Merry Christmas Lawrence

Ryuichi Sakamoto, one of the pioneering figures of Japanese electronic music, demonstrates his versatility on this change-of-pace album. Released in 2004, 04 is dominated by Sakamoto's prowess on the acoustic piano, and features excerpts from several of his scores for motion pictures (including his music for Merry Christmas, Mr. Lawrence), television commercials (such as a campaign for Louis Vuitton), and video games ("Seven Samurai: Ending Theme" was composed for the PS2 game Seven Samurai 20XX).

The first ever overview of Sakamoto's film work approved by the artist. Performed by the Brussels Philharmonic and conducted by Dirk Brosse. Supported by the Film Fest Gent’s World Soundtrack Awards, Ryuichi Sakamoto Music For Film is the third release from the series and second on Silva Screen Records. Each year an eminent film music composer is invited to present their work during the annual World Soundtrack Awards Ceremony & Concert closing event. As part of the celebrations, Film Fest Gent and partner Brussels Philharmonic record a CD of their music in advance of the concert.

Ryuichi Sakamoto (坂本 龍一[a], Sakamoto Ryūichi, born January 17, 1952) is a Japanese composer, pianist, singer, songwriter, record producer, activist, and actor who has pursued a diverse range of styles as a solo artist and as a member of Yellow Magic Orchestra (YMO). With his bandmates Haruomi Hosono and Yukihiro Takahashi, Sakamoto influenced and pioneered a number of electronic music genres…