2018 release. On the 40th Anniversary of his iconic Equinoxe album, Jean-Michel Jarre releases the sequel - Equinoxe Infinity. This concept album will not be a direct follow-up to the 1978 masterpiece, but rather a meditation about the watchers (the characters with binoculars) as being part of the struggle (or not) between human and artificial intelligence. Jarre describes this album as ""Equinoxe on steroids"".
DEPECHE MODE The Best Of: Volume One (2017 UK 10th Anniversary Edition of their 2007 triple vinyl LP set featuring a collection of 18 classic tracks Personal Jesus Just Cant Get Enough Enjoy The Silence Strangelove Dream On People Are People Master And Servant and more housed in the sealed & embossed wide-spined picture slipcase replicating the original release!)
A varied soundtrack album that manages to weave in a little variation from the traditional type of motion picture scoring indulged in here by Sakamoto. Part of the reason for the variation is that only twelve of the album's 21 tracks are by Sakamoto – several are source music, others were composed by Richard Horowitz. The diversity thus makes for a more interesting album than might have been had from variations on the main minor-key "Sheltering Sky" theme (presented here in orchestrated and piano-based versions.) It also breaks away from the sound of Sakamoto's recordings, strong material that suffers from a certain digital harshness in the strings. Horowitz' part in this is in stepping away from traditional Western scoring and using Middle Eastern elements for score structures – something that's very effective indeed on "Fever Ride" with its blend of Moroccan and Spanish elements. Where Sakamoto easily sketches panorama with his music, Horowitz sketches in mystery. The local source music, too, adds to this, giving the album a grounding in the real world that completes the overall structure. An excellent album that can easily be recommended for more than just soundtrack aficionados.
Inspired by both Brazilian music and the boundless possibilities of the Internet, electronic composer Ryuichi Sakamoto wrote Smoochy, an endlessly intriguing exploration of what happens when the old world meets the future. Using his Brazilian Internet concept as a foundation, Sakamoto goes on to add a variety of other musics, including jazz and Latin pop, to the music, creating a dense and fascinating musical web of electronics and percussion. Occasionally, he gets too self-consciously arty for his own good, but most of the album finds Sakamoto at his best.