The one show at Singapore International Festival of Art (SIFA) that I was determined to score tickets to, was for legendary Japanese composer Ryuichi Sakamoto’s (坂本龍一) ‘Fragments’. I dunno how SIFA scored this slot, but I was so stoked that they did. Needless to say, it was also my favorite performance among all I attended at this year's festival.
I've never watched Ryuichi Sakamoto perform live in concert. This was a wonderful opportunity! I didn't mind Yellow Magic Orchestra but I don't listen to them often because I’m not particularly interested in the genre. I LOVE Ryuichi Sakamoto's film and television scores (hear his latest work in the Black Mirror’s new Season 5) and his solo works. The visuals and multimedia portion of this performance was done by Shiro Takatani (高谷史郎), of course, who also did the cover art for Ryuichi Sakamoto's first solo album in eight years since 2009—'async' (2017). In a review by James Hadfield published in The Japan Times on April 26, 2017, he noted that this album was markedly different from the previous pieces,
In this concert titled 'Fragments', 63-year-old Ryuichi Sakamoto played the stories of his life from 'async' (2017), released after a bout with Stage III throat cancer in 2014 and 2015. At his request, the 2000-seater Esplanade Theatre only sold 240 tickets for this show. Tickets sold out within the hour of release, obviously. I was fast to get online and scored tickets. (I’ve had loads of practice. Ha!)
It was just the composer, a grand piano, and behind him, keyboards, synthesizer and a mixer. Except for the initial 10 minutes (similar to what I heard in ST/LL) of which the frequencies hurt my eardrums till I physically cringed, but this time I wore earplugs first instead of scrambling for them, it was a glorious night. The same shallow pool of water we saw in ST/LL was utilized for tonight. The projection screen served as backdrop for all of Shiro Takatani's multimedia virtuosity. As the stillness wrapped around us and every movement in the pool created each deliberate ripple, we pondered on the essence of life, soul and art.
I've never watched Ryuichi Sakamoto perform live in concert. This was a wonderful opportunity! I didn't mind Yellow Magic Orchestra but I don't listen to them often because I’m not particularly interested in the genre. I LOVE Ryuichi Sakamoto's film and television scores (hear his latest work in the Black Mirror’s new Season 5) and his solo works. The visuals and multimedia portion of this performance was done by Shiro Takatani (高谷史郎), of course, who also did the cover art for Ryuichi Sakamoto's first solo album in eight years since 2009—'async' (2017). In a review by James Hadfield published in The Japan Times on April 26, 2017, he noted that this album was markedly different from the previous pieces,
While Sakamoto’s previous solo outing, 2009’s “Out of Noise,” seemed torn between the worlds of classical music and electronica, the analog and synthetic, “async” erases the difference.
In this concert titled 'Fragments', 63-year-old Ryuichi Sakamoto played the stories of his life from 'async' (2017), released after a bout with Stage III throat cancer in 2014 and 2015. At his request, the 2000-seater Esplanade Theatre only sold 240 tickets for this show. Tickets sold out within the hour of release, obviously. I was fast to get online and scored tickets. (I’ve had loads of practice. Ha!)
It was just the composer, a grand piano, and behind him, keyboards, synthesizer and a mixer. Except for the initial 10 minutes (similar to what I heard in ST/LL) of which the frequencies hurt my eardrums till I physically cringed, but this time I wore earplugs first instead of scrambling for them, it was a glorious night. The same shallow pool of water we saw in ST/LL was utilized for tonight. The projection screen served as backdrop for all of Shiro Takatani's multimedia virtuosity. As the stillness wrapped around us and every movement in the pool created each deliberate ripple, we pondered on the essence of life, soul and art.
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