Sakamoto was married to Japanese pianist and singer Akiko Yano, collaborating with her on some of her recordings. In 1999, Heart of Asia (a dance track by the group Watergate) sampled his Merry Christmas, Mr. Conversazioni, a collection of essays and conversations. In 1998, Italian ethnomusicologist Massimo Milano published Ryuichi Sakamoto. In 1994, Sakamoto played Voltex of Love and Behind the Mask with Tetsuya Komuro at TK DANCE CAMP. He has also contributed to several albums by French producer Hector Zazou. In 1992, Sakamoto composed the score of the opening ceremony for the Summer Olympic Games in Barcelona, Spain, telecast live to an audience of over a billion viewers. His 1992 multi-lingual album Heartbeat looked to international horizons and drew from a global range of artists such as Dee Dee Brave, French rapper Marco Prince, Arto Lindsay, Youssou N’Dour, David Sylvian, and Ingrid Chavez.
Guest appearances included Jill Jones, Brian Wilson, and Robbie Robertson. Sakamoto continued his collaborations with others on his 1990 album Beauty, which featured a combination of pop songs and traditional Japanese tunes.
Among the other films Sakamoto has scored are Pedro Almodóvar’s 1992 film Tacones lejanos Bertolucci’s 1993 film The Little Buddha Oliver Stone’s 1993 television series Wild Palms John Maybury’s 1998 film Love Is the Devil: Study for a Portrait of Francis Bacon Brian De Palma’s 1998 film Snake Eyes Nagisa Oshima’s 1999 film Gohatto, and 2002 film Femme Fatale. Sakamoto, David Byrne and Cong Su won the Academy Award for their score to the 1987 Bernardo Bertolucci film The Last Emperor, in which Sakamoto also played a small role. Sakamoto also wrote the film’s musical score, and the theme song Forbidden Colours, sung by Sylvian, became a minor hit.Īs a long time fan of Virginia Astley’s music he produced her 1986 album Hope In A Darkened Heart which included David Sylvian as a guest. Lawrence (Senjou no Merii Kurisumasu, aka Furyo) alongside Takeshi Kitano and British rock singer David Bowie.
He appeared in the 1983 Nagisa Oshima film Merry Christmas Mr. He has also collaborated with, among others, David Byrne, Fennesz, Towa Tei and Supa DJ Dmitry (from the group Deee-Lite), Alva Noto, Thomas Dolby, Bill Laswell, Nam June Paik, Boredoms, Roddy Frame (frontman for Aztec Camera), Iggy Pop, and Caetano Veloso. Sakamoto has collaborated with David Sylvian on a number of singles and most of Sylvian’s albums. The band charted a British top 20 hit with Firecracker in the late 1970s (and are also remembered for Technopolis, Behind the Mask and Tong Poo), and were a seminal influence on the acid house and techno movements of the late 1980s and early 1990s.
Sakamoto recorded his first solo album in 1978, which included the songs Thousand Knives and The End of Asia.Īround the same time Read Full Bio Ryuichi Sakamoto (坂本龍一, Sakamoto Ryūichi, born January 17, 1952, Nakano, Tokyo, Japan) is a Japanese musician, composer, producer and actor.Īround the same time, Sakamoto joined the internationally successful Japanese synth J-Pop trio Yellow Magic Orchestra, along with co-founders Haruomi Hosono and Yukihiro Takahashi. with special emphasis on both electronic and ethnic music. He attended the Tokyo National University of Fine Arts and Music, where he earned a B.A.
Ryuichi Sakamoto (坂本龍一, Sakamoto Ryūichi, born January 17, 1952, Nakano, Tokyo, Japan) is a Japanese musician, composer, producer and actor.