Dataplex is the seventh solo album of Japanese musician Ryoji Ikeda, one of the leaders of electronic minimal music starting from mid 90s. Ikeda concentrated his attention on investigation of physical properties of audio signal and interactions inside the system: sound-person. Using digital technologies he develops the specific micro-methods of sound-design and sound composition. In cooperation with Carsten Nicolai (Alva Noto) Ryoji works at the project Cyclo pointed at studying the bases of errors and faults in software. Ryoji's task is to reproduce these processes in audio/video installations. In 2001 Ryoji Ikeda got Golden Nica prize in category "Digital Music" during the ceremony Ars Electronica in Linz (Austria).This CD is only one part of dramatics project created for audiovisual presentation of such substance as data, streams of which have totally captured our everyday life. Dramatics includes a number of experiments in different forms like audiovisual concerts and installations for data structure materialization,a series of broadcasts on radio, CD/DVD releases.
Dataplex starts with rather simple audio stream easy for recognition, it's represented by a composition of microscopical sounds and noises. Gradually this stream gets more complicated and brings in motion more brain capacity of a listener. The process of sound gradation can be analyzed on the basis of first tracks' titles: data.index, data.simplex, data.duplex, data.triplex, data.multiplex, data.complex, data.hypercomplex, data.googolplex. Of no doubt, it's a good preparation for a listener - downloading of primary information about further work content.
Further we can hear more sophisticated variations on the given subject - tracks get more continuous, sound structure more complicated, in the middle of the disc certain musicality of this sound design work can be heard. Listening to all the tracks of the album you can't help feeling like a processor working with a tremendous number of data coming from your ears. And in fact it is really so...
And in conclusion warning by the label: "This CD contains specific waveform data that performs a data-read test for optical drives. The last track will cause some CD players to experience playback errors, with no damage to equipment".
Enjoy listening!
- Ryoji Ikeda
- raster-noton