Ryuichi Sakamoto will make a rare North American solo tour this Fall, bringing his music to audiences through sustainable and ecologically sound touring. The performance is both audio and visual, showcasing exciting new material as well as his classic compositions.
He will introducing Playing The Piano, which is a specially-priced 2-CD that presents a wide-ranging view into the world of this composer, musician, producer, actor, and environmental activist.
The first CD, playing the piano, is a series of miniatures or “self-covers,” as Sakamoto refers to them – solo piano versions of his earlier works, including some of the famous film themes such as The Last Emperor (Oscar/Grammy -winning soundtrack), Merry Christmas Mr. Lawrence and The Sheltering Sky.
The second CD, out of noise, is arguably Sakamoto’s most ambitious to date in which he continues to explore the netherworld between music and noise that has fascinated him for years. He is joined here by, among others, Austrian guitarist/laptop artist Christian Fennesz, guitarist Cornelius (Keigo Oyamada), England’s renowned early music group Fretwork, and Icelandic multi-instrumentalist Skuli Sverrisson.
Sakamoto has devoted much of his time in recent years to environmental concerns – to turning Ego into Eco as he puts it. Beginning in 2001, he has made a huge attempt to use alternative energy for touring.
Tour dates
October 17 2010 -sun
Keswick Theatre/Glenside, Pennsylvania
October 18 2010 -mon
Skirball Center For the Performing Arts/New York City, New York
October 20 2010 -wed
Berklee Performance Center/Boston, Massachusetts
October 22 2010 -fri
Outremont Theatre/Montreal, Quebec
October 24 2010 -sun
Queen Elizabeth Theater/Toronto, Ontario
October 26 2010 -tues
Vic Theatre/Chicago, Illinois
October 30 2010 -sat
Moore Theatre/Seattle, Washington
November 1 2010 -mon
Vogue Theatre/Vancouver, British Columbia
November 3 2010 -wed
Regency Ballroom/San Fransisco, California
November 5 2010 -fri
El Rey/Los Angeles, California
Buy the album:
- In North America: Playing The Piano
- In Europe: Playing The Piano
Author: Angel Romero
Angel Romero y Ruiz has dedicated his life to musical exploration. His efforts included the creation of two online portals, worldmusiccentral.org and musicasdelmundo.com. In addition, Angel is the co-founder of the Transglobal World Music Chart, a panel of world music DJs and writers that celebrates global sounds. Furthermore, he delved into the record business, producing world music studio albums and compilations. His works have appeared on Alula Records, Ellipsis Arts, Indígena Records and Music of the World.