RIP Ryuichi Sakamoto, 1952-2023
April 2, 2023 12:05 PM Subscribe
Ryuichi Sakamoto, composer and electronic music pioneer with his band Yellow Magic Orchestra, has passed away at the age of 71. Band mate Yukihiro Takahashi passed away in January.
so sad to hear this! I love his collaborations with David Sylvian. 71 seems too young.
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posted by supermedusa at 12:07 PM on April 2, 2023 [4 favorites]
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posted by supermedusa at 12:07 PM on April 2, 2023 [4 favorites]
One of my favorite pieces of his: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pWI5aVKvkCg
posted by jonathanhughes at 12:08 PM on April 2, 2023 [3 favorites]
posted by jonathanhughes at 12:08 PM on April 2, 2023 [3 favorites]
I had not seen this and was composing a post on his death. I will leave these from the More Inside here instead:
A note is at siteSakamoto
Ryuichi Sakamoto -- Andata (Glass Piano)
Yellow Magic Orchestra -- Seoul Music
Ryuichi Sakamoto -- Playing Piano for the Isolated
Ryuichi Sakamoto -- Happy End -- Playing Piano in Seoul 2011
I knew this was coming but, all the same, this has hit so hard.
posted by y2karl at 12:20 PM on April 2, 2023 [5 favorites]
A note is at siteSakamoto
Ryuichi Sakamoto -- Andata (Glass Piano)
Yellow Magic Orchestra -- Seoul Music
Ryuichi Sakamoto -- Playing Piano for the Isolated
Ryuichi Sakamoto -- Happy End -- Playing Piano in Seoul 2011
I knew this was coming but, all the same, this has hit so hard.
posted by y2karl at 12:20 PM on April 2, 2023 [5 favorites]
See also (Too late for the edit window above)
YMO -- Seoul Music live on NHK 2011
posted by y2karl at 12:27 PM on April 2, 2023 [1 favorite]
YMO -- Seoul Music live on NHK 2011
posted by y2karl at 12:27 PM on April 2, 2023 [1 favorite]
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Every piece of music I’ve heard by him has been amazing, but I can’t help point to his mid-80s album Esperanto. It’s such a strange and joyful work.
posted by Kattullus at 12:36 PM on April 2, 2023 [4 favorites]
Every piece of music I’ve heard by him has been amazing, but I can’t help point to his mid-80s album Esperanto. It’s such a strange and joyful work.
posted by Kattullus at 12:36 PM on April 2, 2023 [4 favorites]
And, on a lighter note, this was where I first encountered YMO...
Yellow Magic Orchestra -- Tighten Up (Japanese Gentlemen Stand Up Please)
They ended up playing on Soul Train (via the clean version) out of this...
posted by y2karl at 12:40 PM on April 2, 2023 [6 favorites]
Yellow Magic Orchestra -- Tighten Up (Japanese Gentlemen Stand Up Please)
They ended up playing on Soul Train (via the clean version) out of this...
posted by y2karl at 12:40 PM on April 2, 2023 [6 favorites]
I love his collaborations with David Sylvian.
As well as Adrian Belew and Robin Scott on Left Handed Dream.
posted by y2karl at 12:53 PM on April 2, 2023 [2 favorites]
As well as Adrian Belew and Robin Scott on Left Handed Dream.
posted by y2karl at 12:53 PM on April 2, 2023 [2 favorites]
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Sometimes I just have to find some YMO and exist alongside it for a while. If people are never really gone until what they worked on and made in life is forgotten, Ryuichi Sakamoto is going to be around for a long, long time.
posted by Mizu at 12:54 PM on April 2, 2023 [4 favorites]
Sometimes I just have to find some YMO and exist alongside it for a while. If people are never really gone until what they worked on and made in life is forgotten, Ryuichi Sakamoto is going to be around for a long, long time.
