The piece “utp_” is a collaborative creation by SAKAMOTO Ryuichi and alva noto, and the fourth in the “V.I.R.U.S.” series. It was released in 2009 by raster-noton, which is run jointly by Carsten NICOLAI, Frank BRETSCHNEIDER and Olaf BENDER. The work was created to commemorate the 400th anniversary of Mannheim, Germany’s official establishment as a city, and was first performed for a Nationaltheater Mannheim event. The contemporary music ensemble Ensemble Modern (based out of Frankfurt, Germany) joined in the performance, which combined elements of video, acoustics, electronics and improvisation. The addition of the Ensemble Modern to the electronic music and piano sound foundations for this piece fostered a palpable feeling of tension and clear, penetrating beauty within the musical world that was created therein. The title “utp_” is inspired by the concept of utopia, and the accompanying video, which comprises a digest of the trial and premiere performances, was created by Carsten GEBHARDT specifically for this piece.

The creative collaboration between SAKAMOTO and NICOLAI (alva noto) has also been responsible for soundtrack pieces used in “Glass” (2018) and “The Revenant” (2015).

Directed by Carsten GEBHARDT

TOTAL TIME: 41:19