This past April acclaimed musician and composer Ryuichi Sakamoto released async (Milan Records), his first solo album in eight years. Recorded after the artist’s recent but successful battle with oropharyngeal cancer, async‘s fascination with “everyday objects, sculpture, and nature” can be heard throughout the album’s cinemagraphic ambiance. Featuring piano, orchestration, as well as found sounds collected from his travels, Sakamoto’s minimalist compositions capture the poetry of ordinary moments with bracing emotional clarity.
Today the musician announced a series of async reworks from artists like Oneohtrix Point Never, Motion Graphics, Yves Tumor, ARCA, and more. Look for these remixes to come out bi-weekly, with OPN’s reimagined “Andata” leading the pack after it’s release earlier today. Following Sakamoto’s introspective piano melody, Daniel Lopatin takes “Andata” through an alternate door into his Nu-Metal hall of mirrors, exchanging the original’s celestial contemplation for an ear bending ontological riddle. You can stream Oneohtrix Point Never’s rework of the track below.
Ryuichi Sakamoto also announced today an async short film competition with three awards being offered and judged by Ryuichi Sakamoto, Apichatpong Weerasethakul, as well as audiences from around the world. This amazing competition not only includes a top cash prize of $3000, but the chance to have Sakamoto compose a licensed track for your next film project. The deadline for submission is September 30th by 12pm EST, and you can read more about the async film competition here.
