Ryuichi Sakamoto

Sakamoto was one of Japan's most successful musicians, acclaimed for work in Yellow Magic Orchestra as well as solo albums and film scores.

[The Last Emperor](https://www.theguardian.com/film/2009/apr/15/the-last-emperor) (in which he also had an acting role), he collaborated with Bernardo Bertolucci again for The Last Buddha, and with Merry Christmas, Mr Lawrence director Nagisa Oshima for Gohatto. In 1999 he debuted the multimedia opera project Life, in collaboration with artist Shiro Takatani with contributions from Bertolucci, Pina Bausch and more. [Japan](https://www.theguardian.com/world/japan) – in 1980, two of their albums stayed at No 1 and No 2 in the charts for seven weeks, and they had seven Top 5 albums during their career. He and Takatani extended the concept into installation work from 2007 onwards. He took no further acting roles, aside from appearing as a film director in Rain, a music video for Madonna. Sakamoto also starred in the film as a prisoner of war camp commander. He acted alongside David Bowie in the 1983 film Merry Christmas, Mr Lawrence and composed its [celebrated theme](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LF9_9MZyQGo), the first in a series of film scores including Oscar-winning work in 1987 with David Byrne and Cong Su for Bernardo Bertolucci’s The Last Emperor. In 2019, he composed the music for an episode of dystopian TV drama series Black Mirror. He was born in Tokyo in 1952, and began taking piano lessons aged six, later attending Tokyo University of the Arts to study music. He also scored two films by Brian De Palma (Snake Eyes and Femme Fatale), plus Wild Palms for Oliver Stone, High Heels for Pedro Almodóvar, the 1990 film adaptation of The Handmaid’s Tale, and more. Michael Jackson covered their song Behind the Mask and intended to include it on Thriller, but a royalties disagreement prevented it. He trained on early synthesisers, and enthused by everything from Debussy to Kraftwerk, began working on various musical projects, including with Hosono and Takahashi.

World-renowned Japanese composer and musician Ryuichi Sakamoto has died at the age of 71 after battling cancer, his management company KAB America Inc.

He worked continuously until his later years, including the score for 2015 film 'The Revenant.' Four years later, he took home a Golden Globe and Oscar for best music for his score for the 'The Last Emperor.' Sakamoto wrote the score and starred alongside David Bowie in the 1983 film 'Merry Christmas, Mr.

Ryuichi Sakamoto, the Oscar-winning Japanese composer famed for his scores for The Last Emperor, Merry Christmas Mr Lawrence and other films, has died aged ...

His most celebrated work was 1987's The Last Emperor — a film in which he also acted. So the music goes around the world and comes full circle," he told WNYC public radio in 2010. Introduced to the piano as a toddler, Sakamoto lived for music.

The renowned composer and producer has passed away aged 71.

[April 2, 2023] In 2014, Sakamoto was first diagnosed with throat cancer. Additionally, he composed the soundtrack for films such as The Last Emperor and The Revenant as well as 1983’s Merry Christmas, Mr Laurence in which he also starred in alongside David Bowie. We would like to express our deepest gratitude to his fans and all those who have supported his activities, as well as the medical professionals in Japan and the U.S. Born in 1952, Sakamoto took up piano from an early age and over the course of his creative career was a pioneer within electronic and ambient music. The post revealed that he passed away last week on 28 March.

Ryuichi Sakamoto, a world-renowned Japanese musician and actor who composed for Hollywood hits such as “The Last Emperor” and “The Revenant,” has died.

“How we make electricity is going to diversify, with fossil fuel and nuclear power declining,” Sakamoto told The Associated Press in an interview in 2012. At his home in New York, he gets electricity from a company that relies on renewables, he said. The statement expressed gratitude to the doctors who had treated him in the U.S. and Japan, as well as to all his fans around the world. “To his final days, he lived with music,” it said. He was first diagnosed with throat cancer in 2014.

Ryuichi Sakamoto, the Oscar-winning Japanese composer famed for his scores for "The Last Emperor", "Merry Christmas Mr. Lawrence" and other films, ...

