Ryuichi Sakamoto, who passed away last week at age 71, straddled genres much like he did continents. A classically trained pianist, he rose to international fame as a member of pioneering electronic-pop group Yellow Magic Orchestra in his native Tokyo, then became a solo artist, and wrote music for award-winning Hollywood films (including “The Revenant”) and the Olympics.
He was a frequent guest and performer on KCRW over the decades, where the halls display a photo of him with eyes closed, deeply engrossed at a piano. In 2011, Sakamoto and Yellow Magic Orchestra performed in LA for the first time since 1979 as part of KCRW’s World Festival at the Hollywood Bowl.
Ryuichi Sakamoto imitates a photo of himself playing the piano, which hung in the hallway of KCRW’s old offices. Credit: KCRW.
Tom Schnabel, former host of KCRW’s Rhythm Planet and Morning Becomes Eclectic, interviewed him in the 1980s when he was new to America, and then again in 2010. He recalls the multitudes inhabited by Sakamoto’s artistry and personality.
“He was steeped in both the Western tradition as well as the Eastern tradition,” Schnabel says. “And then, of course, in the 1980s, Japan was this huge power player in whole technology and everything else. … He got into the whole technical … techno side of music too. So he was living in many different worlds and had a really fascinating way of composing and making music.”
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Schnabel calls Sakamoto a “musical polymath” and “musical sponge” who listened to classical works, jazz, and songs from all over the world.
Sakamoto was known as a prolific collaborator, working with the likes of Iggy Pop, Brian Wilson, Senegalese singer Youssou N'Dour, and English singer David Sylvian. He and David Byrne won an Oscar and a Grammy for composing the score for “The Last Emperor,” in which Sakamoto also acted, and he also acted opposite David Bowie in “Merry Christmas, Mr. Lawrence.”
Schnabel once posed a particular question to Sakamoto: “If you had to produce a dream record with famous artists that can be either alive or dead, do you have any idea who you would choose?”
“First he said, ‘Wow.’ And then he said, ‘Okay. I would like to use Jimi Hendrix for guitar, maybe Bill Laswell for bass, and maybe Sly Dunbar for drums. And maybe the horn section from Sly Stone. I could have artists like Coltrane for solo parts and strings from the Berlin Philharmonic.’”
Ryuichi Sakamoto speaks with Chris Douridas in 2016. Photo by Brian Lowe.
The fashion world was drawn to Sakamoto as well. “He was not a fashionista, but he was such a beautiful man, all the couturiers wanted to clothe him. He had all the latest French fashions. … He couldn't walk down the street without people being all over him, and I don't even think that happened to David Bowie.”