Ryuichi Sakamoto broke through internationally circa 1980 with synthesizer pop that opened doors for generations of subsequent (pop) musicians. Many artists still look to the music of this early period for inspiration. One of them is the Swiss-Georgian producer and composer Alexandre Kordzaia (1994), better known as Kordz, who – besides Sakamoto – cites Ravel, Stravinsky, Prince and James Brown as sources of inspiration. His music has the same upbeat energy and musical ingenuity as that of ‘early’ Sakamoto. Especially for Asko|Schönberg, he will (with the maestro’s approval) go to work on Sakamoto’s oeuvre and cut up well-known and lesser known, more experimental songs like Thousand Knives, Tibetan Dance and Self Portrait into a new, rebellious whole. The scenographer Boris Acket will stage the concert in a dreamlike audio-visual environment that reacts both to Sakamoto’s music and the interpretation given by Kordz, who will be playing the synthesizers himself. What are Sakamoto’s thoughts on it? ‘It will be great to hear what he cooks up with my material!’

The composition is supported by Performing Arts Fund NL. The performance is supported by Pro Helvetia.