Ryoji Ikeda

In the past Ryoji Ikeda has pushed the outer walls of minimalist electronics. His talent always lies with an ability to reconfigure or translate native machinist sound into new, and slightly askew sound experiences. Notably, works like 1998’s 0°C on Touch Records featured tracks that resembled Morse code tones and heartbeats sharing a bathysphere and dot matrix printers rigged to play Venetian Snares-style breakcore. As Dataplex begins it most closely approximates a hearing test gone wrong, with upper reach kHz pulses warring against white noise. As the short tracks progress it becomes evident that Ikeda is introducing each tone and noise set the way an orchestra tunes each of its sections. By the midpoint of the recording, on tracks like "Data.Microhelix” and "Data.Superhelix,” these sterile blocks have acquired a beat pattern — not unlike watching microscopic life quickly evolve under the lens. These pieces are unlikely to flood the dance floor or any human club, but wherever fax machines and modems rave is where you’ll hear these oddly hypnotic themes.