Sakamoto 'TRAVESÍA'

Release Datum: 05.05.2023
AN ALBUM OF MUSIC FROM RYUICHI SAKAMOTO’S CATALOGUE

CURATED BY OSCAR-WINNING FILMMAKER ALEJANDRO GONZÁLEZ IÑÁRRITU

Milan Records today announces the release of TRAVESÍA, an album of music by prolific composer, producer, and artist RYUICHI SAKAMOTO curated by five-time Academy Award®-winning filmmaker ALEJANDRO GONZÁLEZ IÑÁRRITU. Available digitally and in vinyl format beginning May 5th, the compilation album features twenty tracks handpicked by Iñárritu, who famously collaborated with Sakamoto on his Best Picture-winning film, The Revenant. Taking its name from the Spanish term for “journey,” Travesía spans nearly four decades of Sakamoto’s solo work and scores, with Iñárritu taking listeners on a one-of-a-kind trip through the iconic musician’s career

“I vividly recall the sensory, emotional experience I had when I first listened to Ryuichi Sakamoto,” says filmmaker ALEJANDRO GONZÁLEZ IÑÁRRITU. “Ever since that day, a vital relation with Sakamoto’s music was born within me. From that moment on, his work has been with me and has become part of the soundtrack of my own existence. Even now, I keep discovering new elements in Ryuichi’s pieces that I’ve listened to for decades. The perception of his music becomes a mutable cloud, which is always and never the same. I hope that, by listening to this selection, you’ll be able to experience that eternal emotional waterfall.”

Travesía is the result of six months’ work by Iñárritu, who listened to over a thousand pieces by Sakamoto in order to curate the album’s 20-song tracklist. Focusing primarily on the musician’s solo work, Iñárritu deliberately chose some of Sakamoto’s lesser-known tracks in an attempt to appeal to both frequent listeners as well as a new generation of fans. The collection begins with “Thousand Knives,” the title track of Sakamoto’s 1978 debut album, before eventually covering releases as recent as his 2017 full-length async. Also included on the album is a new, never-before-heard mix of “The Revenant Main Theme” by Sakamoto’s long-time collaborator Alva Noto, who worked alongside Iñárritu and Sakamoto on the 2015 blockbuster hit.

Envisioned by Sakamoto’s management team and Milan Records, Travesía is yet another celebration of the composer’s contributions to music-making. It follows last year’s release of A Tribute to Ryuichi Sakamoto – To The Moon and Back, a collection of remodels by Sakamoto’s frequent collaborators, contemporary admirers, and some of the composer’s personal favorites. And while Travesía and the tribute album are both retrospectives of Sakamoto’s career thus far, Sakamoto continues to add to his discography and legacy, most recently releasing his 15th studio album 12, of which Pitchfork notes, “Rarely does an album this understated say so much.”

ALBUM TRACKLISTING –

Thousand Knives
The Revenant Main Theme (Alva Noto Remodel)
Before Long
Nuages
LIFE, LIFE
Ma Mère l’Oye
Rose
Tokyo Story
Break With
Blu
Asadoya Yunta
Rio
Reversing
Thatness and Thereness
Ngo/bitmix
+Pantonal
Laménto
Diabaram
Same Dream, Same Destination
Composition 0919