It's been more than a year since Ryuichi Sakamoto's passing, but new music from the legendary composer is on the way. Today, his estate and Milan Records have announced a posthumous album titled Opus (scheduled for August 9) and released the lead single, a meditative new rendition of “Tong Poo.”
Taken from a “final private piano concert” that Sakamoto performed in 2022 at his NHK 509 studio in Tokyo. Opus features reimaginings of songs from across his career, including movie soundtracks, Yellow Magic Orchestra hits, and more. Due to his poor health, the performance was completed in several sessions, all filmed by Sakamoto's son, Neo Sora; The resulting concert film/documentary will be released on June 30 on The criterion channel with the title RYUICHI SAKAMOTO | OPUS.
In a statement written before his death, Sakamoto explained that Opus was “conceived as a way to record my performances, while I was still able to perform, in a way worth preserving for the future.”
Reflecting on the songs' new meaning in the face of their limited mortality, Sakamoto reflected: “In a sense, while I thought of this as my last chance to perform, I also felt like I could break new ground. Simply playing a few songs a day with a lot of concentration was all I could do at this point in my life. Perhaps due to the exertion, I felt completely empty afterwards and my condition worsened for about a month. Still, I am relieved to have been able to record before my death, a performance with which I was satisfied.”
The single, “Tong Poo”, perfectly reflects Sakamoto's intentions and his brilliance as a songwriter. Recasting Yellow Magic Orchestra's 1978 classic as a reflective piano ballad, it emphasizes the intricate beauty of the song's harmony while allowing the sublime simplicity of its melody to shine. Listen to the single below.
To learn more about Sakamoto, revisit his final playlist, which he selected for his own funeral.
Opus Artwork:
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Opus Songs list:
01. Lack of love
02.BB
03. Andata
04. Solitude
05. for Jóhann
06. Aubade 2020
07. Ichimei – little happiness
08. Mizu no Naka no Bagatelle
09. Bibo no Aozora
10. water
11. Tong poop
12. Wuthering Heights
13. 20220302 – sarabande
14. The protective sky
15. 20180219 (with piano prepared)
16. The Last Emperor
17. Trion
18. Happy ending
19. Merry Christmas Mr. Lawrence
20. Opus – final
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