Lounge
April 8, 2015
Ryuichi Sakamoto | Ryuichi Sakamoto Discusses His New Album 'cendre' (2)
Ryuichi Sakamoto Discusses His New Album 『cendre』 (2) – Like a Beautiful River of Sound
Track 8: 『cendre』
On the album's title track, 『cendre』, one might wonder if Sakamoto is playing the piano, and which sounds are piano. But that's precisely because they are so deeply fused. It's a technique I deliberately employed. Electronic and acoustic sounds meld like an alchemical process, becoming one. It's 'ash,' in a good sense. We made it with the hope that the deepening friendship between two men would translate into musical depth.
We added the song titles, which mix Japanese and English, at the end. We decided on simple words that we both liked, exchanging them via email, thinking 'simpler is better.' The words don't necessarily have to match the music perfectly; a little mismatch might be good. 'Cendre' – 'ash.' It suits us.
Seeking Sounds Unheard Before
For the live performance, we could almost replicate the album as is (laughs), but that would be boring. My piano parts are almost entirely improvised, so I'm free to change them. Yet, they sound so structured, as if played from sheet music. I like these sounds as they are, so I tend to play them relatively close to the original. But if I do that, Fennesz has nothing to do (laughs), so I tell him to play more guitar. There's space in the overall sound, allowing for the addition of other elements. So, the live shows are a bit wilder.
I don't know if I should say this, but Fennesz apparently started playing guitar because he was into Neil Young. So, I feel that passionate rock spirit deep within him.
Talking with Fennesz, I realized that while I love the meticulously crafted electronic sounds, the foundational 'seed' must be good for the result to be interesting. That's why Fennesz pays close attention to the sounds coming from his guitar, the amplifier, and the recording methods. We agreed that if we aren't inspired by that initial stage, adding or altering sounds later won't yield anything truly good.
Or, like Carsten Nicolai, there's the intention to create beautiful, logical structures within the computer, like crystalline formations, by stacking waveforms geometrically and architecturally. I find that incredibly romantic. The expression of this varies greatly from person to person.
Because our personalities differ, when we throw a ball and it returns differently, we're inspired by different things, and I feel my own scope expands. Neither Fennesz nor Carsten started with the idea of making an album or a project. It was just that interesting things emerged as we worked, and it continued, once, twice, three times.
It's most enjoyable to step into uncharted territory, to create sounds that haven't existed before.
(End)
– Ryuichi Sakamoto Discusses His New Album 『cendre』 (1) here
※This is an excerpt of Ryuichi Sakamoto's remarks from a talk with music critic Atsushi Sasaki. Please enjoy NHK-FM's "Music Museum: Sound Museum Ryuichi Sakamoto," broadcast on April 29th (7:20 PM - 10:00 PM).
Next time, OPENERS' "talksakamoto" will feature a conversation with Haruomi Hosono, also from the recording of NHK-FM's "Music Museum: Sound Museum Ryuichi Sakamoto." We will publish a discussion about the 『Haruomi Hosono Tribute Album』, released by commmons on April 25th (Wednesday). Look forward to the first installment on April 24th!