Ryuichi Sakamoto on surviving cancer, the death of close friend David Bowie, and his last wish
The Oscar-winning Japanese composer and actor hasn’t allowed illness or grief to diminish his commitment to work – in fact, the quest for perfection continues to drive him forward
The actor-musician burst onto the international scene with his soundtrack for the 1983 film Merry Christmas, Mr. Lawrence, in which he also played a Japanese prisoner-of-war camp commandant opposite his friend David Bowie. The rock legend’s death earlier this year shook Sakamoto badly, having only just survived throat cancer himself.
“It left me in shock for a long time,” Sakamoto says in a low, barely audible voice. “It took me more than a month and a half to accept the reality of his death. I couldn’t believe it.”
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Bowie died on the same day as the Golden Globe awards, in which Sakamoto had been nominated for his score for The Revenant, marking his comeback from cancer. Exhausted by his illness, the pianist had toiled for months on the soundtrack.
“I worked on the music for six long months. Normally it would take me two months maximum. Sometimes four weeks is enough. But it was terribly difficult,” he adds.
“It was just after my treatment, and I wasn’t back on my feet. My morale wasn’t the best and it wasn’t an ideal situation,” says the 64-year-old, a pioneer of synth pop, techno and house music genres.
But his love of nature and working on an installation with his friend and long-time collaborator, the artist Shiro Takatani, for The Great Animal Orchestra exhibition in Paris helped put him back on his feet.