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Ambient master Ryuichi Sakamoto has been making up for lost time following health problems. The Academy Award-winning Japanese musician is enjoying a creative revival after recovering from throat cancer with numerous projects. Async Remodels, a set of remixes based on his 2017 album Async, has reinvigorated the star and encouraged further work with young up-and-coming producers involved like Arca and Oneohtrix Point Never.
Async was Sakamoto’s first solo album in seven years and perhaps reflects his status as an elder statesman of electronica. “I was aware of that theme of mortality in my music since around 2009,” he told The Guardian. “The decaying and the disappearance of the piano sound is very much symbolic of life and mortality. It’s not sad. I just meditate about it. I have a longing for violin or organ. Is it too simple to say those sustaining sounds symbolise immortality?”