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28 July 2024

Kraftwerk Cover ‘Merry Christmas Mr. Lawrence’ In Tribute To Ryuichi Sakamoto

Kraftwerk Merry Christmas Mr. Lawrence
Photo: 360B/Alamy Stock Photo
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Kraftwerk have paid tribute to the late Ryuichi Sakamoto with a cover of Merry Christmas, Mr. Lawrence.

The German electronic pioneers performed the track at Fuji Rock Festival in the renowned composer’s home country of Japan. You can also hear it here.

Merry Christmas, Mr Lawrence derives from the 1983 war film of the same name, whose soundtrack was the first that Sakamoto created in his illustrious career. Indeed, his soundtrack has been credited as one of the key reasons the film went on to become a cult classic despite mixed reviews from critics.

Co-founder of Tokyo’s influential Yellow Magic Orchestra, Sakamoto also starred in the film alongside David Bowie, which was based on the experiences of Sir Laurens van der Post, a prisoner of war in Java during World War II.

Sakamoto died in March 2023 at the age of 71, having been diagnosed with cancer for the second time in a decade. Sakamoto was originally diagnosed with throat cancer in 2014, which was later in remission, but he shared details of a rectal cancer in 2021.

A posthumous Sakamoto album, Opus, is set to be released on 9 August. The album was taken from a “final, private piano concert” which the musician performed back in 2022 at his NHK 509 Studio in Tokyo. Opus features reworked and reimagined songs from Sakamoto’s career such as film scores and songs from Yellow Magic Orchestra.

Opus was completed across multiple sessions due to the musician’s declining health. His son, Neo Sora, filmed the sessions and compiled them into a documentary of the same name. In a five-star review of the documentary, NME shared: “It’s one gut-punch after another when you realise what it means as Sakamoto lets every note breathe until it fades out. The work presented is an opus, and this is as intimate and human a concert film as you’ll ever see…Opus is yet another priceless gift from a once-in-a-lifetime talent – and a reminder of what we’ve lost. Goodbye maestro – and thank you.”

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