Ryuichi Sakamoto, the Japanese master of electronic music, dies

Renowned Japanese composer and producer Ryuichi Sakamoto, admired for his experimentation with electronic music, has died at the age of 71.

Sakamoto was diagnosed with cancer for the second time in 2021. His representative said that he died last Tuesday.

He was the creator, among others, of the soundtracks of the film “The last Emperor“from 1987, which earned him an Oscar, a Grammy and a Golden Globe.

He also worked on the soundtrack for “Tacones Lejanos”, the film by Spanish director Pedro Almodóvar and, more recently, for “El Renacido”, a film starring Leonardo Di Caprio.

He won awards, including the aforementioned Oscar, a Grammy and Baftafor his work as a soloist and as a member of the Yellow Magic Orchestra (YMO).

Sakamoto began studying composition at age 10 and was inspired by the Beatles and Debussy, the 19th-century French composer.

He created YMO with Haruomi Hosono and Yukihiro Takahashi in 1978, where he played keyboards, and his innovations with synthesizers influenced techno-pop and hip-hop.

“Asian music greatly influenced Debussy, and Debussy influenced me a lot. So the music goes around the world and comes full circle,” he said in 2010.

Professor Brian Cox, a physicist and former keyboardist for the bands Dare and D:Ream, praised Sakamoto in a tweet:

“He was a big part of my ’80s musical experience through his work with David Sylvian and Japan. And he certainly leaves a magnificent catalog of music behind him.”

In a 2018 interview, Sakamoto described his effort to challenge the conventions of Western music composition.

“When I write scoresmy way of thinking is limited to the western forms of composition that I learned as a teenager. But I always wanted to break this, to break the wall or the limits that I’m trapped in. Sometimes using electronic music or mixing with electronic sounds helps to break this wall.”

He also enjoyed exploring various musical styles.

“After waking up I start thinking, hmm, what music am I going to listen to. Sometimes, by chance or randomly, some music comes to mind. For me there is no gender or category difference. music is music“.

In Japan he was also famous for his facet like environmental Activist, especially after the Fukushima nuclear meltdown in 2011.

Born in 1952, his father was a literary editor for Japanese writers, including Nobel laureate Kenzaburo Oe.

As a student he received classical training, but later specialized in ethnomusicology at the Tokyo National University of Fine Arts and Music. He was fascinated by the music of the world, including that of the island of Okinawa in Japan.

Their latest collaborations they included works with Brian Eno, Alva Noto and cellist Jaques Morelenbaum. Sakamoto’s daughter, Miu Sakamoto, is a J-pop singer.

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