After a protracted battle with cancer, Ryuichi Sakamoto, a diverse Japanese composer, producer, and pioneer, passed away at the age of 71. Sakamoto managed to stay cancer-free for a while, but in 2021 the disease returned with a vengeance and claimed his life.
Ryuichi Sakamoto was recognized as a genius when he was only three years old for his talent as a pianist and his natural ability to speak multiple languages without having studied them.
He developed an interest in jazz while still in elementary school. He continued his musical career and experimented with electronic music in the 1970s. While he released a few albums of mainstream music, his most significant rise to prominence came from the soundtracks that he created, including including the 1987 film “The Last Emperor,” which won him an Oscar, a Grammy, and a Golden Globe.
The music and score for Almodovar’s dramatic movie “Tacones Lejanos” were also written by Sakamoto. He also provided the music for Gonzalez Iarritu’s more recent picture “The Revenant,” which also starred Leonardo DiCaprio and for which he won an Oscar.
He received numerous honors while performing as a soloist with the Yellow Magic Orchestra, including the aforementioned Oscar, a Grammy, and a Bafta.
Sakamoto’s musical career got off to a strong start when, at the age of 10, he began studying composition and drew inspiration from the Beatles and Claude Debussy.
By using synthesizers to develop YMO with Haruichi Sakamoto and Yukihiro Takahashi in the late 1970s, Ryuichi Sakamoto became one of the most significant influences on techno-pop and hip-hop. “When I make music scores, I can only consider Western styles of composition that I learned when I was a teenager. But I always wanted to break this, to break the wall or the boundaries that I’m trapped in. Sometimes using electronic music or mixing with electronic sounds helps to break this wall.”
His later collaborations included work with Brian Eno, Alva Noto, and cellist Jaques Morelenbaum. Sakamoto’s daughter, Miu Sakamoto, is a J-pop singer.
