Test Pattern

Following 2005's Dataplex CD on Raster-Noton, Test Pattern is the second audio release in Ryoji Ikeda's multimedia project, Datamatics, an ongoing exploration of the potential to perceive the invisible multi-substance of data that permeates our world. Test Pattern acts as a system that converts any type of data (text, sounds, photos and movies) into barcode patterns and binary patterns of 0s and 1s. Through the conversion of raw data into digital audio files, Ikeda enables US to listen to the flow of data, creating an extraordinary and unexpected soundtrack. These sequences of data reveal a rich variety of microscopic structures which form Ikeda's raw material; working with these micro-structures, they sometimes form the basis of chronological sequences, and sometimes he focuses on their rhythmic qualities. All sounds are the result of Ikeda's manipulation of this raw data. Test Pattern aims to examine the relationship between critical points of device performance and the threshold of human perception, pushing both to their absolute limits. Almost all tracks on this release are unsuitable for conversion into high-quality mp3 files. The velocity of the audio files is ultra-fast, some hundreds of frames per second, so that the album provides a performance test for the audio equipment, as well as a response test for the audience's perceptions.