Track Listing

1. Oto
2. Aware
3. Haru
4. Trace
5. Kuni
6. Mono
7. Kokoro
8. Cendre
9. Amorph
10. Glow
11. Abyss

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #88474 in Music
• Released on: 2007-05-15
• Number of discs: 1

Album Description
2007 Japanese pressing of this collaboration between Ryuichi Sakamoto, formerly of Yellow Magic Orchestra and worldwide laptop guru Fennesz. The impact and importance of this recording is difficult to overstate. Christian Fennesz is far and away the standard- bearer of laptop music, his thawed sound of fractured guitar chords and warm noise melts hearts around the world. Ryuichi Sakamoto, meanwhile, a contributing force in Electronic music for almost three decades in Yellow Magic Orchestra and his vast solo oeuvre, takes his place on laptop next to Fennesz for this historic meeting. Anyone concerned with the future of sound, or interested in modern music composition, or anyone who simply enjoys sweet ambient music should welcome this brilliant music from brilliant talents... towards a more brilliant world. Avex.

Customer Reviews

Headphone Commute Review
Here's a 2007 release that I've been meaning to cover in detail for a while. Touch Music was launched in 1982, initially releasing cassette magazines. Twenty five years later, Touch is at its peak, perfecting their output with carefully selected works by Christian Fennesz, Ryuuichi Sakamoto, Oren Ambarchi, Biosphere, Ryoji Ikeda, Philip Jeck, Chris Watson and Mika Vainio, amongst others. Since the 90s, Fennesz and Sakamoto have performed live, with Sala Santa Cecilia being their first collaborative EP (Touch, 2005), recorded live at Auditorium della Parco Musica for the Romaeuropa Festival. Two years later, the duo got together to compose their first full length LP, Cendre. In between these two releases, Fennesz recorded an album with Keith Rowe, Toshimaru Nakamura and Oren Ambarchi, under a collective moniker 4g, titled Cloud (Erstwhile, 2005). Meanwhile, prolific Sakamoto (recording since 1978) released a remix album, Bricolages (Warner Music Japan, 2006) with a collection of reworked tracks by an amazing roster of artists like Alva Noto, Taylor Deupree, Snd, Richard Devine, Slicker and even Craig Armstrong. Needless to say that I was pretty excited to hear what the couple come up with, with such an amazing web of connections and an array of experiences. And Cendre doesn't disappoint. Sakamoto is back at the piano, this time bathed in a warm lush of ambient bliss, as flooded by Fennesz. The reverberations of drone-like pads almost swallow the notes whole, occasionally letting them cut through the descending fog, and shoot up like a sparkling reflection of a dying star. Editors at Boomkat have said it best : "The fact that you're [...] reading this review assumes you're of a certain musical disposition, and if you are in any way interested in the more beautiful things in life, the sensitive yet experimental end of modern music - pay close attention as this album is just about as good as it gets." A modern classical marvel. The latest from Fennesz is Transition EP (Touch, 2008), while Sakamoto released a collaboration with Christopher Willits, titled Ocean Fire (12k, 2008).

Cendre
Minimal, twinkling piano, treated by a blanket white noise. What could easily be among the best film scores, if it were one.

Ash?
A really great set of pieces. Sakamoto is in a broken 19th century mode here, playing fragments of phrases which recall the piano music of Debussy and Poulenc (if you've heard his BTTB, you'll know he can go the whole way with this style of composition), a very evocative and sophisticated aesthetic. Fennesz provides a sympathetic background to the piano, eerie and moody, more Venice than Endless Summer.

I have no idea why Pitchfork would refer to Music For Airports but I do think that The Pearl by Eno and Harold Budd is a comparison. Like that record, this is music which really plumbs the sonorities of the piano.

In response to the reviewer above, while Vrioon is pretty awesome, I would say Revep is a bit of a snooze and lacking in inspiration.

Nice cover too.