Sakamoto began his career while at university in the 1970s as a session musician, producer, and arranger. His first major success came in 1978 as co-founder of YMO. He concurrently pursued a solo career, releasing the experimental electronic fusion album Thousand Knives in 1978. Two years later, he released the album B-2 Unit. It included the track "Riot in Lagos", which was significant in the development of electro and hip hop music. He went on to produce more solo records, and collaborate with many international artists, David Sylvian, Carsten Nicolai, Youssou N'Dour, and Fennesz among them. Sakamoto composed music for the opening ceremony of the 1992 Barcelona Olympics, and his composition "Energy Flow" (1999) was the first instrumental number-one single in Japan's Oricon charts history.
As a film-score composer, Sakamoto had won an Oscar, a BAFTA, a Grammy, and 2 Golden Globe Awards. Merry Christmas, Mr. Lawrence (1983) marked his debut as both an actor and a film-score composer; its main theme was adapted into the single "Forbidden Colours" which became an international hit. His most successful work as a film composer was The Last Emperor (1987), after which he continued earning accolades composing for films such as The Sheltering Sky (1990), Little Buddha (1993), and The Revenant (2015). On occasion, Sakamoto has also worked as a composer and a scenario writer on anime and video games. In 2009, he was awarded the Ordre des Arts et des Lettres from the Ministry of Culture of France for his contributions to music.
Sakamoto entered the Tokyo National University of Fine Arts and Music in 1970, earning a B.A. in music composition and an M.A. with special emphasis on both electronic and ethnic music. He studied ethnomusicology there with the intention of becoming a researcher in the field, due to his interest in various world music traditions, particularly the Japanese (especially Okinawan), Indian and African musical traditions. He was also trained in classical music and began experimenting with the electronic music equipment available at the university, including synthesizers such as the Buchla, Moog, and ARP. One of Sakamoto's classical influences was Claude Debussy, who he described as his "hero" and stated that "Asian music heavily influenced Debussy, and Debussy heavily influenced me. So, the music goes around the world and comes full circle."
Sakamoto released his first solo album Thousand Knives of Ryūichi Sakamoto in mid-1978 with the help of Hideki Matsutake—Hosono also contributed to the song "Thousand Knives". The album experimented with different styles, such as "Thousand Knives" and "The End of Asia"—in which electronic music was fused with traditional Japanese music—while "Grasshoppers" is a more minimalistic piano song. The album was recorded from April to July 1978 with a variety of electronic musical instruments, including various synthesizers, such as the KORG PS-3100, a polyphonic synthesizer; the Oberheim Eight-Voice; the Moog III-C; the Polymoog, the Minimoog; the Micromoog; the Korg VC-10, which is a vocoder; the KORG SQ-10, which is an analog sequencer; the Syn-Drums, an electronic drum kit; and the microprocessor-based Roland MC-8 Microcomposer, which is a music sequencer that was programmed by Matsutake and played by Sakamoto. A version of the song "Thousand Knives" was released on the Yellow Magic Orchestra's 1981 album BGM. This version was one of the earliest uses of the Roland TR-808 drum machine, for YMO's live performance of "1000 Knives" in 1980 and their BGM album release in 1981.
Sakamoto's production credits represent a prolific career in this role. In 1983, he produced Mari Iijima's debut album Rosé, the same year that the Yellow Magic Orchestra was disbanded. Sakamoto subsequently worked with artists such as Thomas Dolby; Aztec Camera, on the Dreamland (1993) album; and Imai Miki, co-producing her 1994 album A Place In The Sun. In 1996, Sakamoto produced "Mind Circus", the first single from actress Miki Nakatani, leading to a collaboration period spanning 9 singles and 7 albums though 2001.
Roddy Frame, who worked with Sakamoto as a member of Aztec Camera, explained in a 1993 interview preceding the release of "Dreamland" that he had had to wait a lengthy period of time before he was able to work with Sakamoto, who wrote two soundtracks, a solo album and the music for the opening ceremony at the Barcelona Olympics, prior to working with Frame over four weeks in a New York studio. Frame said that he was impressed by the work of YMO and the Merry Christmas Mr Lawrence soundtrack, explaining: "That's where you realise that the atmosphere around his compositions is actually in the writing - it's got nothing to do with synthesisers." Frame's decision to ask Sakamoto was finalized after he saw his performance at the Japan Festival that was held in London, United Kingdom.
