NG: Yes, it’s a label with a lot of smart people and clearly they’re aware of the growing audience that likes to inhabit the “zone between genres” it’s a good time for this mix, I think – and this pairing makes for a wonderful combination. It was really good timing, since I had just recently thought that it would be good for me to reintroduce my more classical side so maybe someone at Decca knew about this – he or she might be very smart. They wanted a solo piano album, but we wanted to release Out of Noise so Decca came up with the idea of putting them both out as a double CD – and I agreed. Nolan Gasser: Last week marked the release on Decca of a two-album set featuring a pair of recordings that you had released on your own label, commmons, in 2009: Playing the Piano and Out of Noise can you first tell us how this two-disc release on Decca came about? Ryuichi Sakamoto: The idea originally came from Decca as you know, they lean more towards classical music than towards the kind of music found in Out of Noise.
“The kind of cluster timbre or harmony I use may actually stem from a translation of Asian music by Debussy – when he heard the Javanese gamelan at the Paris Exhibition… I was born in Japan, and became influenced by Debussy’s music – so, it’s kind of like we were influencing each other through the centuries.” Don’t miss the insights of this creative musical pioneer! Sakamoto discusses the background, technical, and aesthetic issues surrounding the two very different recent albums, as well as the environmental nature of his recent album and upcoming North American tour, his early musical training, his career evolution from Techno-pop to film music, and much more. Lawrence and The Last Emperor – for which he won an Oscar) in the 1980s to more purely classical works in recent years. Sakamoto’s impressive musical career straddles numerous genres – from Techno-pop in the 1970s to Film Music (including such big hits as Merry Christmas, Mr. in the Backyard" and "1919," which uses a barely audible voice and staccato playing to stirring effect).On Friday, October 1, 2010, Artistic Director Nolan Gasser spoke with celebrated Japanese composer, pianist, and environmental activist Ryuichi Sakamoto – whose debut Decca release combines two recent albums, Playing the Piano and Out of Noise. The music is for the most part restrained and reflective, as Sakamoto makes use of the contrasting timbres of the chamber instrumentation, mixing melodic and rhythmic effects soothingly (the exceptions being the more quick-moving "M.A.Y. Lawrence, The Sheltering Sky, and High Heels. The album 1996 contains 12 pieces arranged for violin (Everton Nelson, David Nadien, or Barry Finclair), cello (Jaques Morelenbaum), and piano (Ryuichi Sakamoto), including both new compositions and music used in the soundtracks to The Last Emperor, Merry Christmas Mr. Recording information: Right Track Studios, NY (1996). Audio Mixers: Fernando Aponte Ryuichi Sakamoto. Personnel: Ryuichi Sakamoto (piano) David Nadien, Everton Nelson (violin) Jaques Morelenbaum (cello). Recorded at Right Track Studios, New York, New York in February 1996. Personnel: Ryuichi Sakamoto (piano) Everton Nelson, David Nadien (violin) Jaques Morelenbaum (cello).