KAGAMI
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Ryuichi Sakamoto
Ryuichi Sakamoto was a composer, producer, and artist born in Tokyo. His diverse résumé includes pioneering electronic works in the legendary techno group Yellow Magic Orchestra, producing pop albums and numerous classical compositions, two operas, and nearly 45 original film/TV scores for directors, including Bernardo Bertolucci, Pedro Almodóvar, Brian De Palma, and Alejandro González Iñárritu. His film soundtracks have won prestigious awards, including an Academy Award, two Golden Globes, a Grammy, and many more.
Sakamoto made considerable contributions to the art world with both solo and collaborative installations and multi-piece exhibitions presented in galleries and museums worldwide.
On January 17th, 2023, his 71st birthday, Ryuichi released “12”, his 15th solo album. The new album is a collection of 12 songs selected from musical sketches Sakamoto recorded like a sound diary during his two-and-a-half-year battle with cancer.
Ryuichi Sakamoto passed away in March 2023 at the age of 71.
There is, in reality, a virtual me.
This virtual me will not age,
and will continue to play the piano
for years, decades, centuries.
Will there be humans then?
Will the squids that will conquer
the earth after humanity listen to me?
What will pianos be to them?
What about music?
Will there be empathy there?
Empathy that spans
hundreds of thousands of years.
Ah, but the batteries won’t last that long.
-Ryuichi Sakamoto, 2023
“Being able to watch the delicacy of his hand on the piano at close quarters is a magical experience few will have witnessed during his lifetime”
—The Guardian
“it is an otherworldly, strangely moving, even groundbreaking experience, and will ensure that what is effectively Sakamoto’s final concert can be enjoyed forever”
—The Guardian
“…and at the end of every piece, people clap. Not me at first, but I make up for it with tears, which first build up in my throat, then stream down my cheeks”
—Wired UK
“…an immersive, emotional experience delivered with beautiful understatement”
—Manchester Confidential
“a fantastic and totally unique experience among mixed reality events that I have ever seen”
—medium.com
“an affecting meditation on grief.”
—New York Times
By Ryuichi Sakamoto & Tin Drum
First presented at the Shed, New York, NY USA in June and July, 2023, and the Manchester International Festival at Factory International, Manchester, England in July 2023.
Ryuichi Sakamoto: Composer and Performer
Todd Eckert: Director, Producer and Art Director
Norika Sora: Producer
Mary Hickson: Creative Producer
Tomaso Cariboni: Technical Producer
Aurelien Simon: Executive Producer
Yoyo Munk: Lead Scientist and Mesh Surgeon
Matt Hermans: Lead 3-D Designer
Laurentiu Fenes: Lead Developer and Ship’s Captain
Alec Fellman: Associate Producer
Mai Yuda: Production Coordinator
Maria Takeuchi: Production Coordinator
Yuichiro Unosawa: Archive Coordinator
Rory Howson: Production Manager
Seth Reiser: Lighting Designer
Rob Parkinson: Head of Sound
d&b Soundscape: Sound Experience Technology
Miguel Quismodo, Juan Carlos Bragado & Gloria Saa Garcia for MQ Architects: Architecture and Spatial Design
Flave De Oliveira: Director of QA and UX
Angus Goodearl + Sam Harris: Production Stage Manager + Technical Supervisor
David Viecelli: Exhibitions Manager
Billions Agency: Booking Agency
Rebecca Roche: Social Media Manager
Shane O’Neill: Website
Bread and Butter: PR
Alysha Naples: Original Graphic Design and Audience Choreography
Eliza Ryan: Exhibitions
Technical:
Martin Smith: Technical Lead
Ben Winstone: Server Developer
Quincy Campbell: Unity Developer
O’Donnell: IT Specialists
Pete Short: Producer
Audio:
Kazuyuki ‘zAK’ Matsumura: Audio Designer
Ayumi Hanano: Audio System Designer
Satoshi Hama: Playback Engineer
Reese Donohue: Audio Prototyping
Creative:
Koki Ibukuro: Tech Artist
Sophie Langohr: 3-D Artist
Julia Hendrickson: Video Editor
Sara Melvin: Video Editor
Peadar Gill: Video Editor
Dagon James: Photo Editing
Mori Arany: Photo retouching
Ailbhe Ni Bhriain: Artist, Creator of Inscriptions of an Immense Theatre (2018) elements of which features in The Last Emperor.
