound. Can (digital) distortion evoke emotional resonance? This was perhaps most clear in the first part of the series (2007), but later in the series the music became more personal and emotional \u2013 including more melodic layers to temper the abstract, digital edge. It felt as if the xeroxed artifacts slowly disappeared into the background. Xerrox Vol. 4<\/em> was arranged for performances with Ensemble Modern<\/em> in 2021 (Frankfurt, Germany) and in 2024 on November Music in Holland. (If you\u2019re interested in how the sounds of Xerrox Vol. 4 <\/em>translate into ensemble arrangements: the full 2021 performance is still available on YouTube<\/a>.)<\/p>\n And now here is the concluding edition, finally completing the word X.E.R.R.O.X. spelled by the five covers. The performances with Ensemble Modern<\/em> have left their mark on the latest edition: \u201cThis experience of working with acoustic classical instruments has flowed into the compositional process for Xerrox Vol. 5. Certain instruments are designed with potential orchestral translation in mind.\u201d<\/em> Volume 5<\/em> is even more personal and emotional than Volume 4.<\/em> It is \u2019embued with melancholy and the bittersweet essence of farewell\u2019. <\/em>And that is not just the farewell to the series, but also farewell to people who were close to Nicolai. Such as the passing of Ryuichi Sakamoto<\/em>, with who Carsten Nicolai<\/em> has often worked (and who was an admirer of the Xerrox<\/em> series).<\/p>\n The subtitles of the different parts of the series are an indication of its expanding universe: Old World<\/em> (Vol.1), To The New World<\/em> (2), Towards Space<\/em> (3), Transit Extrasolar Territories And Inner Worlds<\/em> (4), and, finally, Sailing With The Ion Wind In The Ocean Of Dissolution<\/em> (5).<\/p>\n Together, the series is a fascinating journey that starts with abstract and somewhat distant electronics but gradually transforms into melancholic and sensitive arrangements fit for orchestra performance.<\/p>\n
Volume 2<\/em> appeared in 2009, and it wasn\u2019t until 2015 that Volume 3<\/em> \u2013 an attempt to make the unknown and the infinite tangible \u2013<\/em> was released. Volume 4 <\/em>departed from abstract sounds to create a more vulnerable and accessible work. Nicolai<\/em> <\/strong>referred to it as a \u2018love story\u2019.<\/em> <\/p>\n
\u201cThe copying process is now less visible through software manipulation; rather, it unfolds as the artist describes melodic and acoustic images that are then manipulated, copied, and transformed into new patterns during composition.\u201d<\/em> <\/p>\n
It\u2019s not hard to imagine how Vol. 5 will sound in a string arrangement setting, so who knows what the future may bring. <\/p>\n
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