Sakamoto began working in films, as a composer and actor, in Nagisa Oshima's Merry Christmas Mr. Lawrence (1983), for which he composed the score, title theme, and the duet "Forbidden Colours" with David Sylvian. Sakamoto later composed Bernardo Bertolucci's The Last Emperor (1987), which earned him the Academy Award with fellow composers David Byrne and Cong Su. In that same year, he composed the score to the cult-classic anime film Royal Space Force: The Wings of Honnêamise. Sakamoto also went on to compose the score of the opening ceremony for the 1992 Summer Olympics in Barcelona, Spain, telecast live to an audience of over a billion viewers.
Other films scored by Sakamoto include Pedro Almodóvar's Tacones lejanos (High Heels) (1991); Bertolucci's The Little Buddha (1993); Oliver Stone's Wild Palms (1993); John Maybury's Love Is the Devil: Study for a Portrait of Francis Bacon (1998); Brian De Palma's Snake Eyes (1998) and Femme Fatale (2002); Oshima's Gohatto (1999); and Jun Ichikawa's (director of the Mitsui ReHouse commercial from 1997 to 1999 starring Chizuru Ikewaki and Mao Inoue) Tony Takitani (2005).
Several tracks from Sakamoto's earlier solo albums have also appeared in film soundtracks. In particular, variations of "Chinsagu No Hana" (from Beauty) and "Bibo No Aozora" (from 1996) provide the poignant closing pieces for Sue Brooks's Japanese Story (2003) and Alejandro González Iñárritu's Babel (2006), respectively. In 2015, Sakamoto teamed up with Iñárritu to score his film, The Revenant starring Leonardo DiCaprio and Tom Hardy.
Sakamoto also acted in several films: perhaps his most notable performance was as the conflicted Captain Yonoi in Merry Christmas Mr Lawrence, alongside Takeshi Kitano and British rock singer David Bowie. He also played roles in The Last Emperor (as Masahiko Amakasu) and Madonna's "Rain" music video.
In 1994, Japan Football Association asked Sakamoto to compose the instrumental song "Japanese Soccer Anthem". This instrumental song played at the beginning of Japan Football Association-sponsored events, such as Emperor's Cup matches.
In 2006 Sakamoto, in collaboration with Japanese music company Avex Group, founded Commmons (コモンズ, Komonzu), a record label seeking to change the manner in which music is produced. Sakamoto has explained that Commmons is not his label, but is a platform for all aspiring artists to join as equal collaborators to share the benefits of the music industry. On the initiative's "About" page, the label is described as a project that "aims to find new possibilities for music, while making meaningful contribution to culture and society". The name "Commmons" is spelt with three "m"s because the third "m" stands for music.
Sakamoto's first of three marriages occurred in 1972, but ended in divorce two years later—Sakamoto has a daughter from this relationship. Sakamoto then married popular Japanese pianist and singer Akiko Yano in 1982, following several musical collaborations with her, including touring work with the Yellow Magic Orchestra. Sakamoto's second marriage ended in August 2006, 14 years after a mutual decision to live separately—Yano and Sakamoto raised one daughter, J-pop singer Miu Sakamoto. He has lived with his manager and wife Norika Sora since around 1990 and has two children with her.
Beginning in June 2014, Sakamoto took a year-long hiatus after he was diagnosed with oropharyngeal cancer. In 2015, he returned, stating: "Right now I'm good. I feel better. Much, much better. I feel energy inside, but you never know. The cancer might come back in three years, five years, maybe 10 years. Also the radiation makes your immune system really low. It means I'm very susceptible to another cancer in my body."
On June 14, 2018, a documentary about the life and work of Sakamoto, entitled Coda, was released. The film follows Sakamoto as he recovers from cancer and resumes creating music, protests nuclear power plants following the Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Disaster, and creates field recordings in a variety of locales. Directed by Stephen Nomura Schible, the documentary was met with critical praise.