His most celebrated work was 1987's "The Last Emperor" - a film in which he also acted. So the music goes around the world and comes full circle," he told WNYC public radio in 2010. Introduced to the piano as a toddler, Sakamoto lived for music.

Ryuichi Sakamoto, the composer who won an Oscar for The Last Emperor, died March 28 of cancer at 71.

Along with releasing the diary-like “12” in 2023, and being the subject of a various artists’ tribute album at the end of 2022, “To the Moon and Back,” Sakamoto was in the planning stages of “KAGAMI,” which is scheduled to have its New York premiere this summer at the Shed in New York. In February 2023, Sakamoto set his next soundtrack scoring job, to write the music for Palme d’Or-winning director Hirokazu Kore-eda’s forthcoming feature “Monster,” although the status of that work is unclear. “Ryuichi is very curious about new music, new forms,” said JC Chamboredon, the head of Sakamoto’s Milan label and a longtime confidant. Though Sakamoto collaborated with percussionist Tsuchitori Toshiyuki to release the experimental “Disappointment-Hateruma,” in 1975, it was a bourgeoning relationship with Takahashi (who died on January 11, 2023) and multi-instrumentalist Haruomi Hosono that brought the keyboardist his first fame. He composed the score for the opening ceremony for the 1992 Summer Olympics in Barcelona, Spain (telecast to a live audience of a billion-plus viewers), scored Bertolucci’s “The Sheltering Sky” Oliver Stone’s “Wild Palms” ABC television series, Brian De Palma’s “Snake Eyes” and more. It was not immediately clear whether the show will be altered following his death; either way, it will clearly take on a whole new poignance. [Ryuichi Sakamoto](https://variety.com/t/ryuichi-sakamoto/), the influential electronic music composer and member of the Yellow Magic Orchestra who won an Oscar for the score for “The Last Emperor” and composed the haunting score for “Merry Christmas Mr. Born in Tokyo on January 17, 1952, Sakamoto was something of a child prodigy, playing piano in his youth and while in high school presaging his later work in electronic music by studying the sounds of Japan’s commuter trains. Lawrence,” the story of a British colonel who tries to make peace between a Japanese camp commander, played by Sakamoto, and a British P.O.W., played by Bowie. in the following years — and beyond. However, by then the members had solo careers well underway, particularly Sakamoto, whose work on “Merry Christmas Mr. in electronic and ethnic music, and studied ethnomusicology with a desire to become a researcher in the traditional music of Japan, India and Africa.

Ryuichi Sakamoto, keyboardist for the pioneering Yellow Magic Orchestra and Oscar-winning composer of 'The Last Emperor,' has died at the age of 71.

But, I am hoping to make music for a little while longer,” he wrote in 2021. That album spawned the electro single “Riot in Lagos,” which in turn informed the music of Afrika Bambaataa and Mantronix. In 1987, director Bernardo Bertolucci enlisted Sakamoto, along with David Byrne and Chinese composer Cong Su, to create the score for his epic The Last Emperor. “I decided to cancel all the projects. … Of course, treatment was the most important thing and I had the most harsh, physically painful time in my life. “I began training in music when I was little and attended a music university, but I never wanted to do it professionally. “I had plenty of time not doing anything, maybe since I was early-20s or something, when I was a student. Lawrence; that film also marked Sakamoto’s first score, and would later win the BAFTA in that category. In 1978, Sakamoto — at the time a classically-trained session musician — along with drummer/singer Takahashi, and bassist/keyboardist/vocalist Haruomi Hosono (previously of the famed Japanese rock bands Apryl Fool and Happy End) joined forces to found the the supergroup Yellow Magic Orchestra. In 2014, Sakamoto was first diagnosed with throat cancer, resulting in a yearlong hiatus from music as he battled the disease. Then I joined the Yellow Magic Orchestra because I wanted to work with those two very talented musicians. We would like to express our deepest gratitude to his fans and all those who have supported his activities, as well as the medical professionals in Japan and the U.S.

Ryuichi Sakamoto, a world-renowned Japanese musician and actor who composed for Hollywood hits such as “The Last Emperor” and “The Revenant,” has died.

