Ryuichi Sakamoto, 12

Ryuichi Sakamoto's death in March, 2023 at age 71, left a gaping hole for anyone touched by his legendary compositions—a long list of people. Sakamoto initially rose to fame as a member of the much loved and pioneering Yellow Magic Orchestra, influencing virtually all genres with an electronic element, from synth pop to house to hip-hop and beyond. After YMO's hiatus in 1984, Sakamoto's focus shifted to his solo career and composing scores. He created a string of film scores for renowned directors such as Bernardo Bertolucci, Brian DePalma, Takashi Miike, Alejandro G. Iñárritu, and others, all while composing music for video games, working on collaborative albums, and even writing a song for the 1992 Barcelona Olympics.

"/04" was released in 2004. "/05" was released in 2005. These two works have been re-released as a 2-CD set with the latest remastering. This is a self-cover album that features a number of Ryuichi Sakamoto classics, including movie theme songs, commercial songs, solo works, and YMO songs, performed mainly on the piano. It can truly be called Ryuichi Sakamoto's best album performed on the piano!

"/04" was released in 2004. "/05" was released in 2005. These two works have been re-released as a 2-CD set with the latest remastering. This is a self-cover album that features a number of Ryuichi Sakamoto classics, including movie theme songs, commercial songs, solo works, and YMO songs, performed mainly on the piano. It can truly be called Ryuichi Sakamoto's best album performed on the piano!

Composition for 1992 Summer Olympics opening ceremony officially released on the 1997 mini-album of the same name.
Ryuichi Sakamoto crossed numerous musical and cultural boundaries throughout his groundbreaking, highly accomplished career. As one-third of Yellow Magic Orchestra, he helped build the foundation for synth pop, electro, and techno during the 1970s and early '80s. He won several major awards for his scores to the films Merry Christmas, Mr. Lawrence (1983) and The Last Emperor (1987), both of which he had starring roles in. On albums like Neo Geo (1987) and Beauty (1989), he fused pop, classical, electronic music, and global textures and rhythms, working with an extensive guest list ranging from Brian Wilson to Youssou N'Dour…

Composition for 1992 Summer Olympics opening ceremony officially released on the 1997 mini-album of the same name.
Ryuichi Sakamoto crossed numerous musical and cultural boundaries throughout his groundbreaking, highly accomplished career. As one-third of Yellow Magic Orchestra, he helped build the foundation for synth pop, electro, and techno during the 1970s and early '80s. He won several major awards for his scores to the films Merry Christmas, Mr. Lawrence (1983) and The Last Emperor (1987), both of which he had starring roles in. On albums like Neo Geo (1987) and Beauty (1989), he fused pop, classical, electronic music, and global textures and rhythms, working with an extensive guest list ranging from Brian Wilson to Youssou N'Dour…

There's an old saying that one is only as good as the people with whom one collaborates. Judging by the list of musical contributors to Hector Zazou's Sahara Blue, Zazou is quite good indeed. Among many others, those adding their own touch to Zazou's album include Bill Laswell, Dead Can Dance, John Cale, David Sylvian, Ryuichi Sakamoto, and Tim Simenon. Zazou devised the album as a mix of musical styles set to lyrics/vocals taken from the pen of Arthur Rimbaud. While it might appear like a pretentious undertaking on paper, the album is a cohesive slice of eclectic music-making. Jazzy spoken word songs such as "Ophelie" intermingle with throbbing dance-oriented numbers like "I'll Strangle You" and quiet, peaceful piano-based meditations such as "Harar et les Gallas." Dead Can Dance duo Brendan Perry and Lisa Gerrard work their particular magic on "Youth," exchanging vocals, and on "Black Stream," where Perry's dark, somber synth weeps around Gerrard's stunning vocals and yang chin. Zazou himself mostly stays in the background, providing production and electronic sounds, allowing the players to showcase their abilities.

This double disc is a collaboration between Ryuichi Sakamoto and Christian Fennesz, with the former man taking a decidedly dominant role throughout. The concept behind the album is fairly straightforward: on each night of a 24-date tour, Sakamoto wrote and performed a piano piece in a different key. By tour's end, he'd explored every possible tonal variation within Western notation. He provided these short, jewel-like solo piano melodies to Fennesz, who laid them in soft beds of gently caressing electronics. The results are very pretty…