Looking Outwards-04

The piece of work I selected is “data.matrix” by Ryoji Ikeda . The piece was released in December 2005. When listening to the piece its electronic quality comes to the forefront. It sounds almost as if it is made up of “beep boops” and tapping. However, there is an effect added to the sound which really enhances its electronic energy. Additionally, the piece sounds closer to noise frequencies than a traditional music piece. Ikeda’s pieces are often compared to a soundscape and that is apparent in data.matrix. Ikeda has had large scale sound installations all across the world and had prominent work at the TWA flight center at JFK. It reads more as art, and even though I was not able to find what algorithm Ikeda used for this piece it is apparent that some kind of algorithm must have been used. There is a clear order and organization to the piece that makes it feel quite mathematical and computational.