Ryoji Ikeda
Encyclopedia
Ryoji Ikeda is a Japanese sound art
ist who lives and works in Paris
. Ikeda's music is concerned primarily with sound in a variety of "raw" states, such as sine tones and noise, often using frequencies at the edges of the range of human hearing. The conclusion of his album +/- features just such a tone; of it, Ikeda says "a high frequency sound is used that the listener becomes aware of only upon its disappearance" (from the CD booklet). Rhythmically, Ikeda's music is highly imaginative, exploiting beat patterns
and, at times, using a variety of discrete tones and noise to create the semblance of a drum machine. His work also encroaches on the world of ambient music; many tracks on his albums are concerned with slowly evolving soundscapes, with little or no sense of pulse.
In addition to working as a solo artist, he has also collaborated with, among others, Carsten Nicolai (under the name "Cyclo.") and the art collective Dumb Type
. His work matrix won the Golden Nica Award in 2001.
In 2004, the dormant Saarinen-designed
TWA Flight Center (now Jetblue Terminal 5)
at JFK Airport
briefly hosted an art exhibition called Terminal 5
curated by Rachel K. Ward and featuring the work of 18 artists including Ikeda. The show featured work, lectures and temporary installations drawing inspiration from the idea of travel — and the terminal's architecture. The show was to run from October 1 2004 to January 31, 2005 — though it closed abruptly after the building itself was vandalized during the opening party.
as Producer
Compilations
DVDs/books
Sound art
Sound art is a diverse group of art practices that considers wide notions of sound, listening and hearing as its predominant focus. There are often distinct relationships forged between the visual and aural domains of art and perception by sound artists....
ist who lives and works in Paris
Paris
Paris is the capital and largest city in France, situated on the river Seine, in northern France, at the heart of the Île-de-France region...
. Ikeda's music is concerned primarily with sound in a variety of "raw" states, such as sine tones and noise, often using frequencies at the edges of the range of human hearing. The conclusion of his album +/- features just such a tone; of it, Ikeda says "a high frequency sound is used that the listener becomes aware of only upon its disappearance" (from the CD booklet). Rhythmically, Ikeda's music is highly imaginative, exploiting beat patterns
Beat (acoustics)
In acoustics, a beat is an interference between two sounds of slightly different frequencies, perceived as periodic variations in volume whose rate is the difference between the two frequencies....
and, at times, using a variety of discrete tones and noise to create the semblance of a drum machine. His work also encroaches on the world of ambient music; many tracks on his albums are concerned with slowly evolving soundscapes, with little or no sense of pulse.
In addition to working as a solo artist, he has also collaborated with, among others, Carsten Nicolai (under the name "Cyclo.") and the art collective Dumb Type
Dumb Type
Founded in 1984, the artist collective Dumb Type is based in Kyoto, Japan.Members are trained in varied disciplines, including visual arts, theatre, dance, architecture, music composition and computer programming...
. His work matrix won the Golden Nica Award in 2001.
In 2004, the dormant Saarinen-designed
Eero Saarinen
Eero Saarinen was a Finnish American architect and industrial designer of the 20th century famous for varying his style according to the demands of the project: simple, sweeping, arching structural curves or machine-like rationalism.-Biography:Eero Saarinen shared the same birthday as his father,...
TWA Flight Center (now Jetblue Terminal 5)
TWA Flight Center
The TWA Flight Center or Trans World Flight Center, opened in 1962 as a standalone terminal at New York's John F. Kennedy International Airport .for Trans World Airlines...
at JFK Airport
John F. Kennedy International Airport
John F. Kennedy International Airport is an international airport located in the borough of Queens in New York City, about southeast of Lower Manhattan. It is the busiest international air passenger gateway to the United States, handling more international traffic than any other airport in North...
briefly hosted an art exhibition called Terminal 5
Terminal 5 (exhibition)
Terminal 5 was an art exhibition that took place in October 2004 at the then disused Eero Saarinen–designed TWA Flight Center at New York's JFK Airport....
curated by Rachel K. Ward and featuring the work of 18 artists including Ikeda. The show featured work, lectures and temporary installations drawing inspiration from the idea of travel — and the terminal's architecture. The show was to run from October 1 2004 to January 31, 2005 — though it closed abruptly after the building itself was vandalized during the opening party.
Discography
Albums- 1000 Fragments (Cci recordings, 1995)
- +/- (Touch, 1997)
- Time and Space (StaalplaatStaalplaatStaalplaat is an independent record label that is located in Amsterdam with a separate store in Berlin. Created in 1982, the company's mission was created as a sound forum for sound artists, who write and perform new and experimental music...
, 1998) - 0°C (Touch, 1998)
- Mort Aux Vaches (live recording at VPRO Radio; Staalplaat, 1998)
- 99 [for 20' to 2000] (Raster-NotonRaster-NotonRaster-Noton is a German electronic music record label founded in 1996 by Olaf Bender, Carsten Nicolai and Frank Bretschneider. Based in Chemnitz, Germany, Raster-Noton merged in 1999 from separate labels Rastermusik and Noton .The collective label's aesthetic focus is rhythmic, minimal electronic...
, 1999) - Matrix (Touch, 2001)
- Cyclo. (with Carsten NicolaiAlva NotoAlva Noto is a stage name of sound artist Carsten Nicolai who uses art and music as complementary tools to create microscopic views of creative processes. Another alias he uses is Noto...
; Raster-NotonRaster-NotonRaster-Noton is a German electronic music record label founded in 1996 by Olaf Bender, Carsten Nicolai and Frank Bretschneider. Based in Chemnitz, Germany, Raster-Noton merged in 1999 from separate labels Rastermusik and Noton .The collective label's aesthetic focus is rhythmic, minimal electronic...
, 2001) - Op. (Touch, 2002)
- Dataplex (Raster-Noton, 2005)
- Test Pattern (Raster-Noton, 2008)
- Dataphonics (Dis Voir, 2010)
as Producer
- S/N (by Dumb TypeDumb TypeFounded in 1984, the artist collective Dumb Type is based in Kyoto, Japan.Members are trained in varied disciplines, including visual arts, theatre, dance, architecture, music composition and computer programming...
; Spiral 1994) - OR (by Dumb TypeDumb TypeFounded in 1984, the artist collective Dumb Type is based in Kyoto, Japan.Members are trained in varied disciplines, including visual arts, theatre, dance, architecture, music composition and computer programming...
; Foil Records, 1998)
Compilations
- Silence CD (Spiral, 1993)
- Document 02 - Sine (Dorobo, 1995)
- Statics (Cci recordings, 1995)
- Mesmervariations (Ash International, 1995)
- A Fault in the Nothing (Ash International, 1996)
- Night Passage: demixed (Dorobo, 1996)
- Atomic Weight (Iridium, 1996)
- Touch Sampler 2 (Touch, 1996)
- Tulpas (Selektion, 1997)
- Chill Out (Sabotage, 1998)
- Meme (meme, 1998)
- Modulations (Caipirinha, 1998)
- Stilluppsteypa Remix (Fire Inc., 1998)
- END ID (Digital Narcis, 1999)
- Modulation & Transformation 4 (Mille Plateaux, 1999)
- Microscopic (Caipirinha, 1999)
- Touch Sampler 0 (Touch, 2000)
- Memorandum (Dumb Type; Cci recordings, 2000)
- Clicks & Cuts 2 (Mille Plateaux, 2001)
- An Anthology of Noise & Electronic Music, Vol.1 (Sub Rosa, 2002)
- Touch 25 (Touch, 2007)
DVDs/books
- Formula (Forma, 2005)