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Esperanto (Ryuichi Sakamoto album)

{{Short description|1985 album by Ryūichi Sakamoto}}

{{Infobox album

| name = Esperanto

| type = studio

| artist = Ryuichi Sakamoto

| cover = Ryuichi Sakamoto - Esperanto.png

| alt =

| released = October 5, 1985

| recorded =

| studio = Onkio Haus

| genre = * Electronic

| length = 39:14

| label = * School

  • Midi

| producer = Ryuichi Sakamoto

| prev_title = Ongaku Zukan

| prev_year = 1984

| next_title = Futurista

| next_year = 1986

| misc = {{Extra chronology

| artist = Yellow Magic Orchestra

| type = album

| prev_title = After Service

| prev_year = 1984

| title =

| year =

| next_title = Technodon

| next_year = 1993

}}

}}

Esperanto is the fifth solo album by Ryuichi Sakamoto, released in 1985. It was commissioned for a dance of the same name by choreographer Molissa Fenley, which debuted in New York City in 1985.{{Cite news |last=Kisselgoff |first=Anna |date=1985-11-13 |title=Dance: Fenley Dancers at The Joyce |newspaper=The New York Times |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1985/11/13/arts/dance-fenley-dancers-at-the-joyce.html}} The experimental electronic music album includes layers of sampled voices, and marks a look back at Sakamoto's non-pop-oriented second solo album, B-2 Unit. The album includes contributions from Yaz-Kaz and Arto Lindsay.{{Cite web |title=Esperanto |url=https://www.allmusic.com/album/esperanto-mw0000542982 |access-date=April 3, 2023 |website=AllMusic}}

The album reached number 9 on the Oricon LP chart.{{cite book |title=『オリコン・チャートブック LP編 昭和45年 - 平成1年』オリジナル・コンフィデンス、 |date=1990 |publisher=Original Confidence |isbn=4871310256 |pages=150 |trans-title=Oricon Chart Book LP Edition 1970 - 1989}} Released in Japan on Midi, Inc.'s School label, Esperanto did not see a US release until 2021.{{Cite web |title=Ryuichi Sakamoto's Esperanto LP Set For Reissue|url=https://thequietus.com/news/ryuichi-sakamoto-album-esperanto-reissue-wewantsounds/|access-date=September 21, 2021 |website=The Quietus|date=21 September 2021 }} The track "A Rain Song" bears a resemblance to the logo music later used by video game company Capcom in the 1990s.

Reception

The performance debuted at the Joyce Theater to a mixed review from Anna Kisselgoff at The New York Times, who said of Sakamoto's music that the "sound often resembles a radio shut on and off."{{Cite news |last=Kisselgoff |first=Anna |date=1985-11-13 |title=Dance: Fenley Dancers at The Joyce |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1985/11/13/arts/dance-fenley-dancers-at-the-joyce.html |work=The New York Times}} The album itself went on to receive more positive reviews. Jen Monroe of The Baffler said the sample-based music "manages to be unremittingly gorgeous, aggressive, angular, and lush."{{Cite news |last=Monroe |first=Jen |date=2023-06-13 |title=Ryuichi Sakamto,1952-2023 |url=https://thebaffler.com/latest/ryuichi-sakamoto-monroe |work=The Baffler}}{{Album ratings

| rev1 = AllMusic

| rev1score = {{Rating|3.5|5}}

}}AllMusic called it "one of Sakamoto's strangest, most uncompromising albums," using "weird, clipped samples of ethnic instruments, electronically modified sound bites, and distorted vocals," to build "a very icy soundscape that juts out at the listener like pointy modernist architecture." He said "Adelic Penguins" is "the closest Sakamoto gets to techno here, with bits and bops of a melody exploding over a propulsive bassline."

Logan Takahashi, writing for Vice in 2016, gave Esperanto a positive review, saying it is "perhaps my favorite album" of Sakamoto. He said the "sounds he uses here define so much of the ‘digital{{Nbh}}organic’ sound that still resonates especially well today" as if it "leapt over the following three decades and landed in some kind of dialogue with today." He lists "A Rain Song" as his favourite track from the album. He also said the music software Omnisphere "has a lot to owe to this album."{{cite news |last1=Takahashi |first1=Logan |author1-link=Teengirl Fantasy |date=8 August 2016 |title=Teengirl Fantasy's Logan Takahashi Gives Us the Lowdown on Ryuichi Sakamoto's Most Influential Releases |url=https://www.vice.com/en/article/teengirl-fantasy-ryuichi-sakamoto-releases/ |access-date=7 March 2025 |work=Vice}}

Track listing

  1. "A Wongga Dance Song" – 6:18
  2. "The "Dreaming"" – 3:51
  3. "A Rain Song" – 2:28
  4. "Dolphins" – 3:21
  5. "A Human Tube" – 4:50
  6. "Adelic Penguins" – 6:06
  7. "A Carved Stone" – 8:23
  8. "Ulu Watu" – 3:57

Personnel

  • Ryuichi Sakamoto – composer, performer, producer, arranger, remixer
  • Yaz-Kaz – percussion
  • Arto Lindsay – electric guitar
  • Shigeru Takise – engineering, remixing
  • Naoto Shibuya – engineering assistant
  • Tohru Kotetsu – mastering
  • Hiroshi Okura – executive producer
  • Tsuguya Inoue for Beans – art direction

References

{{reflist}}

External links

  • {{Cite web |title=Release group "Esperanto" by 坂本龍一 - MusicBrainz |url=https://musicbrainz.org/release-group/3adbc288-c27e-35e2-9c09-3a00e753b8ac |website=musicbrainz.org}}

{{Ryuichi Sakamoto}}

{{Authority control}}

Category:1985 albums

Category:Ryuichi Sakamoto albums