“How we make electricity is going to diversify, with fossil fuel and nuclear power declining,” Sakamoto told The Associated Press in an interview in 2012. At his home in New York, he gets electricity from a company that relies on renewables, he said. The statement expressed gratitude to the doctors who had treated him in the U.S. Sakamoto also left his mark as a pacifist and environmental activist. “To his final days, he lived with music,” it said. He was first diagnosed with throat cancer in 2014.

Mr. Sakamoto, whose work with Yellow Magic Orchestra influenced electronic music, composed scores for “The Last Emperor” and “The Revenant.”

Mr. In later years, Mr. Nicolai, who layered glitchy electronics over Mr. “I just wanted to be showered in sound,” he said of the record. The group broke up in 1984, in part because Mr. In the 21st century, he began to focus again on more experimental work, inspired by a new generation of collaborators including the producer Fennesz and Mr. Nicolai, who performs under the name Alva Noto, Mr. “Perhaps it’s because people are looking for healing, for some answer to the stress of their country’s recession,” Mr. [synth-heavy title track](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LF9_9MZyQGo) remained one of Mr. Then came music for films by the director Bernardo Bertolucci, including “The Last Emperor” (1987) “The Sheltering Sky” (1990) and “Little Buddha (1993). [Nagisa Oshima](https://www.nytimes.com/2013/01/16/movies/nagisa-oshima-iconoclastic-filmmaker-dies-at-80.html) asked him to co-star, alongside David Bowie, in “Merry Christmas, Mr. Equally comfortable in futuristic techno, orchestral works, video game tracks and intimate piano solos, Mr.

Sakamoto won a Golden Globe and Oscar for best music for his score for The Last Emperor.

He worked continuously until his later years, including composing the score for the 2015 film The Revenant. Four years later, he took home a Golden Globe and Oscar for best music for his score for The Last Emperor. [Japanese composer Ryuichi Sakamoto](https://7news.com.au/entertainment), who wrote the haunting score to Merry Christmas, Mr Lawrence and won an Oscar for 1987’s The Last Emperor, has died aged 71.

Ryuichi Sakamoto is being remembered for his music which touched so many and his environmental activism after his death was announced.

"We would like to share one of Sakamoto's favourite quotes: 'Ars longa, vita brevis. Having shot to fame in the 1970s with the influential Japanese group Yellow Magic Orchestra, Sakamoto's electronic innovations helped lay the foundations for synth-pop, house music and hip-hop. He was well known for his film soundtracks, including for the World War II drama Merry Christmas, Mr Lawrence, in which he also acted opposite his friend David Bowie as a prisoner-of-war camp commandant.

The award-winning composer took a particularly strong anti-nuclear stance that put him at odds with Japanese officialdom.

“(Rokkasho) is hugely profitable for the general contractors. But he was also an advocate for peace and environmental issues, in particular taking a strong anti-nuclear stance that put him at odds with Japanese officialdom. They know nuclear power is unnecessary and dangerous, and that it will be dangerous for hundreds of future generations because of the radioactive waste.

Japanese composer and electronic music pioneer behind the soundtrack for the 1983 film Merry Christmas, Mr Lawrence.

With the Austrian guitarist and composer Christian Fennesz he recorded Sala Santa Cecilia (2005), Cendre (2007) and Flumina (2011). He and Byrne teamed up to record the single [Psychedelic Afternoon](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OUuKhMS-Aek) to aid tsunami survivors. Thomas Dolby featured on the pulsating [Field Work](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tdq-Pn6xPBE) from Illustrated Musical Encyclopedia (1986), the track accompanied by an ingeniously conceived video, while for Neo Geo (1987) Sakamoto enlisted [Iggy Pop](https://www.theguardian.com/music/iggy-pop), Bill Laswell, [Bootsy Collins](https://www.theguardian.com/music/2011/apr/14/bootsy-collins-funkadelic-funk) and Sly Dunbar. YMO paused their activities in 1984, though the trio continued to collaborate on each other’s solo work, and they reformed to make the album Technodon (1993). He formed a group of musicians called NML (No More Landmines), which featured [Firecracker](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OkkFST5qrLg), from their 1978 debut album, was itself sampled in Afrika Bambaataa’s Death Mix. Born in Tokyo, Ryuichi was the only child of Keiko (nee Shimomura), a hat designer, and Kazuki Sakomoto, a literary editor. For the opening of the 1992 Barcelona Olympics he provided [El Mar Mediterrani](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=o4AzXwtfHck). The soundtrack, which won him a Bafta for best film music, contained the Sakamoto/Sylvian composition [Forbidden Colours](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=x1YkHJJi-tc), a vocal version of the film’s main theme, which was a Top 20 hit in Britain. [electronica](https://www.theguardian.com/music/electronicmusic), Sakamoto was able to combine his skills as an academically trained musician with an aptitude for electronic music and an ear for countless musical styles. [Andy Partridge](https://www.theguardian.com/music/xtc) from XTC, and the electrofunk track Riot in Lagos proved inspirational for the likes of Mantronix and Afrikaa Bambaataa. He won an Academy Award (along with his fellow composers David Byrne and Cong Su) for his soundtrack to

