KAGAMI by Tin Drum & Ryuichi Sakamoto

Operations development for mixed reality experience using Magic Leap AR devices.

A groundbreaking mixed reality concert event created by composer and artist Ryuichi Sakamoto in collaboration with Tin Drum.

Premiered at The Shed, New York.

Created by legendary composer, producer, artist, and environmental activist Ryuichi Sakamoto (Yellow Magic Orchestra, The Last Emperor, The Revenant) and Tin Drum, KAGAMI represents a new kind of concert, fusing dimensional moving photography with the real world to create a never-before-experienced mixed reality presentation. Audiences will wear optically transparent devices to view the virtual Sakamoto performing on piano alongside dimensional art aligned with the music.

KAGAMI, which translates to “mirror” in Japanese, features Sakamoto playing 10 original compositions including well-known works “Energy Flow” and “Merry Christmas Mr. Lawrence,” along with rarely played pieces, such as “The Seed and the Sower.” Presented in surround sound, the experience will be both collective and individual, inviting observers to connect to the work—and each other—throughout. While audiences may view the show in a seated format, they will also be free to wander and explore during the hour-long event.

Kagami is presented by Tin Drum in partnership with The Shed and Manchester International Festival.

About Ryuichi Sakamoto

Ryuichi Sakamoto was a composer, producer, and artist born in Tokyo. His diverse résumé includes pioneering electronic works in the legendary techno group Yellow Magic Orchestra, producing pop albums and numerous classical compositions, two operas, and nearly 45 original film/TV scores for directors, including Bernardo Bertolucci, Pedro Almodóvar, Brian De Palma, and Alejandro González Iñárritu. His film soundtracks have won prestigious awards, including an Academy Award, two Golden Globes, a Grammy, and many more.

Sakamoto made considerable contributions to the art world with both solo and collaborative installations and multi-piece exhibitions presented in galleries and museums worldwide.

On January 17th, 2023, his 71st birthday, Ryuichi released “12”, his 15th solo album. The new album is a collection of 12 songs selected from musical sketches Sakamoto recorded like a sound diary during his two-and-a-half-year battle with cancer.

Ryuichi Sakamoto passed away in March 2023 at the age of 71.

Ryuichi Sakamoto, 2023

“There is, in reality, a virtual me.
This virtual me will not age,
and will continue to play the piano
for years, decades, centuries.
Will there be humans then?
Will the squids that will conquer
the earth after humanity listen to me?
What will pianos be to them?
What about music?
Will there be empathy there?

Empathy that spans
hundreds of thousands of years.
Ah, but the batteries won’t last that long.”

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