Pioneers in their own musical approaches, Alva Noto and Ryuichi Sakamoto, began their exploration of sound in the V.I.R.U.S series in 2002. With its impressionistic atmosphere, in this collaborative project two generations met and shared the idea of electronic music as an inspiration source for new musical structures exploring the blend of electronic and acoustic sounds into a meditative whole.

• V.I.R.U.S Series Remastered
• 2LP Vinyl Pressed at Optimal Germany
• DMM cut at Pauler Acoustics
• Gatefold Cover

Pioneers in their own musical approaches, Alva Noto and Ryuichi Sakamoto, began their exploration of sound in the evocatively titled V.I.R.U.S series in 2002. After more than a decade from the release of the collection's final installment with "Summvs" in 2011, NOTON reissues all the five albums between June and October 2022.

With its impressionistic atmosphere, in this collaborative project two generations met and shared the idea of electronic music as an inspiration source for new musical structures. Over a series of five albums, Vrioon (2002),Insen (2005), Revep (2006), utp_ (2008), and summvs (2011), the duo have explored blending electronic and acoustic sounds into a meditative whole that is at once expressive, breathing and precision-engineered.

Remastered in collaboration with Calyx Mastering, the recordings of Vrioon, Insen, Revep, Utp_, and Summvs are made available on vinyl and CD under the title 'reMASTER, accompanied by exclusive, unreleased compositions and housed in a beautifully designed sleeve with original cover art by Carsten Nicolai.

RELEASED FOR THE FIRST TIME IN 2009, UTP_ IS THE FOURTH INSTALLMENT OF ALVA NOTO AND RYUICHI SAKAMOTO’S V.I.R.U.S.‘S SERIES.

IT WAS COMMISSIONED FOR THE 400TH ANNIVERSARY OF MANNHEIM, GERMANY. THE FLOWING TEN-SECTION MULTIMEDIA WORK DERIVES ITS SHAPE FROM A RASTERIZED STRUCTURE OF THE SOUTHWESTERN CITY, FOUNDED IN 1608.

THE RECORDING DOCUMENTS THE WORK’S DEBUT PERFORMED BY ENSEMBLE MODERN AT THE NATIONAL THEATRE IN MANNHEIM. THE MUSIC EMBRACES THE ELECTRONIC, PIANO-BASED PALETTES, AN EXPANDED ARRAY OF AVANT-GARDE CHAMBER INSTRUMENTATION AND NATURAL TIMBRES. IT COMBINED THE DIGITAL VISUAL SCORE CREATED BY CARSTEN NICOLAI AND SIMON MAYER, AND LIGHTING DESIGN BY NIGEL EDWARDS.

ALBUM ART DESIGNED BY CARSTEN NICOLAI
MASTERING BY BO @ CALYX

Track Listing:

A1 Attack / Transition
A2 Grains
B1 Particle 1
B2 Transition
B3 Broken Line 1
C1 Plateaux 1
C2 Silence
C3 Particle 2
D1 Broken Line 2
D2 Plateaux 2 / End

Click here to listen to samples on YouTube.com ♫