Twitter account Tech Product Bangers has compiled Nokia 8800 ringtones and alerts – most of which the late pioneering Japanese musician created.

[A Tribute to Ryuichi Sakamoto: To The Moon and Back ](https://crackmagazine.net/article/album-reviews/to-the-moon-and-back-ryuichi-sakamoto-review/)was released last November to mark the musician’s 70th birthday, featuring reworked versions of his music by artists including Thundercat, Devonté Hynes, Alva Noto and David Sylvian. In addition to his film scores, extensive solo and collaborative releases and output as one third of Yellow Magic Orchestra, Sakamoto created many of the signature mobile phone ringtones and alerts for the Nokia 8800 back in 2005. Please take a listen, some lovely sounds here.”

Ryuichi Sakamoto, founder of the Yellow Magic Orchestra and an Oscar-winning film composer, has died aged 71.

He also acted in the film. He went on to compose scores for dozens of films, including Bernardo Bertolucci’s The Last Emperor (1987), which earned him an Academy Award for Best Original Score. We would like to express our deepest gratitude to his fans and all those who have supported his activities, as well as the medical professionals in Japan and the U.S. [More Trees](https://www.more-trees.org/en/) in 2001, which aims to reforest areas damaged by logging or natural disasters. In 1978, he co-founded the experimental electronic group Yellow Magic Orchestra (YMO). YMO was often likened to Kraftwerk though unlike the German group, it incorporated acoustic instrumentation alongside drum machines and sequencers.

The 71-year-old experimental Japanese composer, Ryuichi Sakamoto, leaves behind a pioneering career spanning six decades of music and cinema.

Since the early 2000s, Sakamoto has been a fixture in popular music and film, never finding himself bound to just one genre. [music](/tag/music/) and film has lost a titan in the passing of Ryuichi Sakamoto this week. Catching the attention of audiences and critics overseas, the band's first album was a surprising hit, and closely followed by a sophomore release that saw their sound trek further into the depths of synthpop and disco.

The Japanese musician and sonic innovator Ryuichi Sakamoto sadly passed away this weekend after a long spell with cancer. He was 72.

[“Merry Christmas, Mr Lawrence”](https://www.beatport.com/track/merry-christmas-mr-lawrence-electric-youth-remodel/17051812) (available on Beatport via Milan) and slowly but surely work backwards through his catalogue. This means that from the core YMO trio, only producer and vocalist Haruomi Hosono, sometimes credited as Harry Hosono, still remains standing at the age of 75. In a decade that’s included the passing of Prince, David Bowie and also his fellow YMO member Yukihiro Takahashi, the drummer who died back in January of aspiration pneumonia on January 4th, this is another reminder that however immortal the music, no-one in electronic music gets to live forever. Beyond his acclaimed Hollywood moment, Sakamoto was also a member and co-founder of the acclaimed electronic outfit Yellow Magic Orchestra, whose albums included “Solid State Survivor” and “Technodon.” YMO were the first ever musicians to use the 808 drum machine and their songs covered by everyone from Ryuichi Sakamoto you taught me perhaps the greatest of all lessons: “every mistake is a gift.” He also acted in the World War 2 movie, which was co-written and directed by Nagisa Oshima, co-written with Paul Mayersberg and produced by Jeremy Thomas.