Search - Ryuichi Sakamoto :: Soundbytes

Sakamoto provides protrayal of feelings through sound

07/17/1998

(5 out of 5 stars)

"If ever anyone painted pictures with sound, Ryuichi Sakamoto supercedes them all. The compilation album, "Soundbytes" contains pieces from Japanese releases including "Ongakku Zuukan" or "Illustrated Music Encyclopedia", "Mirai Yarou" or "Future Dude" (loose translation), "Wings of Honneamise," and others.The tracks from "Future Dude" all deal with Futurism and the movement created in Italy in the 1900's. They contain Italian influences, such as opera music, a speech by Filippo T Marinetti, and mechanical aspects of rhythm such as typewriter clicks, metallic pounding, and pulsating beats like that of an assembly line. All of these help to incorporate the feeling and emotion of the Futurist movement, as well as paint a picture of motion and speed and the mechanical automation of which the Futurists dreames.Other tracks like M.A.Y. in the backyard are vibrant and individual, fast paced and s! tacatto, with repetitive but complex rhythms.Some tracks are less stressful, like Ulu Watu and Water is Life, with soothing sounds of rain, jungle animals, and Indonesian Gamelan, all helping to create a green jungle feeling.I highly reccomend this album as a musician and a Sakamoto fan."