Ryuichi Sakamoto has gone a long way in his career and his development from the very synthetic pop music of the Yellow Magic Orchestra in his early days to his film scores for Bertolucci and Inarritu and to his compositions today which are very rich yet subtle, often closer to ambient than traditional composed music. Over time, he has become increasingly concerned about humanity's nuclear and environmental desasters and got involved in protest actions concerning Fukushima, where he gave a public concert on a salvaged piano having survived the Tsunami. The most fascinating part for me dealt with Sakamoto's search for the sounds of objects or of nature, of wind and water. On his travels he would record such sounds, trying to integrate or meld them with his compositions using sythesizers or his piano, creating beautiful soundscapes. He is constantly seeking to expand his concept of music, working with joy and humour and a deep craving to better grasp the aural nature of our world.
