Seoul──A Brand New Live Experience in Roppongi

To celebrate its 25th anniversary, SWITCH magazine is hosting an event that will simultaneously broadcast Ryuichi Sakamoto's solo piano concert in South Korea, held for one day only on January 9, 2011, at cinemas nationwide.

The "Playing the Piano" concerts, which have toured globally since 2009 in Japan (18 cities, 21 performances), Europe (26 cities, 27 performances), and North America in 2010 (10 cities, 10 performances), have been highly acclaimed worldwide for harmonizing music, visuals, and technology to offer a profound experience of Sakamoto's artistic world. Furthermore, the tour's innovative use of new technologies and media, such as the USTREAM live broadcasts from the North American leg attracting approximately 220,000 viewers in total (with a peak of 11,000 simultaneous connections), has been a significant characteristic.

For the South Korean concert, a "Live Simultaneous Broadcast" event will be held at TOHO Cinemas Roppongi Hills in Roppongi. Attendees can experience the powerful visuals and acoustics of the South Korean performance on cinema screens via internet streaming (the broadcast will be high-definition streamed over the internet, not via satellite). Additionally, a "social stream" of Twitter posts from around the world will be displayed on screen, allowing viewers to see real-time updates from those participating in the USTREAM broadcast happening simultaneously worldwide, offering a truly novel live experience.

SWITCH 25th Anniversary Project
Ryuichi Sakamoto
Special Live Viewing at TOHO Cinemas Roppongi Hills

iTunes Pre-order for South Korea Concert

Following the precedent set by the Japanese tour in 2009, and continued through European and North American tours in 2010, live audio recordings will be made available for immediate download via iTunes for the South Korean concert as well. Pre-orders will commence on December 29, 2010, with sales scheduled to begin on January 11, 2011. Pre-orders can be made during or after viewing the live broadcast at TOHO Cinemas Roppongi Hills or via USTREAM.