Alva Noto + Ryuichi Sakamoto – Two
The pair’s 2018 concert at the Sydney Opera House forms the basis of this record (not the whole thing, mind - their performance ran to two hours and had to be edited down). Across the performance they run through several cuts from their extensive back catalogue. These old cuts come retooled for a new context, and it’s enjoyable to contrast the changes in sound - ‘Trioon II’, for instance, morphs from bleeping ambience into a micro-house loop reminiscent of Jan Jelinek. Most exciting of all is their portentous, brooding take on their theme for The Revenant, here given all the moodiness of a Ben Frost piece.
