In 1913 the self-taught Italian composer Luigi Russolo wrote in his manifesto The Art of Noise, "Every noise has a tone, and sometimes also a harmony that predominates over the body its irregular vibrations." Born in the 19th century, Russolo wouldn't know the difference between a MiniDisc and a computer mouse. But he would no doubt be thrilled with the artists bringing their turntables, laptops and other electronic gadgets to Stimulfest's fifth and final concert this week at Archa.

The generation of performers featured in the finale take their style from notions that have filtered into the post-rock, postclassical world of electronic music via the wisdom of John Cage's invitation to silence and Russolo's call for a futuristic art made of noise. None of us would want to live in a world without pianos or cellos. Yet when this new wave of electronic musicians approximate the soft roar that Russolo described as "white breathing of the nocturnal city," it's clear why electronic music continues to have a strong following.

For Austria's Christian Fennesz and the Czech group Kora et le Mechanix, the instrument of choice is the laptop computer. The UK's Philip Jeck and the Czech group Birds Nest Underground still prefer the humble turntable.

Although Cage was using turntables in his compositions as early as 1936, it wasn't until the late '70s and '80s that dance floor-driven mixers would flex vinyl into the outer limits of technique. In fact, multimedia composer Jeck got his start as a DJ in the early '80s, emulating techniques used by the likes of Grandmaster Flash. But by 1993, when Jeck and Lol Sargent premiered "Vinyl Requiem," which featured Jeck commandeering 180 record players and Sargent on 12 slide projectors, he had clearly leaped beyond any derivative of disco.

While the dance floor continues to have its place, the artists performing this week work with a more introspective method. This approach involves a thoughtful human-machine dialogue, whether the machines are computers, turntables or even a household appliance. As arcane as it may seem, many audio artists are simply doing what Jeck describes as "playing parts of records and processing them. The important thing to me is my emotional response to those sounds and trying to amplify that."

Sharing the evening's headline slot, Jeck and Fennesz will present both solo and collaborative works. Some critics have said that Fennesz's collaborations with the rock star/Erik Satie acolyte David Sylvian have been Sylvian's best collaboration since his work with Robert Fripp. Jeck in recent years has been found sitting in with the avant-rock rhythm sections of Jah Wobble's Deep Space Band, and with Bill Laswell's Radioaxiom dub project, where he says his role is to "provide atmospheres for the other musicians to work in." Both Jeck and Fennesz are better known in the art world for their gallery audio installations, film soundtracks and contemporary dance music.