Ryuichi Sakamoto's 1996 gets a 30th-anniversary remaster

Milan Records will reissue Ryuichi Sakamoto's 1996 on 11 December 2026, newly remastered for the album's 30th anniversary. The release comes as a 2xLP and as a double cassette, and keeps the original visual design.

It is the first time the album has been pressed on vinyl in the US. On the record, Sakamoto revisited a set of his defining works and rewrote them in stripped-back form, scored for piano, cello and violin. Brazilian cellist Jaques Morelenbaum played on the sessions, joined by a cast of violinists.

The remaster is the story, and for a record this spare that is the right way to do it. Hard to argue a 30-year-old piano trio needs more than one more chance to be heard properly.