Ryoji Ikeda/Carston Nikolai

One of the more satisfying avant-garde electronic producers, Ikeda manages to be both abstract and highly listenable. This recording is similar to Ikeda's previous 0( C offering, which was an array of high-end frequencies, surgically precise rhythms, fibrous low-end textures and ear-popping peaks. Not many artists come to mind that can create comprehensive pieces with such abstract noises. The packaging includes esoteric drawings of "active mutation in self-reproducing networks of machines and tapes," which sums up what this and a lot of current electronic music is trying to achieve: a study of nature in a way that might allow us to see beyond our idea of what actually constitutes nature.