Async

There is so much (too much?) music these days. Too often a creation of quality is granted a cursory listen and then shelved and the listener’s attention drifts elsewhere.The Age of Distraction, one ear on the I dock, one thumb tapping the smartphone. What I’m saying is ,PLEASE afford “Async” the respect it deserves.Give it your full attention,listen to it more than once.I guess this is my favourite album by anyone in the last 10 years.Ryuichi’s tribute to Andrew Tarkowsky ...and it shows.

Very clear sounding Vinyl and for a ambient record you appreciate it. Only listened once but a good chill out record, will play again at night but liking what o hear.

Thought provoking experiments in sound!

nice to see him back,great cd.

Marvellous

I've got a funeral sound now! Masterpiece as always and Sylvian's voice amazing. Play at night lights off and a glass of Red....Perfect

Ryuichi Sakamoto already announced this latest solo venture in a 2013 newsletter for a release in 2015, only to see it delayed due to illness and other commitments by a couple of years. Happily it has proven well worth the wait, as he shows yet again he is able to conjure up an hour-long opus that’s quite unlike any other he’s produced in his long and varied career while remaining very much imprinted with his own style. Recently Sakamoto confessed to having some difficulty in finding inspiration for solo albums, as opposed to coming up with music for a movie soundtrack or art installation. That was not an issue for this album obviously, I suppose it was inevitable that the worlds of Sakamoto and the Tarkovsky family would meet at some point: poet father Arseny (1907 - 1989) who has one of his works recited by David Sylvian; and legendary film-maker son Andrei (1932 - 1986) who has the unique distinction among film-makers of continuing to provide inspiration to other artists long after his death, especially musicians. Anyhow, Sakamoto’s dreamy sound-capsules on this album appear to be tailor-made for the special mood of those movies or at least how one remembers them, like little postludes maybe. The first and third tracks with their vaguely Bach-like feel sound like they “remember” the fade-out music at the end of Solaris and the track called Walker must refer to the character in the Stalker movie who is able to traverse the mysterious zone that has appeared on Earth. Another for me stand-out piece in this vein is Honj (probably short for honji = temple) with its rainy atmosphere and featuring a lonely Shamisen, a kind of antique Japanese guitar.Some other pieces like the title-track see Sakamoto experimenting with poly-rhythms, there’s one up-tempo piece as well so in all there are more than enough interesting sounds and beautiful patterns on offer here to reward repeated and grateful listening.

not too bad.

If you buy this item, you should know it is a diggipack and not a jewel case CD. It is not in the description of the product.Anyway, I love Sakamoto's music, so I give this five stars.

Vor allem in Anbetracht dessen,dass das Teil,wohl aufgrund des kürzlichen,tragischen Todes des "Professors"(Ryuichi Sakamoto),nur sehr schwer bzw v.a. teuer zu erhalten war,echt superkorrekter Preis.Und dafür wirklich in top Zustand und superschnell angekommen.Vielen Dank dafür,gerne wieder.Und gelobet sei "der Professor" auf ewig.

Purtroppo lo avevo in vinile ma l'edizione europea della Milan Recordings ha, in molte copie, dei difetti di stampa che lo rendono difficilmente godibile.L'ho quindi preso in cd perchè la stampa jap su Commmons va per i 100€ e non mi sembra il caso, visti sti tempi...Peccato, non nego che mettersi su il cd e non doversi alzare 4 volte a cambiare lato è una buona cosa, ma il vinile dona a queste opere un valore aggiunto, in cui anche alzarsi per cambiare lato fa parte del rito.Ryuichi ci ha abituato a lavori di classe, qui siamo nella ionosfera.

Magical, mystical, masterpiece.

Superbe compositeur ce Sakamoto