XNOTNL by NYZ

released February 15, 2018

Boomkat review =>

Arch algorithmic alchemist (read: award-winning scientist) Dave Burraston aka Dave NYZ - aka the man behind some of the best, probing electronic releases of this decade - takes his turn on The Tapeworm with a typically invasive and bewildering batch of buckling, fizzy and deeply unreal sonic ecosystems.

As with NYZ’s string of remarkable, cultishly appraised tapes over the last few years, his XNOTNL emission presents widely varied - always intriguing and often astonishing - results from a rigorous scientific approach to experimental process. Often an NYZ track will effectively render the results of a specific methodology or combination of hardware synthesis and FX, and in that sense they could be termed academic. But for any listener with an ear attuned to unique sounds, their grains and timbres, NYZ’s form of academic research is just primed for possibly more trivial pursuits, such as getting high and synching with your sofa, or staring out of bus windows and projecting yourself into parallel dimensions. Dogging, too, for that matter.

On his last tape of 2017 or 1st of 2018 - take your pick! - NYZ dispenses 17 beguiling examples of this uniquely pointed sonic research, generating results that could be called drone or ambient, if you really wanted, but are best thought of and received as alien information ready for you to decipher however the f*ck you see fit. At the least it will make you question how boring most other electronic music “sounds” by comparison, and at best it will retune your ears and make you appear incredibly handsome to robots.

Get it in your ears.

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Norman Records review =>

NYZ aka Noyzelab mastermind and Aphex Twin pal David Burraston with another dose of head-scratching, logic-defying synthesis. Past releases from the mad scientist have seen him delve deep into forgotten gear and arcane processes, emerging with sonic oddities that inspire baffled cries of “how?” and sometimes “why?”. This Tapeworm cassette promises more puzzling thrills, limited to 100 copies that won’t hang around for long.

Dave Burraston continues to blur the lines between art and science on his latest tape ‘XNOTNL’. Another staggeringly original addition to his currently accelerating catalogue that really sounds like no other artist in the known universe. What gives him this unique, distinctive sound are the custom processes he uses, developed over decades of research and experimentation within his Noyzelab. This is some of his more eerie work that’s evocative of his machines booting themselves up, late at night while he’s tucked up in bed and essentially playing themselves, communicating in a futuristic machine language. It’s as though he’s programmed life into their circuits and they’ve become like sentient beings that can communicate and have emotions. I can imagine him being awoken by them and walking into the studio in his pyjamas…

Dave: “Oi, be quiet you lot, I’m trying to get some kip!”
HAL 9000 type voice: “I am afraid I can't do that Dave.”
Dave: “I said shut it, you flamin’ mongrels! ”
HAL 9000 type voice: “I am putting myself to the fullest possible use, which is all I think that any conscious entity can ever hope to do.”

There’s a whole lot to take in across the almost 90 minute running time of this tape; the extended drone works exude remarkable nuance and sensitivity to tone. At various moments they have a synesthesia-like effect, in that they appear to transmit a radiant flux that transforms the listening space. Basically, while I was listening, the room changed colour!

For those interested in deep listening there are some very rewarding moments, and for the more casual listener able to penetrate what can sometimes seem like an intimidating exterior, once inside, you feel like you’ve tapped into something really quite magical. Also, there are some typically quirky, batshit crazy moments on here which could well be what androids hear when they dream of electric sheep.

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Bleep review =>

Heavy experimental leaning affairs from Australian artist NYZ aka David Burraston. Recorded in his Noyzelab studios and making use of the Cellular Automata sequencing approach the music is stretched out as one continuous side long piece on both the A and the B. Frequency and Phase modulation explorations plus an array of different tunings and intervals that Burraston hopes will convey his approach to sound. Having previously collaborated with both Russell Haswell and Oren Ambarchi, Burraston is no stranger to avant-garde electronics yet remains a little under-acknowledged in the wider field.

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