On January 21, 2021, Sakamoto shared a link on his official pages, which contained a letter announcing that though his throat cancer went into remission, he was now diagnosed with rectal cancer, and that was currently undergoing treatment after a successful surgery. He wrote: "From now on, I will be living alongside cancer. But, I am hoping to make music for a little while longer".
Tango
坂本龍一 Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
But that was just another trick of fate
Playing with my life.
There have been some times
I was so tied up
And I said to myself: "Gotta break it all,"
But didn't really try
Two hearts beating
Nothing changes
My Antarctica
You can make your rhymes and paint your rules
In black an white for me to memorize
Never understand
And there will be times
For a thousand vows
A thousand promises we forgot
To be realized
Two hearts beating
In this place you made you know
Nothing changes
My Antarctica
One life pumping
We make love to make our ...
And we ...
My Antarctica
We'll keep the rhythm going and we'll remember
We'll keep the laughter flowing and we'll remember
We'll let the music jangle and we'll remember
Two hearts beating
In this place you made you know
Nothing changes
My Antarctica
One life pumping
We make love to make our ...
And we ...
My Antarctica
This is what we made you know
I will stay here
In Antarctica
And you will
Stay here
With me
The opening lines of the song 'Tango' by Ryuichi Sakamoto paint a picture of a man who thinks he is in control of his life, but it turns out that he is just another pawn in the hand of fate. The lyrics suggest that there have been times when he tried to break free from the constraints that he is subject to but failed to do so because he didn't really try. The song is a reflection on the human condition where one can be trapped in situations that are beyond control. The title 'Tango' is a reference to the famous Argentine dance that is known for its intense passion.
The next lines of the song talk about the Antarctic, which is used metaphorically to represent a space where nothing changes, and one can be free from the distractions of the world. The lyrics suggest that sometimes people make promises and vows but forget to realize them. However, in this place of stillness, where two hearts beat as one, things remain constant. The song is about finding a place and a person that one can truly rely on and be free with.
The last part of the song describes how the two hearts keep beating in this space that they have created for themselves, and that they will continue to keep the rhythm going. They will remember the laughter and the joy, and they will let the music jangle, which is a metaphor for freedom. The last lines of the song suggest that the singer has found this space, and he will stay there in Antarctica, where nothing changes, and his love will stay with him.
Overall, the song 'Tango' has a melancholic tone to it, and it explores the idea of finding a space where one can be truly free from the chains of life. The lyrics suggest that such a space and person are rare to find, but when they do, they can bring a sense of peace and constancy to life.
Line by Line Meaning
Once I thought that I was in control
At some point, I believed that I had total control over my life
But that was just another trick of fate
However, this was merely a deception orchestrated by destiny
Playing with my life.
My life has been subject to the whims of fate ever since
There have been some times
Occasionally, there were instances
I was so tied up
Where I felt restricted
And I said to myself: "Gotta break it all,"
I thought to myself: "I need to break free from it all"
But didn't really try
Yet, I never really made the effort
Two hearts beating
Two hearts are in sync
In this place you made you know
This place that you have created is where we are now
Nothing changes
Nothing seems to change
My Antarctica
This place where we are is like my own personal Antarctica
You can make your rhymes and paint your rules
You can come up with your own set of rules and regulations
In black an white for me to memorize
To simplify it into black and white so that it would be easier for me to remember
Never understand
Yet, I don't fully understand it
And there will be times
And there might come a time
For a thousand vows
When we make countless promises
A thousand promises we forgot
But still, we forget all those promises
To be realized
That we never end up fulfilling
One life pumping
One life force keeping me going
We make love to make our ...
Through lovemaking we express our love
And we ...
And ultimately
We'll keep the rhythm going and we'll remember
We will continue to maintain our pace, and remember our connection
We'll keep the laughter flowing and we'll remember
We will always be amused, and remain unified
We'll let the music jangle and we'll remember
We will allow the sounds of the music to resonate, and never forget our love
This is what we made you know
All of this we together have created
I will stay here
I'll remain in this place
In Antarctica
In my personal Antarctica
And you will
And you too
Stay here
Will remain here with me
Writer(s): Ryuichi Sakamoto, Taeko Onuki
Contributed by Brody A. Suggest a correction in the comments below.