Ryuichi Sakamoto (17 January, 1952 – 28 March, 2023)
Japanese composer, record producer, actor, solo artist and one of three members of Yellow Magic Orchestra (YMO), Ryuichi Sakamoto was an influential and inspiring innovator and musical pioneer of synthesised pop music, electro and techno in the 1970's and 1980's, who then turned to and mastered the full range of musical media including scores for Films, Television Series and Video Games Scores. His collaborations ranged from the likes of filmmakers Bernardo Bertolucci, Pedro Almodóvar, Brian De Palma and Oliver Stone, pop musicians David Bowie, Iggy Pop and David Byrne, David Sylvian, Brian Wilson and Youssou N'Dour, Can’s Holger Czukay, experimental trumpeter Jon Hassell to installation works with Visual Artists.
His work in recent years (the album async in 2017, and 12 in 2023 remained faithful to the experimental edge he had cultured throughout his career.
His solo output was extensive: 21 Studio Albums, 11 Live Albums, 15 Compilation Albums, 6 Video Albums, 48 Soundtrack Albums and 3 EP's. With YMO, almost as prolific: 9 Studio Albums, 15 Live Albums, 10 Compilation Albums and 23 singles.
He was recognised in avant garde and popular music, and showered with Awards, most notably winning an Academy Award for "The Last Emperor", a BAFTA Award ("Merry Christmas, Mr Lawrence"), two Golden Globe Awards ("The Last Emperor
", "The Sheltering Sky" and a Grammy ("The Last Emperor")
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