Ryuichi Sakamoto

Award-winning composer and musician Ryuichi Sakamoto has made a career crossing musical and technological boundaries. Sakamoto has experimented with - and excelled in - many different musical styles throughout his career, making a name for himself in popular, orchestral, and film music.

In 1963, at the age of eleven, Ryuichi Sakamoto, whose musical interests ranged from the Beatles to Beethoven, began studying music composition under Professor Matsumoto at Tokyo National University of Fine Arts and Music. Eight years later, he entered Tokyo National University of Fine Arts and Music, earning a BA in composition, and then a masters degree with a concentration in electronic and ethnic music. producer, arranger and keyboardist.

In 1978, Sakamoto released his first solo album and formed Yellow Magic Orchestra along with Haruomi Hosono and Yukihiro Takahashi. Y.M.O. was immediately recognized as an international sensation from Japan. Their second album sold well over a million copies, led to a world tour, and made them, with Kraftwerk, the kings of technopop. Releasing eleven albums over the next five years, YMO developed a following that continues to the present day.

Sakamoto's best-known work is probably the soundtrack to Merry Christmas Mr. Lawrence, but in 1987, his score for Bertolucci's The Last Emperor won him an Oscar, a Grammy, a Golden Globe, as well as the New York, Los Angeles and British Film Critics Association awards for best original soundtrack. Since then he has worked with Bertolucci twice, Oliver Stone (Wild Palms), and Pedro Almodovar ('High Heels'). Sakamoto also maintains a career as an actor, having starred with David Bowie in Merry Christmas Mr. Lawrence, The Last Emperor, and Madonna's Rain music video. Sakamoto closed 1999 with the opening of his first opera, Life, which boasted seven sold-out performances in September.

Sakamoto is currently on a world tour in support of his latest release, BTTB, a collection of new solo piano compositions. If the reaction in Japan is any indication, the world should welcome Sakamoto's piano stylings with open arms. The first single from BTTB, Energy Flow, enjoyed eight weeks on top of Japan's singles charts - a first for an instrumental piano track. Energy Flow has sold over 2 million copies in Japan alone to date, one of only seven singles to sell more than 1 million units in Japan in 1999.     

With Ryuichi Sakamoto the only constant is change. The sheer breadth of musical styles he explores - even within one album - is central to his being as an artist. He feels no need to exist within musical boundaries, and he celebrates tearing them down.

"This global view to the different cultures is just part of my nature. I want to break down the walls between genres, categories, or cultures. Instead of building walls or borders, I always try to combine different things. To me, it's challenging and exciting."