posted by Mizu at 12:54 PM on April 2, 2023 [4 favorites]
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posted by They sucked his brains out! at 12:57 PM on April 2, 2023
posted by They sucked his brains out! at 12:57 PM on April 2, 2023
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posted by BlackLeotardFront at 1:16 PM on April 2, 2023
posted by BlackLeotardFront at 1:16 PM on April 2, 2023
Apparently his band went over pretty well opening for The Tubes in LA back in '79, but that was before my time alas
posted by Heywood Mogroot III at 1:17 PM on April 2, 2023 [2 favorites]
posted by Heywood Mogroot III at 1:17 PM on April 2, 2023 [2 favorites]
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posted by JoeXIII007 at 1:18 PM on April 2, 2023
posted by JoeXIII007 at 1:18 PM on April 2, 2023
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posted by Jane the Brown at 1:44 PM on April 2, 2023
posted by Jane the Brown at 1:44 PM on April 2, 2023
In memoriam, I'm listening to one of my favourite tracks from one of his more recent albums:
fullmoon
Because we don't know when we will die
We get to think of life as an inexhaustible well
Yet everything happens only a certain number of times
And a very small number, really
How many more times will you remember a certain afternoon of your childhood
Some afternoon that is so deeply a part of your being that you can't even conceive your life without it?
Perhaps four or five times more
Perhaps not even that
How many more times will you watch the full moon rise?
Perhaps twenty, and yet it all seems limitless
posted by Evstar at 1:50 PM on April 2, 2023 [11 favorites]
fullmoon
Because we don't know when we will die
We get to think of life as an inexhaustible well
Yet everything happens only a certain number of times
And a very small number, really
How many more times will you remember a certain afternoon of your childhood
Some afternoon that is so deeply a part of your being that you can't even conceive your life without it?
Perhaps four or five times more
Perhaps not even that
How many more times will you watch the full moon rise?
Perhaps twenty, and yet it all seems limitless
posted by Evstar at 1:50 PM on April 2, 2023 [11 favorites]
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posted by gentlyepigrams at 1:54 PM on April 2, 2023
posted by gentlyepigrams at 1:54 PM on April 2, 2023
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posted by rrrrrrrrrt at 1:56 PM on April 2, 2023
posted by rrrrrrrrrt at 1:56 PM on April 2, 2023
RIP. Way back when on Radio 2, Jonathan Ross played one of his records and it stuck with me ever since.
posted by benoliver999 at 1:58 PM on April 2, 2023
posted by benoliver999 at 1:58 PM on April 2, 2023
One of my fave tracks is Zen Gun from Illustrated Musical Encyclopedia. It's just got a unique vibe.
posted by ovvl at 2:03 PM on April 2, 2023
posted by ovvl at 2:03 PM on April 2, 2023
I think I've listened to his album BTTB literally thousands of times.
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posted by verbminx at 2:08 PM on April 2, 2023
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posted by verbminx at 2:08 PM on April 2, 2023
Heartbeat (Tainai Kaiki II) with David Sylvian.
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posted by The Ardship of Cambry at 2:16 PM on April 2, 2023
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posted by The Ardship of Cambry at 2:16 PM on April 2, 2023
Also, if you want to dive into the solo career of Yukihiro Takahashi, his 1981 album Neuromantic is a really fine pop record.
posted by Kattullus at 2:21 PM on April 2, 2023 [4 favorites]
posted by Kattullus at 2:21 PM on April 2, 2023 [4 favorites]
Left Handed Dream's last track -- サルの家 -- The Monkey House -- has always been a favorite of mine.
posted by y2karl at 2:46 PM on April 2, 2023
posted by y2karl at 2:46 PM on April 2, 2023
I’ve recently been enjoying his collaborations with Alva Noto, so much music over such a rich life.
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posted by q*ben at 3:15 PM on April 2, 2023 [1 favorite]
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posted by q*ben at 3:15 PM on April 2, 2023 [1 favorite]
my introduction to him was the Merry Christmas, Mr Lawrence soundtrack... a fine movie and fine way to meet a composer
posted by kokaku at 3:18 PM on April 2, 2023 [2 favorites]
posted by kokaku at 3:18 PM on April 2, 2023 [2 favorites]
Requiem aeternam dona ei, Domine, et lux perpetua luceat ei. Requiescat in pace.
