World-renowned Japanese composer Ryuichi Sakamoto has teamed up with energy company XSOL to create an unlikely, but profound statement on the possibilities of solar power and renewable energy.
As part of a series of commercials, XSOL collaborates with Sakamoto to create a performance powered entirely by clean, solar photovoltaic produced energy. The commercials showcase both the construction of the stage as well as the performance itself. The first commercial documents XSOL engineers connecting a series of synthesizers, keyboards and other electronic instruments to a towering solar panel array assembly. The succeeding commercials show Sakamoto’s performance itself. All of the commercials are available to view on XSOL’s company YouTube page.
Sakamoto’s performance is accompanied by a series of messages including; “energy (the sun) that can be depended on” and “I don’t want it to be called ‘the energy of the future’”. Sakamoto wrote the composition especially for the purpose of the collaboration.
Along with the commercials, XSOL has also released an interview with Sakamoto about the project where he describes his own personal connection with — and ambition for — renewable energy. He describes the composition as an anthem of support for solar energy, adding that performing with the help of electricity produced entirely from solar power was something he had wanted to do for a long time. The full-version of the composition is available for download on XSOL’s Japanese website on completion of a questionnaire.
Deeply affected by the Great Earthquake of 2011 in the north of Japan, and the subsequent nuclear disaster at the Fukushima Nuclear reactor, Sakamoto has become a prominent supporter of alternative energy sources and de-nuclearisation. In addition to community level support for victims, he has also used his public profile to promote a move away from nuclear dependence and toward renewable energies in Japan.
Sakamoto is perhaps best known to Western audiences as the composer behind the iconic piece Merry Christmas Mr. Lawrence from the soundtrack for the film of the same name. He also played the role of Mr. Yonoi in the same film. His other credits include; writing the score for the opening ceremony of the Barcelona Olympic Games in 1992 and winning Academy, Golden Globe and Grammy awards for composing the score of the 1987 film The Last Emperor.
Video Source: XSOL Japan
