Name: Summvs (reMASTER)
Brand: Ryuichi Sakamoto

Bonus disc

Bonus disc: No

Catalogue number

N0552

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Colour

Black

Colour details

Discogs ID

Format multiplier

Download code

Download code: No

Rough Trade Exclusive

Rough Trade Exclusive: No

Extended format

Extended format: No

Format detail

Format Music GB

Limited edition

Release date

2022-11-25

Signed copies

Signed copies: No

Supplier GB

Tax rate GB

Standard:20

UPC / Barcode

5057805569404

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Total Cap

2 / Extended format: No / LP / Rough Trade Exclusive: No / Signed copies: No / black

N0551

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5057805569398

{"blocks": [{"data": {"text": "5057805569398"}, "type": "paragraph"}]}

1 / CD / Extended format: No / Rough Trade Exclusive: No / Signed copies: No

Artist

Ryuichi Sakamoto

Genre GB

Electronic

Label GB

Noton

Raster-Noton is an electronic music label based in Germany that was formed in 1999 through the fusion of two previous labels, Rastermusic and noton.archiv für ton und nichtton. The founders of Rastermusic, Olaf Bender and Frank Bretschneider, aimed to publish repetitive or minimal music with pop leanings. On the other hand, Carsten Nicolai founded noton.archiv für ton und nichtton as a platform for conceptual and experimental projects in music, art, and science. In 2017, Raster-Noton underwent restructuring and split into two distinct entities: Raster and Noton.

Raster-Noton's back catalog is now handled by *Raster*, which is run by Olaf Bender. Meanwhile, *Noton* focuses on representing all past and future projects of Alva Noto (Carsten Nicolai). The label also has a sublabel called Kangaroo dedicated to releases by Ilpo Väisänen from Pan Sonic fame. Additionally, Raster-Noton serves as the exclusive distributor for Ivan Pavlov's label Wavetrap.

On their website, Raster-Noton offers downloadable albums in CD-quality 48khz WAV format. They have also released limited edition "Transall Collector's Boxes" handmade by German bookbinder Cornelia Ahnert to house the Transall series.

Ryuichi Sakamoto was a Japanese musician, composer, and actor born on January 17, 1952 in Tokyo, Japan. He studied at the Tokyo National University of Fine Arts and Music where he specialized in composition and electronic/ethnic music. Sakamoto began his career in the mid-1970s as a composer, arranger, and producer for popular rock, jazz, and classical artists in Japan. He gained fame as a member of the synth-rock band Yellow Magic Orchestra. Throughout his career, he collaborated with various artists including David Sylvian and appeared in films such as Merry Christmas, Mr Lawrence alongside David Bowie.
Sakamoto's musical talent extended to film scores as well. He won an Academy Award for his score to the 1987 film The Last Emperor directed by Bernardo Bertolucci. Additionally, he composed soundtracks for Pedro Almodovar's High Heels and Oliver Stone's Wild Palms. Sakamoto was married to Japanese pianist and singer Akiko Yano with whom he collaborated on some recordings.
Aside from his musical achievements, Ryuichi Sakamoto was also known for being critical of copyright law which he believed to be outdated in the information age. His legacy lives on through his daughter Miu Sakamoto who is also involved in the music industry under the alias Sister M.

Summvs is the fifth and purportedly final collaborative album from the dream-team of Ryuichi Sakamoto and Carsten Nicolai (aka Alva Noto). Since 2002 the two musicians have fused their disciplines near-faultlessly, with Sakamoto’s evocative piano-based compositions melting effortlessly into Nicolai’s skillful digital rhythms and cautious manipulations. Each album has brought the duo slightly closer together, and ‘summvs’ (the title an amalgamation of the words summa and versus) sees their work reach critical mass. With Sakamoto apparently working on a rare piano (one of only fifteen in the world) using 16th interval tuning, and Nicolai expanding on his newfound love of harmony and melody, the results are much warmer than their earlier experiments, and all the better for it. While Nicolai’s glacial digital hiccups were always a draw for some, I found at times they distracted from the focus of the pieces – and here rather than eliminate them altogether Nicolai tempers them, working them into a more harmonic framework. The familiar bass-heavy shuffle we fell in love with all those years ago on ‘Transform’ still crops up occasionally, most noticeably on ‘Pioneer IOO’, but it's balanced by an unforgettable cinematic haze of ‘Naono’ (a clear standout – think Deaf Center, Ben Frost or The Fun Years) and ‘Halo’. There is something elegiac and deeply final about ‘summvs’, it feels like an ink stamp, an underline, a statement from the duo saying ‘this is it, and this is the best it can be’, and it truly is. Memorable, atmospheric and beautiful – even if you’ve missed all four of their previous albums, ‘summvs’ is the one to buy. Easily a highlight of 2011 thus far – you know what to do.

Summvs (reMASTER)

Music GB