Ryuichi Sakamoto is fascinated by the strange sounds made by a piano that survived the 2011 earthquake and tsunami on Japan’s eastern seaboard, despite its being thrown about by the water. “I felt as if I was playing the corpse of a piano that had drowned, ” he says in Ryuichi Sakamoto: Coda, a 2017 documentary about his life and work. This fascination is unsurprising, as it serves as an embodiment of many of his passions and predilections, including his This story is from Kinfolk Issue Thirty-One Buy Now Related Stories Music Issue 50 Caroline Polachek “The thing that eats at me a little bit is how subjective my music is.... You can’t get away from ‘Caroline Polachek.’” Music Issue 50 Odd Jobs Molly Lewis, professional whistler. Music Issue 50 Behind the Scenes Film composer Emile Mosseri on the art of setting music to film. Music Issue 49 Tove Lo The pop star reflects on the big feelings behind her biggest hits. Music Issue 49 Róisín Murphy Five questions for an art-pop icon. Music Issue 46 Hun Choi DJ Hunee outlines his dance floor philosophy.
Music Issue 50 Caroline Polachek “The thing that eats at me a little bit is how subjective my music is.... You can’t get away from ‘Caroline Polachek.’”