Jul 26, 2015

Sundaze 1530

Hello, The summer storm of the century caused plenty of chaos, hardly surprising then that festivals were cancelled. No Clinton/Funkadelic for me and the carnaval parade was cancelled, enormous disappointment there.

Today a Japanese musician, activist, composer, record producer, writer, singer, pianist, and actor based in Tokyo and New York. Gaining major success in 1978 as a member of the electronic music group Yellow Magic Orchestra, Sakamoto served on keyboards and sometimes vocals. He concurrently pursued a solo career, if ever anyone painted pictures with sound, Ryuichi Sakamoto supercedes them all. Hardly surprising then he's delivered some great soundtracks, here today to   .... N'joy

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Ryuichi Sakamoto (born January 17, 1952 in Tokyo, Japan) studied at the Tokyo National University of Fine Arts and Music, where he graduated with a BA in composition, and a Master's degree with special emphasis electronic and ethnic music. Sakamoto began his career in the late 1970s, working as a composer, arranger and producer with some of Japan's most popular rock, jazz and classical artists. He released his first solo album in 1978 but came to fame as a member of Japanese synth-rock outfit Yellow Magic Orchestra with co-founders Haruomi Hosono and Yukihiro Takahashi. He collaborated with David Sylvian on a number of singles and most of Sylvian's albums.

 He appeared in the 1983 Nagisa Oshima film Merry Christmas, Mr Lawrence alongside British rock singer David Bowie; he also wrote the film's musical score. He won the Academy Award for his score to the 1987 Bernardo Bertolucci film The Last Emperor, and has also won two Golden Globe Awards for his work as a film composer.In addition, he also composed music for the 1992 Barcelona Olympics opening ceremony. In the early 1990s, he briefly reunited with YMO, playing an instrumental role in the techno and acid house movements of the era, before parting ways again shortly afterwards.

 His 1999 musical composition "Energy Flow", also known as the alternative title of the single disc Ura BTTB, was the first number-one instrumental single in Japan's Oricon charts history. He has also occasionally worked on anime and video games, as a composer as well as a scenario writer. In the late 2000s, he reunited once again with YMO, while continuing to compose film music.

Since 78 he has released almost 90 albums (solo & soundtrack) , on top of that 2 dozen collaboration albums and YMO 33 years 110+ albums , every 16 weeks an album for 33 years, amazing workethic, puts lots of artists to shame. The 2007 jpg shows a 55 year old man that has greyed considerably, but he looks sharp and balanced into the lens back at you.

 He is also known as a critic of copyright law, arguing that it is antiquated in the information age. He is a member of anti-nuclear organization Stop Rokkasho. Married life obviously suffered and he has been unattached for most of his career, still he has two daughters one of which has stepped into her parents career (mother=Akiko Yano), the J-pop singer Miu Sakamoto.

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The Last Emperor, director Bernardo Bertolucci's epic tale of Pu Yi, the exiled final potentate of China's 3,000-year old Qing dynasty, was the big winner at the 1988 Academy Awards, taking Oscars for (among others) Best Picture, Best Director, and Best Original Score. The composing trio of Sakamoto/Byrne/Su was an unusual one to be sure, but it's clearly Sakamoto who carries the day here. The avant-garde trained/former Yellow Magic Orchestra pop mastermind crafted a seamless fusion of grand Western themes, Asian shadings, and his own deliciously distinct timbrel sensibilities; an accessible if deceptively modern classicism. Not surprisingly given his Talking Heads roots, Byrne's efforts are more rhythmic and minimal, yet his consuming passion for world music thoroughly evidences itself as well. His lyric and lilting "Main Title Theme" (one of the film's unusual elements was its use of two main themes by separate composers) may offer a pleasant surprise to listeners overly familiar with his pop work. The composer Cong Su is represented by just one cut; but it's a gentle, ethereal spin on Chinese folk influences that fits well with his fellow composers' work. Academy  Award Winner



Ryuichi Sakamoto - The Last Emperor (flac 203mb)

01 First Coronation 1:46
02 Open the Door 2:54
03 Where Is Armo ? 2:25
04 Picking up Brides 2:39
05 Last Emperor 2:19
06 Rain (I Want a Divorce) 1:49
07 Baby (Was Born Dead) 0:55
08 Last Emperor 4:28
09 Last Emperor (Theme) 5:54
10 Main Title Theme (The Last Emperor) (feat: David Byrne) 4:01
11 Picking a Bride (feat: David Byrne) 2:00
12 Bed (feat: David Byrne) 5:00
13 Wind, Rain and Water (feat: David Byrne) 2:18
14 Paper Emperor (feat: David Byrne) 1:47
15 Lunch (feat: Cong Su ) 4:54
16 Red Guard 1:20
17 Emperor's Waltz 3:06
18 Red Guard Dance

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A varied soundtrack album that manages to weave in a little variation from the traditional type of motion picture scoring indulged in here by Sakamoto. Part of the reason for the variation is that only twelve of the album's 21 tracks are by Sakamoto -- several are source music, others were composed by Richard Horowitz. The diversity thus makes for a more interesting album than might have been had from variations on the main minor-key "Sheltering Sky" theme (presented here in orchestrated and piano-based versions.) It also breaks away from the sound of Sakamoto's recordings, strong material that suffers from a certain digital harshness in the strings.

