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Ryoji Ikeda’s Japan Tour Kickoff: A Journey Beyond the Senses

2024.12.26

#MUSIC

The Opening Night of Ryoji Ikeda’s First National Tour

Ryoji Ikeda continues to push the boundaries of his art. From his bases in Paris and Kyoto, he has embraced various opportunities since the pandemic, including major solo exhibitions at the Aomori and Hirosaki Brick Warehouse Museums, performances at MUTEK.JP 2022 Edition 7, and the release of his reflective album ultratronics. These efforts have brought his innovative work to the Japanese public in diverse forms. Now, with the ultratronics Japan Tour, Ikeda will take his unique sound to five cities, joined by an exceptional lineup featuring VMO a.k.a Violent Magic Orchestra, ∈Y∋, goat, Hasegawa Hakushi, and Alva Noto. After several successful showcases of ultratronics in Japan and globally, the tour will bring this electrifying experience to life once again, beginning with a performance at KT Zepp Yokohama in Kanagawa.

Ryoji Ikeda
Born in 1966 in Gifu, Japan, Ryoji Ikeda is a globally recognized composer and artist based in Paris and Kyoto. Initially known for his electronic music compositions, he now explores art as an immersive experience, using a refined mix of sound, visuals, materials, physical phenomena, and mathematical concepts. His works, which include live performances and installations, envelop audiences in a sensory experience, pushing the boundaries of perception.

International Festival Regular, VMO a.k.a Violent Magic Orchestra, Opens the Show

First, VMO a.k.a Violent Magic Orchestra took the stage as the opening act. Known for their explosive live performances, they are one of the most acclaimed acts for their intense sound.

VMO a.k.a Violent Magic Orchestra is a collective combining various musical and visual talents. The lineup includes Pete Swanson (ex-Yellow Swans) on electronics, Extreme Precautions on mix, synths, and beats, Vampillia on instruments, kezzardrix handling live visuals, and three strobes creating an illusion of light and darkness. Their sound fuses techno, black metal, industrial, and noise, forming a powerful and immersive experience. The project is set in the fictional year 2099, presenting a century-end musical concept that feels like a collision of black metal meets Kraftwerk, or an Aphex Twin track overtaken by Burzum. Known for consuming a significant amount of power, VMO’s total energy consumption is 4500W (equivalent to 56 amplifiers).

On this night, the grand stage at KT Zepp Yokohama fully utilized the venue’s vastness and large screens, enhancing the three-dimensional sound characteristic of larger spaces, making the booming sound even sharper. The fusion of black metal, noise, and club music sounded almost more expansive in the usual smaller venues, which was intriguing. In other words, VMO’s typical stage presence, which is often more intense, interactive, and violent with the crowd, felt more refined and independent this time, presenting a level of perfection that seemed self-contained. While VMO frequently performs at major international festivals ranging from electronic to heavy music scenes, this stage performance made me wish to see them in such a setting more often in Japan. We may not have fully realized their true appeal yet—such was the impression left by their performance, where everything, even the rough edges, seemed to harmonize and come together as a cohesive work. What made this possible was undoubtedly the speculative nature of black metal itself, with its inherent qualities and the sonic intensity that supports its aesthetics.

The Power of Ultratronics: Breaking Down and Focusing the Listener’s Consciousness

After such an electrifying opening, as the audience feels a tingling sensation throughout their bodies, Ryoji Ikeda appears with remarkable presence. Standing symbolically with minimal equipment and a massive screen behind him, his mere presence seems to represent the very concept of Ryoji Ikeda’s works.

The opening track of the masterpiece ultratronics, “ultratronics00,” begins with a serene pulse, sending shivers down the spine and causing the skin to react. The audience’s bodies twitch, and a heightened sense of awareness spreads throughout the venue. The performance then flows seamlessly into “ultratronics01,” with visuals on the screen that seem to visualize data in black and white monochrome, as the sound and images sync together, piercing through the entire space. While this approach isn’t new—having been used in Ryoji Ikeda’s previous works—this live performance of ultratronics, with its clarity and focus, makes the simplicity and transparency of the experience feel more direct and striking than ever before.

And this is where the essence of the live performance of ultratronics lies. Both the visuals and the music have an outstanding effect in breaking down and focusing the listener’s consciousness to its smallest unit. This is why the light—electromagnetic waves—forming the visuals and the sound—mechanical waves—forming the music, physically impact our bodies as wave phenomena. It’s not an exaggeration to say that the true allure of this performance lies in the ability to refine these elements to the point where they can be perceived as electromagnetic energy or molecular kinetic energy. The dynamics created by the unusually thick bass frequencies, woven throughout, strike our bodies, sometimes even as bone conduction. It serves as a reminder that our skin is a highly functional sensory organ, often referred to as the “zero-th brain,” possessing the capabilities of both hearing and sight.

A Captivating Experience of Tension and Release

What’s truly remarkable is how, as you absorb the fragmented sounds and visuals, they begin to transcend music itself. Take ultratronics02, for instance, where voice sampling is seamlessly integrated—tracks with booming bass seem to detach from conventional music, entering the realm of pure “sonic experience” that deeply resonates with the body. In minimal electronic music settings, the overwhelming power of sound often calls to mind thunder or the roar of jets. However, during this ultratronics performance, the heavy bass felt more akin to the deep rumble of fireworks. The explosion of fireworks spans a wide frequency range, with the low frequencies reverberating through the air and delivering a physical shock to the body, as if the sound itself is altering the environment. The sound and visuals cascading through the expansive KT Zepp Yokohama space felt like monochromatic fireworks, synchronized and amplified, igniting an adrenaline rush throughout the venue.

This live set built to a thrilling peak, surprising the audience with sudden bursts of intense sound that gradually led to an intense sense of pleasure. The sensation mirrored the ebb and flow of fireworks—tension and release in perfect harmony. The fact that such a metaphor so easily comes to mind underscores how deeply the bass vibrated the body, making the entire experience feel unexpectedly pop. Ryoji Ikeda’s trademark of creating sharp yet smooth soundscapes further heightens the effect. In every twist of tension and release, the experience is nothing short of captivating.

Before I knew it, the main performance was over. The final moments saw the volume and intensity escalate, exploding like a big bang before drawing to a close. I won’t spoil the visuals for those attending future shows, but the ending was incredibly dramatic. Contrary to expectations, an encore was performed, and Ryoji Ikeda seemed to wave a penlight toward the audience, although this could have been a mere impression. Throughout the show, however, there was no unnecessary sound, and the commitment to stripping the sound down to its most minimal form was nothing short of astonishing. This approach dismantled the music itself, leaving behind sharp, refined sounds that paradoxically felt almost pop-like—a return to a primitive sensory experience unique to his live performances.

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