The 22-track score is slated for release this week.
Ryuichi Sakamoto is releasing his score for the 2020 Andrew Levitas-directed film Minamata this month. The Japanese composer’s 22-track score is slated for digital release on Friday, 30 July via Milan Records. Minamata (Original Motion Picture Soundtrack) is comprised of Sakamoto’s orchestral score as well as an additional track entitled One Single Voice from Welsh artist Katherine Jenkins. Minimata stars Johnny Depp as American war photographer and photojournalist W. Eugene Smith.
“Ryuichi was my dream collaborator – he would be on any film – but on this mission in particular, there could be no one else,” writes Levitas in the liner notes for the double-LP edition of the film’s soundtrack. “The music quite literally needed to represent both the absolute best of humanity as well as the worst… In my opinion, Ryuichi was able to elegantly ride this razor’s edge and deliver on this concept entirely.”
Sakamoto will also release a second film score this summer via Milan Records. His soundtrack for new Netflix thriller Beckett, which also features a Dev Hynes song entitled Born to Be, is scheduled for release on 13 August.
Listen to Minamata Piano Theme below.
Read: A Guide to Ryuichi Sakamoto’s Cinematic Storytelling Through Sound.