Ryuichi Sakamoto's Enduring Legacy of Experimentation

Ryuichi Sakamoto (1952-2023) left a vast, genre-defying catalogue spanning Yellow Magic Orchestra's techno-pop, Oscar-winning film scores, avant-garde collaborations with Alva Noto, and experimental works with butoh dancer Min Tanaka and fog artist Fujiko Nakaya. His career was marked by a consistent commitment to experimentation, from early solo albums like 'Thousand Knives' (1978) to late-career projects such as a 2018 remix of Oneohtrix Point Never and guest vocals on Arca's 'kiCK iiiii' (2021). Sakamoto's sound—characterized by brittle electronics, crystalline piano, and an 'impossible cool'—influenced genres from techno to IDM. A 2017 performance at Oslo's Ultima festival, where Tanaka moved to Sakamoto's live sound within Nakaya's synthetic fog on the roof of the unfinished National Museum, epitomized his ability to merge experimental dance, contemporary art, and global pop music into a singular, arresting moment.