Insen | ||||
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Studio album by | ||||
Released | 20 March 2005 | |||
Studio | Villa Aurora, Pacific Palisades, Studio Berlin | |||
Genre | Electronic | |||
Length | 43:15 | |||
Label | Raster-Noton r-n065 | |||
Producer | Alva Noto | |||
Alva Noto and Ryuichi Sakamoto chronology | ||||
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Review scores | |
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Source | Rating |
AllMusic | ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() |
Insen is the second studio album in an ongoing collaboration between Japanese composer Ryuichi Sakamoto and German electronic artist Carsten Nicolai (here credited as Alva Noto). It was released on 20 March 2005 via Raster-Noton label. [2] [3]
The album's core sound is a blend of Sakamoto's impressionist piano melodies and Nicolai's digitally processed beats and sounds. Released in 2005 by Nicolai's Raster-Noton label, it follows the duo's debut album Vrioon , which was named album of the year in 2004 by The Wire magazine.
Insen is heir to Vrioon (2003), Alva Noto's collaboration with Japanese multi-instrumentalist Ryuichi Sakamoto. Both represent something of a departure from the ascetic bent of their peers. Both explore the potential for interaction and tension between electronic and acoustic instrumentation, the latter taking form in Sakamoto's piano. This relationship lies at the core of Insen and continues Vrioon's cool melancholia in subtler, even more streamlined fashion. If each part of the marriage were isolated into constituent parts, they might prove too clinical or precious, but together a delicate vibrancy is created. The air-borne reverberations of the acoustic piano combine, impact and dissolve with digital loops, prods and waverings.
Ryuichi Sakamoto was a Japanese composer, pianist, record producer, and actor who pursued a diverse range of styles as a solo artist and as a member of Yellow Magic Orchestra (YMO). With his bandmates Haruomi Hosono and Yukihiro Takahashi, Sakamoto influenced and pioneered a number of electronic music genres.
Carsten Nicolai is a German artist, musician and label owner. As a musician he is known under the pseudonym Alva Noto.
Raster-Noton was a German electronic music record label. It was established in 1999 in Chemnitz, Germany. It emerged from the fusion of Rastermusik, founded by Olaf Bender and Frank Bretschneider in 1996, and Noton, a sub label that was run by Carsten Nicolai. In 2017, the label split into two entities: Raster, to be run by Bender, and Noton, focusing on Nicolai's output.
12k is an American independent record label, based in Pound Ridge, New York, United States. It was founded on January 1, 1997, by Taylor Deupree. The label focuses on experimental electronic music, specifically on digital minimalism and contemporary forms; as of 2021, it has released over 100 albums and become one of "the most consistent, and consistently excellent, record companies in the electronic music world." Notable artists appearing in the label's catalogue include Alva Noto and Frank Bretschneider.
Xerrox Vol.1 is the third studio album by German electronic artist Alva Noto. It was released on March 27, 2007 via Raster-Noton label. This is his first album in the five-piece Xerrox series, followed by Xerrox Vol.2 (2009) and Xerrox Vol.3 (2015).
Xerrox Vol. 2 is the sixth studio album by German electronic artist Alva Noto. On this record, the author turns to a list of contemporary musicians, including Michael Nyman, Stephen O'Malley, and Ryuichi Sakamoto. The record is the second part of his Xerrox quintet of albums.
Vrioon is the debut collaboration album between Ryuichi Sakamoto and Alva Noto, released in 2002. This is the first album in the Virus Series followed by four other records: Insen (2005), Revep (2006), utp_ (2008), and Summvs (2011). The initial letters of the five albums together form the word "Virus".
Summvs is the fifth collaboration album between Alva Noto and Ryuichi Sakamoto. The record was released on 9 May 2011 via Raster-Noton label.
Revep is the third collaboration record between Japanese composer Ryuichi Sakamoto and German electronic artist Carsten Nicolai. This EP continues the series titled the Virus Series. The EP was released on 23 May 2006 via Raster-Noton label.
The Revenant: Original Motion Picture Soundtrack is a soundtrack album for the 2015 film, The Revenant, composed by Ryuichi Sakamoto and Alva Noto with additional music by Bryce Dessner. It was released digitally on December 25, 2015, and on CD on January 8, 2016 by Milan Records.
Xerrox Vol.3 is the eighth solo studio album by German electronic artist Alva Noto. The record was released on 31 March 2015 via Raster-Noton label, continuing his Xerrox pentalogy.
Prototypes is the debut studio album by German electronic artist Alva Noto. It was released on March 14, 2000 via Mille Plateaux label. For the release, Noto created sound collages from amplified electrical noises, which he arranged into a set of minimal movements.
Transform is the second studio album by German electronic artist Alva Noto. It was released on September 4, 2001 via Mille Plateaux label. The album was re-released in 2008 via Raster-Noton label. The album is the first part of Alva Noto's Transall series, along with the EPs Transrapid, Transspray, and Transvision (2001–2006).
Aleph-1 is the fourth studio album by German electronic artist Alva Noto. The record was released on December 31, 2007, via iDeal Recordings label.
Unitxt is the fifth studio album by German electronic artist Alva Noto. It was released on July 22, 2008 via Raster-Noton label.
Univrs is the seventh studio album by German electronic artist Alva Noto. It was released on 10 October 2011 via Raster-Noton label.
"Glass" is an improvisational piece composed by Ryuichi Sakamoto and Carsten Nicolai, known by his stage name as Alva Noto, for Yayoi Kusama's installation Dots Obsession—Alive, Seeking for Eternal Hope, which ran in September 2016 at Philip Johnson's Glass House. A film of the performance was uploaded to the Glass House's official Vimeo account and website on November 11, 2016, and an audio recording of the 37-minute composition was released as an album on Nicolai's label NOTON on February 16, 2018. "Glass" is an unconventional ambient piece that uses sounds from a keyboard, glass-made singing bowls, and digital processing of the House's glass walls. The composition consists of developing layers of sounds performed over a single drone. It was praised by many professional reviewers as a display of Sakamoto and Nicolai's growing artistry.
Transrapid is an extended play by German electronic artist Alva Noto. It was released in 2004 via Raster Noton label.
Transvision is an extended play by German electronic artist Alva Noto. It was released in 2005 via Raster Noton label.
Transspray is an extended play by German electronic artist Alva Noto. It was released in 2005 via Raster Noton label.