Kerne

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Noto refrains from taking the assaultive stance and jolting us out of complacent appreciation of his constant patter and chirping ultra-high frequencies. Thus the few instances of decibel abuse carry all the more weight. When Noto does choose to rip through his meticulously mapped binary patterns, he does so with looped soundwaves that seem to build in force and intensity with each revolution. Kerne is an even quieter record than *0s 0.00, its peaks and valleys generally graphed within a deliberately limited range of sonic exploration one which should feel familiar to adherents of Bernhard Guenters Trente Oiseaux label and Ralf Wehowskys Selektion stable. As such, the drama of these eighteen exceedingly quiet pieces may not be as readily apparent as it is in O or *0s (relatively) exciting and varied work. But, like the barely detectable disturbances in seismic or barometric activity which precede the first indication of a natural disaster, Notos tweakings on the nano-level stir an anticipation for eventual sonic events of tremendous magnitude. Its up to us to fill in the rest of the story. One need only imagine what cataclysmic upheaval might follow from where Kerne leaves off to appreciate the significance of the proverbial "calm before the storm"