To the great Professor Sakamoto, who once took the world by storm with YMO.
What are your impressions of contemporary dance music genres like techno and house?
Also, are there any artists you recognize as legitimate inheritors of your (or YMO's) musical DNA?
Perhaps Towa Tei?

"Anti-Individualism"

When exactly is "contemporary" in this question? (laughs)
The techno craze of the 90s was rather dull, simple, a state of oblivion... perhaps that sounds too Japanese.

I was watching the Love Parade in Berlin on TV, and I saw a young man holding a poster that said "Anti-Individualism." I thought, "This is it." The desire to enter a Jungian state of oblivion, devoid of individual consciousness.

The state of egolessness, like that achieved through drugs or Zen, or in music, seeking a state of meditative calm without change – that, in itself, is interesting.


What is your favorite synthesizer, Sakamoto-san?
And do you still own the Polymoog you used in the past?

I don't have the Polymoog.

My favorite... I'd still have to say the Prophet-5.

I use newer keyboards now, but I feel they're different from synthesizers in the traditional sense. Modern ones come with many preset sounds; you don't create sounds from scratch. A synthesizer is about creating sounds, and among them, the Prophet-5 is the most user-friendly.

I used the Polymoog a lot during the YMO era. I have fond memories of it being a wonderful instrument. I tried using it during rehearsals for last year's World Happiness, but it didn't sound good (laughs). The sound was unusable. I should have just kept it as a fond memory (laughs). Perhaps I've forgotten how to use it. It was a bit painful. For the festival, I did use the ARP Odyssey and the Vocoder, though.

The Polymoog from that time?

There's a fan of YMO who, as an adult, bought all my synthesizer setups from that era and formed a band to recreate the performances. I found them on Ustream, contacted them, and they brought it for rehearsals.