Opto

Opto are Carsten Nicolai (a.k.a Alva Noto) & Thomas Knak (a.k.a Opiate). Between Jan-April 2003 Carsten Nicolai (Alva Noto) and Thomas Knak ( Opiate) produced their 2nd Opto collaboration. The work was commisioned from Japan, and the music was to collide with a clothing line based on an ”in the woods” theme. As a direct request, the music had to work with a more organic, light and melodic feeling, compared to their first opto release (Opto files, Raster Noton, in 2001). At the same time as the commision was accepted, Carsten found an old battered cassette in a forest, north east of Berlin. The tape contained almost inaudiable lo-fi recordings of someone playing small guitar pieces. The forest ambience and the old guitar recordings was to be the template for ”2nd”. When collaborating on their first Opto album, the way of working , was to send soundfiles back and forth Berlin and Copenhagen. This also became the idea for ”2nd” . Carsten got help from assistants to restore the recordings of the found magnetic audiotape, and passed the guitar files to Thomas, who then started working on beat structures, then adding recordings of a nearby forest. The recordings made at different hours during two days, hence the tracktitles. This way it’s possible to listen to the album as one long track which guides you through 48 hours in about 40 min, or choose to pick the melodic and daylight bits from the more moody and static night productions.