The Japanese musician and actor Ryuichi Sakamoto, known in particular for having composed the music for Furyo and played opposite David Bowie, has just died at the age of 71.
He signed one of the most emblematic soundtracks in cinema. Composer and actor Ryuichi Sakamoto has just died at the age of 71 in Tokyo. In particular, in 1983 he composed the music for Furyo (Merry Christmas Mr Lawrence in VO), film in which he plays opposite David Bowie.
His official Twitter account published a simple message on Sunday bearing his date of birth, January 17, 1952, and the date of his death, March 28, 2023.
“He lived with the music until the very end,” his team said in a statement on his official website, explaining that the artist had wanted a discreet funeral reserved for his family circle.
The musician had announced in 2021 on his site, to be suffering from cancer, detected in 2020.
Ryūichi Sakamoto has created some of cinema’s finest soundtracks. He notably collaborated on several occasions with the Italian director Bernardo Bertolucci. We owe him the music of the last emperor by Bernardo Bertolucci, in 1987 – who won him an Oscar – byA tea in the Saharain 1990 and Little Buddha in 1993.
The Japanese also signed the music for High heels of Pedro Almodóvar, of Fatal Womanby Brian de Palma, et de Black Rain by Ridley Scott. We also owe him the soundtrack of The Revenant d’Alejandro Gonzalez Iñarritu, in
Opera, soundtrack and ringtones
Introduced to the piano very early on, the Tokyoite, inspired by both the Beatles and Debussy, turned to electronic music in the 1970s, which he mixed with traditional Japanese music and minimalist music.
At the end of the 1970s, he founded the group YMO (Yellow Magic Orchestra), Haruomi Hosono and Yukihiro Takahashi, whose music is influenced by the German group Kraftwerk.
His work, of an incredible variety, includes nine albums of electronic music, with his group YMO, but also two albums of medieval music, film music, live albums, an opera… He also composed the ringtones of the nokia 8800 phones.
His latest album, the 30th, titled 12was released in early 2023.
