MASTER OF EVERYTHING

Lately, I’ve been on a bit of a music kick, or perhaps, more accurately, a composition kick—listening to works that contain no lyrics; compositions whose foundation is perhaps the use of sound in the same way an artist uses paint on a canvas.

Since I was young, I’ve enjoyed many different types of music, but I think the genres that have left the biggest mark on me are rock, electronic, pop and classical music (especially when it comes to music composed for the screen).

And although it’s obvious that, as we grow, our tastes change—just as a person sheds their skin every so often, the person you were a few years ago is not the same person you are now—with this in mind, as time passes, I find myself increasingly drawn to music where experimentation is at the heart of the work.

Artists who challenge convention; artists who, as I mentioned earlier, use sound as paint and the air as their canvas.

That is why this year I have dedicated my time to exploring in greater detail—and inviting you to listen to—the work of pianist, composer, actor, singer and producer RYUICHI SAKAMOTO.

A Japanese avant-garde composer, Maestro Ryuichi—a title I give him here because simply calling him by his name would feel far too casual for such a genius—was born in Nakano, Tokyo, and became one of the most influential artists you have probably never heard of.

Although more contemporary artists have recently begun naming him as an inspiration (take Mac DeMarco, for example), the Maestro’s career spanned roughly four decades, during which he experimented with numerous styles and collaborated with some of the most prominent avant-garde artists of his generation (does the name David Byrne ring a bell?).

Beginning in the 1970s with his band YMO (Yellow Magic Orchestra), Sakamoto quickly became, alongside his bandmates Yukihiro Takahashi and Haruomi Hosono, a pioneer of modern electronic music.

I love the idea of a classically trained pianist expanding his horizons and experimenting with other genres; to me, this creates more interesting music. Another contemporary example of this would be Sweden’s DJ Seinfeld.

Experimenting with synthesizers, drum machines and other electronic instruments, if Europe had Kraftwerk, Japan had YMO. By the late 1970s and early 1980s, the group had rapidly become the most popular band in Japan, with some people comparing their level of popularity to Beatlemania in the 1960s.

If you want to discover a little more about them, I recommend starting with the following pieces:

• Rydeen

• Tong Poo

• Firecracker

• Behind the Mask

  
  

After this, as is the case with many geniuses—and without taking anything away from the other members of YMO, who of course went on to achieve great success in their own right—Sakamoto ventured out as a solo artist. This is where we begin to see his true brilliance.

Starting with his first album, Thousand Knives, an album that became part of the regular repertoire of both Sakamoto and YMO, we find what is, in my personal opinion, a perfect juxtaposition between the natural world and industrialisation.

Fascinated by the history of Japan’s neighbour, China, the Maestro created a work of art in which he narrates, sonically, a natural world using entirely electronic instruments.

Take the second composition, Island of Woods, as an example. According to Sakamoto, the piece evokes the essence of a forested island, using only electronic instruments to create this illusion.

The album, consisting of only six compositions, exposes us to Sakamoto’s many talents and undoubtedly communicates his hunger to give us the very best of himself at just 26 years old.

Between electronic compositions that undoubtedly became sources of inspiration for Daft Punk (such as the opening track, with poetry narrated through a vocoder to give the voice a robotic effect) and classical pieces clearly showing his inspiration from Western composers such as Bach, this is an album that you really shouldn’t ignore if you want to understand the genius of Sakamoto.

Personally, my favourites are:

• Island of Woods

• Grasshoppers

• The End of Asia

  
  

Moving forward a few years, and considered by many to be one of his masterpieces—even more so than his compositions for The Last Emperor, for which he won an Oscar—we arrive at the soundtrack for the film Merry Christmas, Mr. Lawrence.

Starring David Bowie and Sakamoto himself, the soundtrack carries a large part of the film’s popularity, which has recently experienced a revival, becoming something of a cult classic.

It is a masterclass in classical music composed for the big screen, incorporating recurring motifs and melodies alongside techniques borrowed from pop music.

The melody that carries the main theme, which shares the film’s title, is a composition based on traditional Asian music, reminding us somewhat of the work of Joe Hisaishi (the composer behind several Studio Ghibli films). It will undoubtedly stay in your head for a long time; and that is precisely where the genius of the piece lies: it is an unforgettable composition.

There are two versions: an instrumental version and another with lyrics written by David Sylvian of the popular 1980s New Wave band Japan. My recommendation here would be to listen to the entire album from beginning to end. It’s a little difficult to say which one is my favourite, although I would probably say that the main theme is definitely something special.

One tip: if you’re a relatively emotional person, prepare a box of tissues.

It’s clear that Sakamoto’s career is far too extensive to cover in a single blog post, so, as a final recommendation, for those who are perhaps more patient listeners and are drawn towards more experimental compositions, we have his abstract electronic albums created in collaboration with German visual artist and musician Alva Noto, with whom he also composed the soundtrack for the 2015 film The Revenant.

These albums are Vrioon, Insen, Revep, utp_ and Summvs, released throughout the 2000s and 2010s.

It is worth reiterating that these works are for listeners whose listening habits are perhaps a little more patient. This series—known as the V.I.R.U.S. Series, since the first letter of each album spells the word “VIRUS”—is a collection of electronic compositions in which white noise, glitches and chopped samples, combined with Sakamoto’s more classical piano techniques and silence (an extremely important aspect throughout all five albums), form the foundation of the collaboration.

It is important to listen to the series from beginning to end in order to appreciate the work as a whole, or perhaps as a narrative containing a beginning, middle, climax and ending (or resolution).

That is not to say that these works can only be appreciated in this way. But once the initial journey has been completed, there are undoubtedly compositions—or even entire albums—that, depending on the listener’s tastes, become favourites among listeners of Sakamoto and/or Alva Noto.

Personally, my favourites are undoubtedly Insen and Revep, where we get to hear more of the Maestro’s classical piano compositions. Revep also offers a different, altered arrangement of pieces originally composed for Merry Christmas, Mr. Lawrence.