Yves Tumor turned Ryuichi Sakamoto’s “Zure” into the slowest of slow jams

“His direction surprised me and I’m very happy with it,” says Sakamoto.

November 01, 2017
Yves Tumor turned Ryuichi Sakamoto’s “Zure” into the slowest of slow jams Ryuichi Sakamoto and Ives Tumor   Photos by nss (zakkubalan) / Daniel Sannwald

Ryuichi Sakamoto's "Zure," off his incredible Async album from earlier this year, is a portrait of patience — a slow breath in and out, toward a certain, silent future.

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Today, as part of the Aysnc Remodels compilation due January 2018, ardent experimentalist Yves Tumor is sharing a rework of "Zure" that he's calling his "Obsession Edit." The opening 40 seconds maintain Sakamoto's sense of withheld emotion, but then things subtly shift gear. Leisurely drums kick in halfway through, and, barely audible in the background, the whisper of a woman: "You're so much stronger than you think you are right now." It's the slowest of slow jams, a moment in which to meditate on the living rather than the afterlife.

Ryuichi Sakamoto is feeling it. “Although I’ve been following Yves Tumor for a while, I had no idea what to expect when inviting him to join the remix project," he said over email. "His direction surprised me and I’m very happy with it.”

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Yves Tumor added: "I would much rather the piece of music spoke for it self, but I will mention it was truly a life-fulfilling honor to work on, or in a way with, Ryuichi on this project."

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Yves Tumor turned Ryuichi Sakamoto’s “Zure” into the slowest of slow jams