Horowitz' part in this is in stepping away from traditional Western scoring and using Middle Eastern elements for score structures -- something that's very effective indeed on "Fever Ride" with its blend of Moroccan and Spanish elements. Where Sakamoto easily sketches panorama with his music, Horowitz sketches in mystery. The local source music, too, adds to this, giving the album a grounding in the real world that completes the overall structure. An excellent album that can easily be recommended for more than just soundtrack aficionados.



Ryuichi Sakamoto - The Sheltering Sky (flac 254mb)

01 Unknown Artist - The Sacred Koran 0:42
02 The Sheltering Sky Theme 5:18
03 Belly 1:27
04 Port's Composition 1:24
05 On The Bed (Dream) 1:37
06 Loneliness 1:31
07 On The Hill 6:10
08 Kyoto 1:04
09 Cemetery 1:25
10 Dying 3:30
11 Market 1:41
12 Grand Hotel 2:07
13 The Sheltering Sky Theme (Piano Version) 4:17
14 Charles Trenet - Je Chante 2:44
15 Lionel Hampton - Midnight Sun3:15
16 Horowitz - Fever Ride 3:50
17 Unknown Artist - Chant Avec Cithare 0:45
18 Richard Horowitz - Marnia's Tent 3:03
19 Chaba Zahouania - Goulov Limma 5:46
20 Zarsis - Happy Bus Ride 1:42
21 Richard Horowitz - Night Train 2:00

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Academy Award-winning composer Ryuichi Sakamoto (The Last Emperor) has created one of his most spectacular and inspiring film scores for the soundtrack to Bernardo Bertolucci's epic--Little Buddha. Sakamoto's fusion of electronic and organic instruments beautifully compliment the stunning scenery and powerful images of the film and reflect the awesome scope of the human soul. Magnificent. Tender. Up-lifting. Expansive. Meditative. Music that stands on it's own, without the film, but music that gives the film the majesty and spirituality it was expressing, in depicting scenes from the life of Buddha.



Ryuichi Sakamoto - Little Buddha  (flac 270mb)

01 Main Theme 2:50
02 Opening Titles 1:47
03 The First Meeting 1:50
04 Raga Kirvani 1:28
05 Nepalese Caravan 3:01
06 Victory 1:45
07 Faraway Song 3:18
08 Red Dust 4:38
09 River Ashes 2:25
10 Exodus 2:32
11 Evan's Funeral 4:28
12 The Middle Way 1:50
13 Raga Naiki Kanhra / The Trial (Voc Shruti Sadolikar) 5:24
14 Enlightenment 4:29
15 The Reincarnation 1:51
16 Gompa - Heart Sutra 2:38
17 Acceptance - End Credits 8:58

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Depending on your viewpoint, director Brian De Palma has been frequently lauded/taken to task for liberally appropriating the stylistic flourishes of other directors. And if De Palma's biggest "inspiration" on Snake Eyes is Alfred Hitchcock, the director found an admirable, if unlikely, semblance of frequent Hitchcock collaborator Bernard Herrmann in Ryuichi Sakamoto. Though better known for more delicate, electronic, and ethnically tinged work, here Sakamoto does a truly amazing Benny impression, cranking up the brass and swirling the strings into an unsettling sonic maelstrom that would've done late '50s Hitch proud. Snake Eyes instantly begins with an awesome theme played out on lush violins. It echoes Bernard Herrmann classic scores to Hitchcock movies. And seeing as how with this movie Brian DePalma was paying tribute to Hitchcock it's only fitting that Sakamoto would be such a sport. Usually when a score imitates another movie it doesn't stand on its own. But Snakes Eyes sounds soooo cool. Meredith Brooks and LaKiesha Berry also contribute a pair of songs in the contemporary pop vein .



Ryuichi Sakamoto - Snake Eyes  (flac 255mb)

1 Snake Eyes (Short Version) 2:51
2 Assassination 2:41
3 The Hunt 6:09
4 Julia's Story #1 1:23
5 Tyler And Serena 4:37
6 Kevin Cleans Up 2:13
7 You Know Him 2:19
8 Blood On The Medals 2:02
9 Crawling To Julia 3:24
10 The Storm 4:30
11 Snake Eyes (Long Version) 7:39
12 Meredith Brooks - Sin City 4:05
13 LaKiesha Berri - The Freaky Things 3:35

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2 comments:

Anonymous said...

Hello Rho,
It would be great if you could reup these albums...

Anonymous said...

I appreciate the reup very much.