When the film “Merry Christmas Mr. Lawrence” hit the cinema in Summer 1983, it was a worldwide instant success, due in no small parts to its renowned director, Nagisa Oshima and to its superb cast including David Bowie, Takeshi Kitano and Ryuichi Sakamoto. The latter, fresh from his success with Yellow Magic Orchestra and a thriving nascent solo career, was also enrolled to compose the score of the film.
The soundtrack was released at the same time as the film in Summer 1983. It became equally successful and made the Japanese composer a global icon as the instrumental theme became an instant classic all around the world and also Sakamoto’s signature track from then on.
That same year, his Japanese label decided to release an exclusive cassette book as the format was getting popular in Japan. The project, called “Avec Piano,” featured an audio cassette together with a beautiful 80 page book including illustrations and texts by various designers and writers. As for the music, Sakamoto re-recorded the Merry Christmas soundtrack on solo piano at the Onkyo Haus studio in Tokyo. This version of the theme which Sakamoto would re-record many times, is therefore the first ever recorded solo piano version of the composition. As Andy Beta notes in the liner notes, “Now we can hear Sakamoto –seated in front of Steinway full concert piano housed in the first studio at Onkyo House in Ginza– his lifelong debt to the music of Debussy (and “Claire de Lune” specifically) laid bare.
The cassette book’s success led to an LP release a few months later under a new title, “Coda” and with a different artwork by Japanese designer Tsuguya Inoue. The original orchestrated theme “Merry Christmas Mr. Lawrence (which had been included on the cassette as a bonus on top of the piano version) was dropped, replaced by two new tracks, “Japan” and “Coda,” recorded a couple of years earlier in 1981 and featuring Ryuichi Sakamoto’s blend of ethereal ambient soundscapes and modern electronics.
The album, which has never been available outside of Japan, has become cult over the years for the fascinating interpretation of the main theme, but also for “Germination,” which was used by Luca Guadagnino in the soundtrack of his arthouse hit “Call Me By Your Name” in 2017. “Coda” is quintessential Ryuichi Sakamoto and an essential album in the Japanese composer’s discography, which Wewantsounds is delighted to bring to his many international fans for the first time.
