Ryuichi Sakamoto

“To record the perfect album. That is my dearest wish.”

“For me, Debussy is the door to all 20th-century music.”

“Playing in London in 1979 was exciting: it was at the start of new wave, the transition period after punk, and there were a lot of radical, fashionable young people on the streets and in the venues.”

“I went to see one of those pianos drowned in tsunami water near Fukushima and recorded it. Of course, it was totally out of tune, but I thought it was beautiful. I thought, 'Nature tuned it.'”

“When I lived in Japan, I only noticed the bad aspects of the country. I didn't really like Japan then, but when I moved overseas, I was able to appreciate the good side more.”

“Japan used to be an animistic society before Shinto imperialism was established. But most of us still have an animistic sense.”

“I'm fascinated by the notion of a perpetual sound: a sound that won't dissipate over time. Essentially, the opposite of a piano, because the notes never fade. I suppose, in literary terms, it would be like a metaphor for eternity.”

“Looking back at my early career, I had a positive view of technology and its potential. It was a happy time, that's for sure.”

“I hope to record the perfect album, my masterpiece, before I die.”

“I was born and grew up in Tokyo, so I didn't know about nature.”

“Piano symbolizes interiority.”

“Time is the main subject for any musicians, music writers, composers.”

“I always think about music horizontally and vertically at the same time.”

“Hopefully, we will become a stronger democratic society and avoid falling into xenophobia. Hopefully, we build good relationships with our neighboring countries and, rather than acting for profit for the current generation, acting in a way that will ensure we leave natural resources for future generations.”

“I don't really know about the art world.”

“Our body is part of nature. Our creations, they're not natural. We build things that aren't natural, but our bodies, they're part of that system.”

“I'm concerned by a deficient technology. In other words, errors or noises. It absorbs me, and I wonder if new cultural currents could emerge from this deficiency.”

“Without the knowledge of music, it would be very hard to write film music. There are so many films, and each one has a different historical background and everything.”

“Hollywood is a double feeling. Love and hate. With a talented film director, I cannot resist. They are such charming and intelligent people. But each time, it is very difficult to deal with other people. I have to satisfy other people. The director or the producer. Not me. I have to satisfy myself. But then I have to deliver my music.”

“I was aware of that theme of mortality in my music since around 2009. The decaying and the disappearance of the piano sound is very much symbolic of life and mortality. It's not sad. I just meditate about it.”