“Japanese Musician Ryuichi Sakamoto Dies At 71,” Yuri Kageyama and Mari Yamaguchi, Associated Press, 02 April 2023
“The snapshot I took when I interviewed Ryuichi Sakamoto some time back.”—Yuri Kageyama, Instagram
“Merry Christmas, Mr. Lawrence”—California Guitar Trio, 13 September 2004
posted by ob1quixote at 4:35 PM on April 2, 2023
“Japanese Musician Ryuichi Sakamoto Dies At 71,” Yuri Kageyama and Mari Yamaguchi, Associated Press, 02 April 2023
“The snapshot I took when I interviewed Ryuichi Sakamoto some time back.”—Yuri Kageyama, Instagram
“Merry Christmas, Mr. Lawrence”—California Guitar Trio, 13 September 2004
posted by ob1quixote at 4:35 PM on April 2, 2023
I know this was expected, but it’s still a sad shock. I too was introduced to his work through Merry Christmas, Mr Lawrence, but that was only the beginning of my journey into being a fan. Such a massive talent.
posted by kitten kaboodle at 4:49 PM on April 2, 2023 [1 favorite]
posted by kitten kaboodle at 4:49 PM on April 2, 2023 [1 favorite]
When I first moved to Boston in the tail end of the Bush Administration, I would listen to WZBC and they would play his composition "War and Peace" nearly every day as sort of an ongoing moment of protest. It still haunts me, always will.
posted by HunterFelt at 6:41 PM on April 2, 2023 [1 favorite]
posted by HunterFelt at 6:41 PM on April 2, 2023 [1 favorite]
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posted by dogstoevski at 9:10 PM on April 2, 2023
posted by dogstoevski at 9:10 PM on April 2, 2023
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posted by pianoblack at 9:28 PM on April 2, 2023
posted by pianoblack at 9:28 PM on April 2, 2023
Ryuichi Sakamoto made so much music for advertising in Japan that when he put out a series of best of albums in 2002, one of them was dedicated solely to music he made for commercials and other advertising (he created the Sega dreamcast logo sound).
Sakamoto reached the top of the Oricon charts (Japan's version of Billboard) twice in his career.
The more recent one was for his 1999 ウラBTTB single, specifically on the strength of his piano composition "energy flow". This was the first time an instrumental had ever reached the number one spot on the Oricon charts.
Prior to that, during his YMO days he collaborated on a single with Kiyoshiro Imawano, the lead singer of RC Succession. That single い・け・な・いルージュマジック was specifically commissioned by the cosmetics company Shiseido. The video features them throwing thousands of real yen off the top of a building - which they apparently didn't recover - and Sakamoto and Imawano locking lips to close it out. The following year, YMO's last single 君に、胸キュン。reached number two on the charts and was used as commercial song for Shiseido's rival Kanebo. The single and video were purposely done in a more pop-friendly way.
Sakamoto also reached number six on the Oricon charts with a song that featured the recording debut of his daughter Miu Sakamoto, The Other Side of Love. Initially, her identity was kept secret as the single is credited to Ryuichi Sakamoto and Sister M.
posted by LostInUbe at 9:30 PM on April 2, 2023 [6 favorites]
Sakamoto reached the top of the Oricon charts (Japan's version of Billboard) twice in his career.
The more recent one was for his 1999 ウラBTTB single, specifically on the strength of his piano composition "energy flow". This was the first time an instrumental had ever reached the number one spot on the Oricon charts.
Prior to that, during his YMO days he collaborated on a single with Kiyoshiro Imawano, the lead singer of RC Succession. That single い・け・な・いルージュマジック was specifically commissioned by the cosmetics company Shiseido. The video features them throwing thousands of real yen off the top of a building - which they apparently didn't recover - and Sakamoto and Imawano locking lips to close it out. The following year, YMO's last single 君に、胸キュン。reached number two on the charts and was used as commercial song for Shiseido's rival Kanebo. The single and video were purposely done in a more pop-friendly way.
