» The accidental pop star
Andrew Kay talks to legendary composer, producer and pianist Ryuichi Sakamoto as he arrives on his first UK tour in 15 years
Ryuichi Sakamoto was studying musical composition when, by chance, he became a major international pop star with the electronic pop band Yellow Magic Orchestra. It was a trigger for the most extraordinary career, which has seen him become a screen actor and composer, working with some of the greatest directors, actors and musicians. And along the way he still finds time to compose and perform his own music. We met in Soho, London, as he was about to embark on the European leg of an extensive international tour.
You have released two new albums…
Yes, it’s quite complicated, Playing The Piano is transcriptions of some of my orchestral and pop works from the last 30 years and Out Of Noise is an album of new work. It has taken a long time to put out these albums as this business is so chaotic.
Is that because there has been a breakdown of barriers between the classical and the popular?
Only recently yes, but perhaps so. But also, as a listener, there is free music available everywhere which is good for the listener but for the musician this is of course bad. I worry about future generations of musicians as there is no way to make money. Talented musicians may turn to other industries. At this moment there is so much interesting music for free.
You trained as a classical musician but you suddenly became a pop star. Do your pop fans still come to hear you play?
There are some, yes. Pop stardom was very accidental, I had no intention of becoming a pop star. I was just working with the other two guys in Yellow Magic Orchestra; their background was pop and rock. They were great musicians with good ideas and it was fun. That was the only reason I joined, and suddenly the band became popular which I did not expect.
It was a great stepping stone for you as you went on to work with people like David Byrne [with whom Ryuichi wrote the Oscar-winning soundtrack to The Last Emperor]. Was that how you entered the world of film score composition?
No, YMO opened a door to the world of pop for me and I met and became friends with a lot of great musicians. That was good. But my introduction to film writing came from Nagisa Oshima, who directed Merry Christmas Mr Lawrence and asked me to be in the film and write the soundtrack.
Had you had any acting experience?
No, none at all. And I hate my acting. I had and have no ambition to be a film actor, the only reason that I did that was because I was a big fan of Mr Oshima from being a kid. It was something I could not turn down, he was someone I admired greatly.
You also played alongside David Bowie, were you a fan of his music?
Yes I was, I was a big fan of his albums Heroes and Low. I was not crazy about the glam stuff, and the make-up.
What were your early musical influences?
The first music I really loved was Bach, then The Beatles, then Beethoven, and then jumping to Debussy – BBBD.
“I like to stay at home, I do not like to travel. But once I am on stage I feel vibrations from the audience”
I can see the influence of Bach – the mathematical nature of his writing and the fact that you too use pattern in your writing.
My music is not as mathematical as Bach, I wish it was [laughs].
Do you think you have become more emotional as a composer as you have developed?
I didn’t want to be emotional, I wish I could be more mathematical. But I was aware of the pleasure that listening to emotional writing gives.
You don’t quote any Eastern musical influences…
I grew up after the war in Tokyo and everything was Westernised so the music was just not there. After the war everything was washed away. In a way, Japanese people tend to be very drastic so they washed away everything that had gone before. Everything Japanese was bad, everything American was good.
On this tour you are performing with two pianos…
Yes, one is mechanised and is controlled by a computer. I have played one part which is stored in the memory and then it plays back a very accurate live version of that performance and I duet with that at the second piano. It is hard as we have to take the two pianos with us and it costs a lot.
Playing The Piano is a very stripped down album, was that hard?
No it was fun to do, losing all the electronica, synthesizers and computers. It was a challenge but a lot of fun.
Do you enjoy performing live too?
Mmm… yes and no. I prefer being in my studio playing with sound. And I like to stay at home, I do not like travel. But once I am on stage I enjoy it, I feel vibrations from the audience and it influences the performance.
You are a very intense performer…
Yes, I sometimes forget the audience are there. I am more a writer than a performer. But I also believe that performance can be a very creative act.
You go on stage without a set list…
Yes, because I don’t want to get bored. It’s dangerous. I follow my state of mind. I carry a pile of 70 pieces of music and sometimes a theme naturally comes out. That is how each performace takes shape, on that day.
Ryuichi Sakamoto: Playing The Piano,
27 November, Concert Hall, Brighton Dome, £25/20 01273 709709, www.brightondome.org
November 23rd, 2009 at 7:01 pm
[...] http://thelatest.co.uk/7/the-accidental-pop-starI was just working with the other two guys in Yellow Magic Orchestra; their background was pop and rock. They were great musicians with good ideas and it was fun. That was the only reason I joined, and suddenly the band became popular … [...]