Ryoji Ikeda – Test Pattern

Ryoji Ikeda

CD – Raster-Noton
As if dragged out of time in a world of infinite numbers, data and multi-dimensional abstract geometries, Ryoji Ikeda’s ‘Test Pattern’ explores the intricate relationships between auditory microstructures, signals and electronic pulses. This piece is a conversion of algorithmic models from an earlier audiovisual project, accomplished using specific software that is able modulate the sound input though using eight different barcodes and sixteen connected speakers. The live performance documents an army of glitches and harsh manipulation of high quality raw data. It is an extreme assemblage of a few hundred frames per second, which merges minimal sequences while chasing the limits of sound reproduction and human perception. This work is highly fragmented but retains a sense of balance through the frequencies employed and its design as a synthetic and sensorial experience. It has impeccable consistency and flow throughout. Essentially, Ikeda incorporates text, sound, pictures and movies in a single flow of information. The result is a dynamic, stuttering interference that forms a digital score somewhat alien, sliding along the ridge of a hyper-vivid contemporaneity.