In the age of one-hit wonders and a constantly rotating cast of pop-stars there are but a few true artists that have both stood the test of time and continue to break new ground. Ryuichi Sakamoto is one of these rare gems.  Few, if any, have a comparably diverse résumé as well as fan base.  Young and old from all cultures and creeds have found inspiration in Ryuichi’s music. Ryuichi Sakamoto is a composer, musician, producer, actor, and environmental activist; a true renaissance man.

Ryuichi has a vast range of musical endeavors; from pioneering early electronic music in his first group; Yellow Magic Orchestra, to globally-inspired rock albums, classical compositions (including a massive opera), and over twenty film scores. His catalogue even includes video game soundtracks, and mobile ringtones.  Almost as expansive is his array of prestigious awards; an Academy Award, two Golden Globes, a Grammy, the Order of the Cavaleiro Admissão from the government of Brazil, and in July 2009, he was named an Officier of the coveted Ordre des Arts et des Lettres from the government of France.

As a child, Sakamoto first fell under the spell of English rock - the first record he ever bought: was “Tell Me” by the Rolling Stones - and then French Impressionism.  “Debussy was my hero,” he says, and acknowledges that echoes of his teenage idol can still be heard in his new music.  “Asian music heavily influenced Debussy, and Debussy heavily influenced me.  So the music goes around the world and comes full circle.” Furthermore, as a lefty, Sakamoto grew up with a distorted view about the importance of the right hand over the left in terms of melodies. However, at age 7, Sakamoto discovered the music of Bach, emphasizing the equal importance between the left and right hand, bringing him joy.  Though born in Tokyo, Sakamoto has written music inspired by the traditions of Okinawa, Indonesia, and Brazil. He has also collaborated with David Bowie, David Sylvian, dramatist Robert Wilson, author William S Burroughs, the Three Tenors’ Jose Carreras, and His Holiness The Dalai Lama, among many others.  He also wrote music for the 1992 Olympic Games in Barcelona and for the 400th anniversary of the city of Mannheim, Germany.

Ryuichi’s newest release; out of noise, is arguably his most ambitious work to date in which he continues to explore the ambiguities between music and noise. "As soon as you make a sound on the piano, it begins to vanish," Sakamoto explains, "vanishing into noise. You can't tell when it becomes noise, when it's gone. That's the area I'm interested in." Sakamoto has studied these dichotomies for years, especially in his landmark works with Alva Noto, which blazed a trail for the genre now known as glitch electronica. Out of noise sees his explorations extend even further - to the sounds of the environment. "We are surrounded by the sound of the environment," he explains. "That's music too, really."

While making out of noise, Sakamoto went to Greenland with the Cape Farewell Project as part of their cultural response to climate change. During this time in Greenland, Sakamoto recorded sounds of the surfaces of the sea and ice, and these sounds have had a deep impact on the essence of his new music.  “I had a chance to record the sound of water in the Arctic Sea – several times, actually; and once, when we landed on a glacier, all of the sudden I heard the sound of a water stream, but there was just ice all around. After a few minutes, we found a very tiny water stream underneath the ice, so we broke the ice and put the microphone into the stream; I think that sound is the purest I have ever heard in my life!” The local Inuits told us their folklore,” he recalls.  “According to legend the highest goddess lives under the deep sea.  When I recorded the sound of the wind on the glacier, it was like I was hearing the voice of the goddess.” The inspiration of nature in his music, as well as his efforts to tour in an eco-conscious manner, led Ryuichi to be honored with the Echo Award for The Most Innovative Musician and Musical Tour 2009 at the United Nations Environment Programme¹s Echo Festival in conjunction with World Environment Day at the Royal Park in Brussels.

His most recent tour, "Playing the Piano", has toured in Japan, Europe, and North America. The concerts are performed using two grand pianos, one played by Sakamoto live, and a second one that interacts with Sakamoto’s playing via MIDI controller, creating a virtual piano duet. The tours have had enormous success with recordings of the shows in the iTunes Japan store. For almost every show Ryuichi chose sustainable and ecologically sound ways to tour; using green electricity, and all carbon dioxide emissions were offset.

Sakamoto has devoted much of his time in recent years to environmental concerns – to turning Ego into Eco, as he puts it.  “I felt really scared in the 90s thinking about our children’s future.  I imagined my youngest son at my age, and wondered what the world would be like then.  That was scary!”  And so in 2007 Sakamoto started the innovative project “more trees”, which contributes to carbon offset through active forestation.  Within a year, his more trees foundation had a lease on two forests in Japan, and a third on the northern island of Hokkaido followed last year. Now, a fourth forest in the Philippines is being added. more trees leases the land for 50 or 60 years, planting seedlings and maintaining the forests, and offering carbon offset credits to corporations and individuals looking to reduce their carbon footprint. 

In 2006, at a time when the record business was hitting the steepest part of its current decline, he bucked the odds by launching an independent, eco-friendly record label called ‘commmons’ in collaboration with Avex Entertainment. Concerned that musicians were unable to make a living from recordings and that valuable work was being lost, Sakamoto began a two-pronged recording approach.  First, he began looking for interesting artists. Among the artists Sakamoto has signed to commmons are the veteran noise-rock band Boredoms, their all-female offshoot OOIOO. ‘commmons’ frequently collaborates with like-minded record labels such as raster-noton and Thrill Jockey to bring their artists to the Japanese market; including the latest release from American “post-rock” pioneers Tortoise. Second, he began the project known as Schola.  Sakamoto describes it as a 30-volume musical encyclopedia.  Fifteen volumes will be devoted to Western music, from medieval to modern, and the other fifteen will be devoted to non-Western traditions.  “Again, the main reason I started it is for the next generations.  Music becomes information; it’s on the internet, all flat, spread out on a huge plain.  It’s hard for them to pick out the good music.  And I want to say, listen to this – it’s worth it.” 

Although having explored almost every musical medium, Sakamoto shows no signs of slowing down. This year he is composing multiple scores, reuniting with past and present collaborators, and touring the globe. In May, at the cultural venue in London; Roundhouse, Ryuichi and Carsten Nicolai (aka Alva Noto) will premier their newest work. Following the premier, the duo will be kicking off a small European tour.

Early summer will bring YMO (Yellow Magic Orchestra), Ryuichi’s early electronic group, back to the U.S. for performances for the first time in over 30 years. This exciting affair will begin at the Hollywood Bowl in June as the headliner for The World Festival presented by KCRW.

In 1996, Ryuichi Sakamoto released an album (of the same name, 1996) arranged for piano, cello and violin. The album presented new pieces along with arrangements of his older works giving them new life. The trio includes Jaques Morelenbaum on cello (Ryuichi’s longtime collaborator), and Everton Nelson on violin. Following the release the trio embarked on a well received tour captivating audiences around the world. Ryuichi is resurrecting the trio this fall with a European tour showcasing new material as well as Ryuichi’s timeless compositions accompanied by Jacques Morelenbaum and a newly auditioned talent on violin.

With such an extensive, yet varied catalogue of albums, film scores, and indeed almost every conceivable musical endeavor it can be difficult to place Sakamoto into one category. The one, clear strand connecting it all is the unparalleled passion of Ryuichi Sakamoto.