Feng's Distorted World : 鋒言鋒語

I just managed to watch Ryuichi Sakamoto's Japan Tour 2005 at Zepp Tokyo on NHK World TV this afternoon. It was truly brilliant. Mr Sakamoto did a live performance using a Yamaha grand piano, a mac, and other electronic music instruments. (Pioneer CDJ 1000mk2, Roland drum synths, a Korg Kaoss Pad KP2 and i think what was a Akai MPC) Ryuichi Sakamoto is an internationally reknowned Japanese composer and producer of classical, ethnic, and usually electronic music. He composed the Oscar award winning scores for movies "The Last Emperor" and "Sheltering Sky". He has also composed scores for the opening of the 1992 Olympic Games in Barcelona, Spain. Recently, mobile phone maker, Nokia hired Sakamoto to produce ringtones for the Nokia 8800. His music is often described as groundbreaking and genre-crossing. His ability to blur the lines between the genres of music that he produces is what makes his tracks so special and highly acclaimed by music critics worldwide.

The track featured here is "World Citizen (I Won't Be Disappointed)", live performed on 25 July 2005 in Zepp Tokyo by Ryuichi Sakamoto, Steve Jansen, Christian Fennesz, and David Sylvian. Vocals by reknowned singer and songwriter David Sylvian is just right. More about Mr David Sylvian in my future reviews. Extremely soulful and with a minimalistic touch to it. The track also features mellow drum beats and soft electronic bass rhythms combined with a gentle piano playing in the background to give it that relaxing atmosphere. Downright brilliant.

Also, download a FREE copy of the screensaver of his album BTTB (Back to the Basics) here.

Do check out Mr Sakamoto's site here for more news and his discography.



Ryuichi Sakamoto - World Citizen (Live at Tokyo 2005)