Bleep

Alva Noto and Ryuichi Sakomoto’s near-decade long V.I.R.U.S. series saw the pair break new ground in the ambient sphere simply by leaning into their respective strengths. Sakomoto’s haunting piano work and Alva Noto’s digitally decaying samples proved to be natural bedfellows whether they were chasing glitchy interference (as on 2002’s Vrioon) or droning repetition (2008’s utp_). The final piece of the puzzle, 2011’s Summvs acts then as a sort of epilogue, a tidy summation of their progress in collaboration. Even its title pays tribute: a portamento of the Latin “summa” and “versus” loosely translated as towards a sum. The German label NOTON has been periodically reissuing the entire series leading up to this thrilling conclusion, which includes a fresh remaster as well as two previously unheard rarities. Through this lens Summvs still remains a singular entry in both Noto and Sakomoto’s tremendous catalogues.