Alva Noto a stage name of sound artist Carsten Nicolai, who has established himself as a leading artist amongst current electronic sound and visual designers who are using art and music as hybrid tools to create microscopic views of creative processes. The video is by Karl Kleim.

Nicolai plays with the rules of physicality. Sound is changed and evolved into time and space and transformed by looping oscillators and tone generators. Through these processes the essence of pure electricity is made audible. He works without sequencers, but mathematically edits his work to give his compositions precise [rhythmic structures. Clicks and glitches are not used as ornamental additions to the compositions but make up the essential elements of the work and these sound sources are applied to the rhythmic groove of Hip-Hop and R&B.

The sounds of electronic information transmission such as fax tones, modem sounds and telephone pops and clicks are sampled and organized into loops to which Nicolai adds longer electronic tones in the background and foreground as the piece progresses.