Album of the Week: Ryuichi Sakamoto

Le 28 mars 2023, nous apprenions avec chagrin la mort de Ryuichi Sakamoto, qui souffrait d’un cancer depuis plusieurs années. Ce compositeur, pianiste, producteur et acteur japonais a joué un rôle central, dès les années 1970, dans l’évolution de styles aussi variés que la musique néo-classique, l’électro, le jazz-fusion ou la pop expérimentale. Il a aussi inscrit son nom parmi les plus grands compositeurs de musiques de film, notamment grâce au succès phénoménal des BO de Furyo (1983), Le Dernier Empereur (1987) ou The Revenant (2015).

Inspiré aussi bien par des compositeurs classiques (Debussy) que par des groupes de rock (les Beatles et les Rolling Stones) ou des sonorités issues des musiques populaires et traditionnelles, Sakamoto – jazzman à l’origine – a développé un style personnel et singulier. Avec son groupe Yellow Magic Orchestra, très influencé par Kraftwerk, il a exploré et élargi le champ de la musique électronique et de la synthpop.

On the 28th of March 2023, the world was saddened to learn of the passing of Ryuichi Sakamoto, who had been suffering from cancer for several years. From the 1970s onwards, this Japanese composer, pianist, producer and actor played a central role in developing styles as varied as neo-classical music, electro, jazz-fusion and experimental pop. He has also made a name for himself as one of the greatest composers of film music, thanks in particular to the phenomenal success of the soundtracks to Furyo (1983), The Last Emperor (1987) and The Revenant (2015).

Inspired as much by classical composers (Debussy) as by rock bands (the Beatles and the Rolling Stones) or sounds from popular and traditional music, Sakamoto - originally a jazz musician - developed a personal and entirely unique style. With his group Yellow Magic Orchestra, heavily influenced by Kraftwerk, he even explored and expanded the field of electronic music and synthpop.

At the end of 2022, already very weak from cancer, the master gave his fans one last performance: a concert filmed in an intimate setting, alone at the piano. It is this recording of Sakamoto, made by his son Neo Sora, that can be found on his posthumous album Opus.

In 20 tracks, Sakamoto covers five decades of a multi-faceted career. We hear the legendary “Tong Poo”, by Yellow Magic Orchestra, rearranged for piano; music composed for films by Bertolucci (BB) or Alejandro González Iñárritu (Bibo No Aozora, for the film Babel), video game soundtracks (Lack of Love) and pieces from his ambient music albums, including his latest project, 12. The intimate, minimalist setting and sound shed new light on even his most famous pieces, swapping the sonically dense orchestral versions for moving, solo moments.

For a brief moment, you feel as if you’re standing right next to Ryuichi Sakamoto, freefalling through his musical universe, far removed from the rest of life’s worries. In this introspective, cinematic atmosphere, only the present moment counts. This magnificent farewell gift preserves the memory of a maestro whose music will never fade away.