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Baker's Dozen

No Music: A Baker’s Dozen with Alva Noto
Ollie Zhang , February 21st, 2018 10:30

From Laurie Anderson’s United States Live to Meredith Monk’s Dolmen Music, Carsten Nicolai tells Mollie Zhang about 13 records that shaped his musical backbone. Photo by Andrey Bold

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Nico - Behind the Iron Curtain
I always loved Nico, she was a big icon for me - not only because she was German, but also because she was part of the Andy Warhol/factory scene. I found the image of her arriving in New York during this period very vivid and interesting. Genres and media like art, fashion, experimental filmmaking and so on were not so divided, so making music was very involved with all of that. Of course I also loved Nico’s songs; she even recorded a few in German, too.

I chose this album specifically because obviously, she recorded it in the East. I missed a concert of hers in Prague, and I was always really sad that I missed my one opportunity to see her live. For me, this album represents a kind of sadness about her death as well as my sadness that I never got to see her live. I think she’s a wonderful artist who recorded amazing albums, and had a very interesting biography, too.