Ryuichi Sakamoto: Discord

Ryuichi Sakamoto belongs to that sparsely populated strata of performers whose intellectual appeal transcends pop stardom, allowing them to maintain a sense of cultural prominence without ever really achieving mainstream success. Like his peers Brian Eno and Laurie Anderson, Sakamoto could never produce another note of music and still retain both the veneer of a musician and the respect of the intelligentsia. In recent years, Sakamoto's path has led him further from the off-kilter electronic pop he produced with the Yellow Magic Orchestra, finding him focusing more intently on soundtracks and multimedia projects. In turn, his work has become even more obscure, but Discord indicates that Sakamoto's music remains as stirring and intriguing as ever. Inspired by the plight of the world's starving and oppressed, Discord is moving without ever becoming mired in self-important, save-the-world grandstanding. It's actually just one lengthy composition, "Untitled 01," which is composed of four movements: "Grief," "Anger," "Prayer," and "Salvation." Even with the input of non-classical performers like ambient guitarist David Torn and DJ Spooky, "Untitled 01" is strictly a classical piece in the modern tradition. The title of each movement reflects its mood, with sad strings marking "Grief" and percussion rumbling through "Anger." And for once, the addition of CD-ROM material actually enhances the music, coordinating each track with cool and constantly changing visual images.