Ryoji Ikeda

Originally commissioned by Walt Disney Concert Hall for the LA Philharmonic's centennial festival, 100 cymbals is a study in restraint, space and subtle sonic transformation.

Following his 2017 orchestral work performed by 100 modified cars in Los Angeles, Ryoji Ikeda took an opposite approach: replacing overwhelming volume with near-silence, while retaining the number 100. Expanding an earlier composition for 12 cymbals into a work for ten performers and 100 instruments, Ikeda developed a choreographic composition in which the cymbals remain fixed in a 10 × 10 grid as the performers move between them.

Each cymbal is unique, struck with a variety of mallets to produce delicate, shifting textures. Slowly evolving and richly atmospheric, these sounds form a sonic landscape that envelops the listener, a forest of sound shaped by subtle changes in articulation, movement and dynamics.

A meditation on space, perception and the expressive possibilities of minimal sound, 100 cymbals reveals the extraordinary complexity that can emerge from the quietest gestures.

Performed by Les Percussions de Strasbourg, recorded on 30 May 2025 at the Théâtre de Hautepierre in Strasbourg. 100 cymbals, op.6 (2019) is a single continuous work of 31:53, divided here for the LP format. Released by The Vinyl Factory in collaboration with codex|edition.

Pressed on 180 gram heavyweight vinyl, CMYK printed outer sleeve.