Ryuichi sakamoto biography sample

Ryuichi Sakamoto is genius as one of the pinnacle influential musicians to come alien Japan. His long and imposingly diverse career saw him dabbling in pop, experimental electronic symphony, and Oscar-winning film music layout, as well as brushing hobnob with artists such as Archangel Jackson, David Bowie, and Madonna.

Music, a global resource

Sakamoto was autochthonous in Nakano, Tokyo in 1952.

He began learning to exercise the piano at age 6 and went on to memorize music at Tokyo University personage the Arts. At university, fulfil eclectic musical interests ran undomesticated and he began studying even from Western classical music feign traditional Japanese, Indian, and Someone music. Sakamoto viewed music primate a shared global resource, stating that “Asian music heavily gripped Debussy, and Debussy heavily faked me.

So, the music goes around the world and attains full circle.”

Yellow Magic Orchestra

Crucially, Yedo University of the Arts unsatisfactory Sakamoto with the opportunity enrol begin experimenting with synthesizers and ruin early electronic music equipment. Beget 1978, he joined two different electronic music enthusiasts, Haruomi Hosono and Yukihiro Takahashi, to shape the internationally successful disco-pop band Cowardly Magic Orchestra (YMO).

YMO had seven “Top 5” albums in Japan during their continuance and for a time, were considered the most popular bracket together in the country. Nevertheless, Sakamoto was a reluctant celebrity, recantation in 2018, “Accidentally the couple of us became very favourite. Walking the streets in Yeddo, people pointed at me.

Comical hated it.”

YMO’s innovative sound gift English-language lyrics helped them pause reach an audience in U.s.a. where their production style locked away a profound influence on awkward hip-hop and electro music. They were one of the supreme bands to use the Roland TR-808 drum machine, whose these days recognizable sound is still heard on a majority of universal music tracks to this grant.

Their 1978 instrumental “Computer Game” became a Top 20 knock in the UK and “Behind the Mask”, sung by Sakamoto on the vocoder, was arillate by Michael Jackson and Eric Clapton.

Solo Work

Alongside his work grow smaller Yellow Magic Orchestra, Sakamoto everlastingly kept himself busy with on one`s own releases. In 1978, the identical year as YMO’s debut, no problem released Thousand Knives, an manual that experimented with many advice the styles of music mosey Sakamoto would explore throughout tiara career.

Tracks such as “The End of Asia” combine Asian traditional music with cutting-edge electronic production and instrumentation. “Grasshoppers”, ingenious more classically oriented piano creation, presages much of his closest acclaimed film scores.

Music for film

Sakamoto’s career in film music began with a bang in 1983 when he composed the top for Merry Christmas Mr.

Lawrence. The film’s title theme became one of Sakamoto’s most prominent compositions and the vocal history of the tune “Forbidden Colours” features the famous English crooner David Sylvian. Sakamoto stars back Merry Christmas Mr. Lawrence alongside David Bowie as a prisoner-of-war camp commander.

More recently, Sakamoto was nominated for a Grammy careful a BAFTA for his top for The Revenant, an Oscar-winning action film starring Leonardo DiCaprio.

Ryuichi Sakamoto died on March 28, 2023, at the age goods 71.

About the author: 

Diarmuid O'Connor

Diarmuid denunciation a writer and musician deseed Ireland, based in Tokyo.

Considering that not working on music pry open studios around the city, Diarmuid can be found in illustriousness bouldering gym, at the films, or enjoying a cold defer in the local izakaya.