George Fuentes: Artistry
David ‘Scooter’ Naney: Prototyper
Induction credits:
Stephen Schible: Director and Editor of CODA
Taylor Deupree: Mastered “Bach for Airports” for Ryuichi Sakamoto
Images:
VISITING NY, 1987 From “All Star Video” by Nam June Paik. Photo by Yukihiro Yoshihara. RECORDING SESSION, 1987 Studio Miraval, France. Photo by Yuka Fujii. © Yuka Fuiji
ALBUM “OUT OF NOISE”, 2008 Photo by Kazunali Tajima. © Kab Inc
RECORDING SESSION, 1986 Using Fairlight CMI. Photo by Hideki Namai. Courtesy of Nippon Columbia Co., Ltd.
ACADEMY AWARD, 1988 Best Original Score for “The Last Emperor.” © Kyodo/Kyodo News
Yoka KAGAMI Scent:
Developed with Ryuichi Sakamoto
Composed, Directed and Produced by Shinichiro Ogata, Designer/Founder of SIMPLICITY
Inez Westerhausen & Yuiko Yoshida: Coordination
For Sakamoto:
Norika Sora: KAB America
Alec Fellman: KAB America
Maria Takeuchi: KAB America
For TinDrum:
James Singer: Tin Drum Counsel, Partner, Fox Rothschild
Terrence Kerwin: Counsel, Fox Rothschild
Louisa Michaels: Finance Manager
Capture credits (2020):
Tom Gentry: Systems Engineer, Gunpowder
Tom Taylor: Systems Engineer, Gunpowder
Hisashi Itoh: Production Coordination, Tin Drum
Yuki Tsuji: Production Coordination, Tin Drum
Daito Manabe: Director
Hajime Kotani (Crescent): Studio Head
Studio Engineers:
Tadayuki Suzuki (Crescent)
Takayuki Ochiai (Crescent)
Fumiaki Kudo (Crescent)
Yoshitaka Homma (Crescent)
Rinta Ito (Crescent)
Kenju Amauchi (Crescent)
Takao Inoue (Rhizomatiks): Producer
Managers:
Naoki Ishizuka (Rhizomatiks)
Shintaro Kamijo (Rhizomatiks)
Muryo Homma (Rhizomatiks)
Dance Motion Capture Production for Muji 2020:
MIKIKO (ELEVENPLAY): Choreographer
SARA (ELEVENPLAY): Dancer
Keisuke Kikuch: Motion Capture Engineer
Yoko Shiraiwa (ELEVENPLAY): Manager
Software Engineers:
Yuya Hanai (Rhizomatiks)
Tatsuya Ishii (Rhizomatiks)
Satoshi Horii (Rhizomatiks)
You Tanaka (Rhizomatiks)
Yuta Okuyama
Visual Artists:
Toshihiko Sakata (+Ring)
Kenta Katsuno (+Ring)
Takeshi Ozaki (+Ring)
Tsukasa Iwaki (+Ring)
Hiroki Miura (+Ring)
Go Takahashi (+Ring)
Toru Ehara
Mitobe Satoshi
Junichi Ebe
Iwaikawa Yuji (Cai)
Kyoko Koyama: MIDI Data Adjustment Specialist
Test Shoot Participants:
Tatsuki Hayashi: Pianist
Gen Terai (KAJIMOTO): Pianist Manager
Kenichi Togawa (Burri): Prototyping Studio Designer
Motion Capture Dancers on Muji 2020:
KOHMEN (ELEVENPLAY)
SAYA (ELEVENPLAY)
KAORI (ELEVENPLAY)
NANAKO (ELEVENPLAY)
EMMY (ELEVENPLAY)
SARA (ELEVENPLAY)
KAi MiWA (ELEVENPLAY)
Keisuke Kikuch: Motion Capture Engineer
Yoko Shiraiwa (ELEVENPLAY): Motion Capture Manager