Pioneer of electronic music, he was 71 years old and in 2014 he was diagnosed with throat cancer
OR Japanese composer Ryuichi Sakamotopioneer of electronic music and author of several film soundtracks, has died of cancer at the age of 71, his team announced in a statement on Sunday 2.
Sakamoto died on March 28 and was discharged with a private funeral, which was attended only by his close relatives, thus fulfilling the will of the artist, according to the statement released by AFP.
“He lived with the song to the end,” his team added.
In 2014, the artist announced that he had been diagnosed with throat cancer and canceled all of her professional appointments to begin treatment.
Sakamoto emerged in the late 1970s as a keyboardist for the electronic music Yellow Magic Orchestra. In 1988 she won an Oscar for the film score. The last emperor (1987). The artist has been part of the Japanese anti-nuclear movement, especially after the accident at the Fukushima nuclear power plant in 2011.
In 2002, after moving through technopop, classical music and world music, e after having performed, a year earlier, in Brazil, Sakamoto filled the Royal Albert Hall to present a CD he recorded at Tom Jobim’s home and, in an interview with the BBC, he told what fascinated him about the Brazilian artist’s music. “It’s very controlled music. It’s calm, there’s a piano and the passion is all hidden. It’s like an ocean, almost without waves, but with many things happening under the water. It’s like João Gilberto’s singing, you can hear the music. passion, but it is hidden in the music.”
In that interview, he also said that his first contact with Tom Jobim’s music was when he was between 11 and 12 years old and taking piano lessons. “Jobim’s music was unlike anything I knew, like Bach, Beethoveen and even the Beatles. It was also around that time that I met Debussy and Ravel. Since then, they and Jobim have been part of the same family to me.”
In 2012, Ryuichi Sakamoto performed at the Sónar Festival. And in 2017, the composer and pianist returned to Brazilfor the inauguration of the Japan House, in Sao Paulo.
In 2020, at the onset of the covid-19 pandemic, Sakamoto gave a “concert for blocks”. listen here.
Source: Terra
Earl Johnson is a music writer at Gossipify, known for his in-depth analysis and unique perspective on the industry. A graduate of USC with a degree in Music, he brings years of experience and passion to his writing. He covers the latest releases and trends, always on the lookout for the next big thing in music.
