“I have a cultural map in my head, where I find similarities between different cultures. For example, domestic Japanese pop music sounds like Arabic music to me - the vocal intonations and vibrato - and, in my mind, Bali is next to New York. Maybe everyone has these geographies in their head. This is the way I've been working.”

Japanese musician and composer

Ryuichi Sakamoto was a Japanese musician, composer, keyboardist, record producer, singer and actor. He worked across a wide range of styles as a solo artist and as a member of the synth-driven band Yellow Magic Orchestra. With Haruomi Hosono and Yukihiro Takahashi, he helped shape and pioneer several forms of electronic music. He was also a film score composer whose work brought him an Academy Award, a BAFTA, a Grammy, and two Golden Globe Awards.