Remodels at worst does indeed bastardize Sakamoto's intentions, as Arca did with 'Async,' but the willingness to deviate from the original composition – and adding lush vocalizations and beats in their place – is a prime component of what makes Remodels more than a simple throwaway remix album. For a matter of fact, a few of Sakamoto's collaborators are present on Remodels, such as Fennesz with an adequate rendition of 'Solari' and Alva Noto with a captivating version of 'Disintegration.'

Casting aside the glaring omission of some of the more field recording-oriented pieces from the original record, the selections made are appropriate Oneohtrix Point Never and Electric Youth's reworkings of 'Andata' both introduce Remodels, and whether it be with Onoehtrix's faithful interpretation or the Yellow Magic Orchestra throwback of Electric Youth's version, these cuts both are encouraging, although incredibly jarring from the standpoint of someone who has grown accustomed to the Christian Fennesz-accompanied original. Yet when I look at the roster of the artists that signed on to put Sakamoto's fatalistic songs in a new perspective, there was the distinct possibility that Remodels would turn out to be a wonderful companion record, which it should be obviously viewed as. That's what Async was to me, and to see it receive the remix treatment was something I welcomed all too cautiously, lest I wanted to go right into Async - Remodels with the immediate expectation that I'd be listening to a bastardization of Sakamoto's music. Excuse me for how pretentious this will inevitably sound, but I wasn't entertained by the stark textures nor the melancholic themes instead, I was in the midst of an experience, the type of life-changing encounter with an album that you can't shake no matter how long you go without listening to it. But most of all, Async was that album the one you'd never forget: the fabled classic.

Last April, Ryuichi Sakamoto put out what was a career-defining record with Async it was a record that garnered praise for its blunt perspective on the concept of mortality and its creator struggling with the notion of his own potential demise.

Review Summary: Because we don't know when we will die, we get to think of life as an inexhaustible well.

Best ryuichi sakamoto albums