Sakamoto also reached number six on the Oricon charts with a song that featured the recording debut of his daughter Miu Sakamoto, The Other Side of Love. Initially, her identity was kept secret as the single is credited to Ryuichi Sakamoto and Sister M.
posted by LostInUbe at 9:30 PM on April 2, 2023 [6 favorites]
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posted by Joey Michaels at 12:47 AM on April 3, 2023
posted by Joey Michaels at 12:47 AM on April 3, 2023
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I'm always heartened when I think about Ryuichi Sakamoto seriously making whatever the hell he wants for decades and decades.
posted by ignignokt at 5:51 AM on April 3, 2023 [4 favorites]
I'm always heartened when I think about Ryuichi Sakamoto seriously making whatever the hell he wants for decades and decades.
posted by ignignokt at 5:51 AM on April 3, 2023 [4 favorites]
I'd already booked to see his upcoming show at the Manchester International Festival before this sad news arrived. But the show goes ahead anyway, and I imagine it will be quite something.
posted by Beverley Westwood at 6:19 AM on April 3, 2023 [2 favorites]
posted by Beverley Westwood at 6:19 AM on April 3, 2023 [2 favorites]
This is one of his most memorable tracks for me:
"Okinawa Song"
And he appeared as the director in the music video for Madonna's "Rain" - hard to believe that was already 30 years ago.
posted by needled at 7:37 AM on April 3, 2023
"Okinawa Song"
And he appeared as the director in the music video for Madonna's "Rain" - hard to believe that was already 30 years ago.
posted by needled at 7:37 AM on April 3, 2023
One of his last compositions "Piece for Illia" is a collaboration with Ukrainian violinist Illia Bondarenko, and part of "For Ukraine Vol.2" Benefit compilation.
Sakamoto's favorite quote is Ars longa, vita brevis. 芸術は永く、人生は短し。
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posted by of strange foe at 7:56 AM on April 3, 2023 [4 favorites]
Sakamoto's favorite quote is Ars longa, vita brevis. 芸術は永く、人生は短し。
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posted by of strange foe at 7:56 AM on April 3, 2023 [4 favorites]
From this Previously* (now with broken links!) and with Misako Koja, Yoriko Ganeko and Kazumi Tamaki (see also) featured on his album Beauty here are Romance, Asoda Yunta and Chinsagu No Hana. I loved the singing of those Okinawan women on those songs...
*I am grateful for one of those Previously broken links -- as Romance rather than Asoda Yunta is the song with the Stephen Foster melody. (On recheck: wrong!) One which back then I assumed folks here would have recognized. Now I am not so sure. But the world's meanest baby sitter loved to play it on the piano and so I Dream of Jeannie With the Light Brown Hair was the first song I remember singing at I think age 3.
Oh God, and check out the amazing comment -- which I have never forgotten -- in that Previously by itstheclamsname in that Previously, then click on his name above and then his awe inspiring website to see what he does for a living. If there is anyone here who needs to be thanked for their service, well, his name is at the top of my list and should be on yours im[truly]ho...
posted by y2karl at 2:07 PM on April 3, 2023 [1 favorite]
*I am grateful for one of those Previously broken links -- as Romance rather than Asoda Yunta is the song with the Stephen Foster melody. (On recheck: wrong!) One which back then I assumed folks here would have recognized. Now I am not so sure. But the world's meanest baby sitter loved to play it on the piano and so I Dream of Jeannie With the Light Brown Hair was the first song I remember singing at I think age 3.
Oh God, and check out the amazing comment -- which I have never forgotten -- in that Previously by itstheclamsname in that Previously, then click on his name above and then his awe inspiring website to see what he does for a living. If there is anyone here who needs to be thanked for their service, well, his name is at the top of my list and should be on yours im[truly]ho...
posted by y2karl at 2:07 PM on April 3, 2023 [1 favorite]
RE (On recheck: wrong!):
I had it right back then on Romance but got confused reading it today on my phone.
posted by y2karl at 3:03 PM on April 3, 2023
I had it right back then on Romance but got confused reading it today on my phone.
posted by y2karl at 3:03 PM on April 3, 2023
“Sakamoto Ryuichi Remembered”—Newsline, NHK World, 06 April 2023
posted by ob1quixote at 6:17 AM on April 6, 2023
posted by ob1quixote at 6:17 AM on April 6, 2023
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posted by Philofacts at 10:42 PM on April 6, 2023
posted by Philofacts at 10:42 PM on April 6, 2023
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