Alva Noto and Ryuichi Sakamoto: Summvs

Label: Raster-Noton

They've done it before but not at this level of sophistication: two veterans, post-techno technician Alva Noto and pianist-composer (and Yellow Magic Orchestra cofounder) Ryuichi Sakamoto, exploring a textural sound universe that could only be created by their own pairing. On pieces such as "Microon I," the compositions are simple: Sakamoto's sparely chosen keys and chords ticked off and marked by Noto's crisply minimal sonic events. That formula gets upgraded on "Reverso," where Sakamoto's innate pensive quality is intensified by Noto's less amorphous work -- a shuddering wall of bass that whips into the song as if swung around on a track. "Pionier IOO" might be where they connect most deeply, finding a rhythm within their shared spaces: Moto's keys seem to respond immediately to Noto's sharper-edged constructs. Summvs provides deliriously cool vibes for indoor summer-afternoon listening sessions.