Ryuichi Sakamoto S/D

Realized this am that the record he produced and arranged for Virginia Astley, Hope in a Darkened Heart, is really required listening for anyone interested in Ryuichi’s mid-80s classy orchestral Fairlight experimental pop phase, a la Ongaku Zukan and his contemporaneous work w David Sylvian.

It’s a legitimately weird record – with nursery rhyme-melodies sung in Astley’s little girl falsetto over Ryuichi’s booming gated drums, sequenced music boxes and gamelans. The duet with Sylvian himself that leads off the record is a pretty unique entry in his catalogue:

https://open.spotify.com/track/5nwDAFzUqt7hVVsKoWGcJN?si=xX7P9oCVScqGde8qpsO5eg

Ohhh! Thanks for the recommendation, sounds ace!

It is! And if you want to go the Bandcamp route

https://virginiaastley.bandcamp.com/

Finally watched the Playing Piano for the Isolated concert last week. It's great!

NIT's spotify link is to a mellow 80's compilation :)
Still, having checked the Virginia Astley album, I thank you! Lovely stuff, esp. the latter half. Loved reading up on her, too

69 years old today

he's currently flooding Twitter with birthday wishes causing me to come to the realization that he is a strikingly handsome man, even today

nice

Bad news:

https://thequietus.com/articles/29458-ryuichi-sakamoto-diagnosed-bowel-cancer

Nooooooooooooooooooo :(

Oh man :(

ugh, hopefully he pulls through :(

Ah, fuck. :(

jesus, no

hoping the best for him. Takahashi had a brain tumor removed just a few months ago, as well. :(

its hard to gauge the tone of YT's social media posts, he seems optimistic but apparently he's not out of the woods yet

the one time I randomly catch an episode of Brooklyn Nine-Nine:

https://www.instagram.com/p/BuelFc2j1VM/

Heart does a flip again now when I see this thread bumped.

Me too :(

Then enjoy this instead, as he has the closing track

https://modernobscuremusic.bandcamp.com/album/prsnt

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hC5Ry5092Pk

now here's a powerful image

https://i.imgur.com/RtP0rpZ.png

I would listen to this crossover.

btw before anyone asks I have no idea what the context of this is, I just saw it in a YMO FB group. i wish i knew

Money Mark
February 24, 2012
Ryuichi Sakamoto, Keith Emerson!…i’m standing with two of the very best!!….YMO,ELP….backstage,Hollywood Bowl

new album is heavy. maybe it's knowing about his health struggles, maybe it's because YT recently passed, but wow is there a lot of weight to what is essentially a solo piano album (there are some synths too of course). you can even hear him breathing throughout. almost sounds like he's struggling sometimes.

like I'm listening on headphones and I keep thinking someone is behind me

While I thought async was elegiac this new one, 12, is almost too much.

oh man, yeah, “heavy” is the right word. I’m usually not a fan of his solo piano stuff either but this one is hitting differently for sure. haven’t quite decided if it’s due to the circumstances but don’t think it’s just that. hits pretty hard in any case and isn’t something i can just throw on casually.

the least interesting ymo member. i consider his solo output pretty overrated. on the other hand, hosono and takahashi solo material is pretty consistent.

the least interesting ymo member. i consider his solo output pretty overrated. on the other hand, hosono and takahashi solo material is pretty consistent.

Geeta Dayal with an excellent piece on the album:

https://4columns.org/dayal-geeta/ryuichi-sakamoto

CerebralCaustic, I can understand that opinion if you're solely judging based on solo albums. But have you checked out Sakamoto's production/arrangement work? It's incredible. Taeko Onuki and Akiko Yano's early-to-mid '80s albums, for starters? It's incredible.

12 has turned into a daily play for me. i hope he can release more music, but if he doesn't, it's a powerful final act.

xxpost nonsense

fwiw Sakamoto is my "least favorite" of the three too, only because Hosono's music is very spiritual and precious to me and Takahashi has done so much stuff I absolutely love, while Sakamoto has a bunch of albums I'm just not really too interested in. that said I still love him and own a lot of his solo albums. so "least favorite" isn't really a term I like using. pound for pound surely YMO is one of the greatest bands in history

Geeta's review was nice. wonder what she's been up to?? not posting on ILX I see.

This sounds fun. Guess I'll probably get to see it at Big Ears.

https://www.instagram.com/p/CpAnOjCM7iB/?utm_source=ig_web_copy_link

agree on Hosonos output being the most consistently good one,
but Sakamoto and Takahashi both had their fair share of bland assembly-line productions, no?
Both LOTS of great ones too, obviously...
I think async is the best Sakamoto has been on album length in a long time, really love that one.
Have yet to hear 12.

say it ain't so Sakamoto

A Q&A about 12 with @commmons
and Ryuichi Sakamoto
17/20

全体を通して「プログレッシブ ロック」的な感じがしたのですが、いわゆるプログレ感を意識されることはあったのでしょうか？

The whole album has a progressive rock vibe to it but did you have this in mind?

— ryuichi sakamoto (@ryuichisakamoto) March 22, 2023

全くありません。人生でプログレが好きになったことも影響を受けたこともありません。

Not at all. I’ve never in my life liked prog rock and I’ve never been influenced by it either.#skmtnews #ryuichisakamoto #坂本龍一 #twelve

— ryuichi sakamoto (@ryuichisakamoto) March 22, 2023

It's cool. I have never heard any Prog influence in RS or his projects. Dunno what the person asking the question was listening to.

It’s an ambient electronic piece? I am still digging into that record somewhat. It’s mixed for 360 reality audio which is pretty cool. But I honestly don’t get the prog connection at all.

【訃報】音楽家の坂本龍一さん死去 71歳https://t.co/PQ6k4eokvv

80年代に3人組バンド・YMOで世界的ヒット曲を生み出した。映画音楽でも知られ、88年には米映画『ラストエンペラー』で米アカデミー作曲賞を日本人で初めて受賞。晩年はがん闘病が続いたが、最後まで音楽作りに情熱を注いだ。 pic.twitter.com/n7DlL2UdpA

— ライブドアニュース (@livedoornews) April 2, 2023

RIP!

pic.twitter.com/mYLMEN6HrZ

— ryuichi sakamoto (@ryuichisakamoto) April 2, 2023

:*(

Oh no

Ah damn. But such legacies he and Takahashi left.

I was just asking my friend in Tokyo what the deal was when YT passed, and it was front-page news. Sakamoto is probably more well-known. He said it was announced on the little TVs they have on the Yamanote line.

😞

Oof. Fuckin cancer.

been dreading this news, what a life and career