re:mote voices

alva noto + ryuichi sakamoto - vrioon - a 6 track collaboration between these two artists. i was first aware of this release with a friend picking up the considerably elusive clear vinyl edition - something which i ordered, but wasn't able to get. with the performances by carsten nicolai at kill your timid notion in dundee as cyclo and alva noto, i found this CD for sale on the merchandise stall. so i decided to pick it up then. apparently nicolai had met sakamoto on his first trip to japan, after which he was asked to do a remix of some sakamoto material, from that vrioon stems - a two year process. sakamoto's influence is more immediately obvious, the spare, melodic piano work operating at a higher point in the mix than nicolai's typical glitches and pulses. but as you listen to the disc you become more conscious of how these sounds compliment each other and work together to provide a particularly understated release - even by nicolai's standards.