Ryuichi Sakamoto autobiography, “Music Sets You Free: A Memoir”
A new autobiography from the late composer, producer, and cultural icon Ryuichi Sakamoto is set to be published this September, offering fans an intimate look at one of modern music’s most influential figures.
Titled Music Sets You Free: A Memoir, the book will be released on September 24 via HarperVia. The English-language edition brings together translations of Sakamoto’s two Japanese memoirs — Music Makes You Free and How Many More Times Will I Watch the Full Moon Rise? — into a single volume, translated by Sam Bett.
According to the publisher, the memoir traces Sakamoto’s remarkable life and career, from his earliest encounters with the piano and his rise to international fame, to his deeply personal reflections on creativity, mortality, and music following years of cancer treatment. The book has been described as a candid and contemplative portrait of an artist whose work continuously pushed the boundaries of electronic, classical, ambient, and experimental music.
The publication arrives more than three years after Sakamoto’s death in March 2023. Widely regarded as one of the most visionary musicians of his generation, he helped redefine electronic music as a founding member of Yellow Magic Orchestra, whose pioneering use of synthesizers and technology influenced countless artists across pop, techno, hip-hop, and beyond.
Outside of YMO, Sakamoto built an acclaimed solo career and became one of cinema’s most celebrated composers. His work on The Last Emperor earned an Academy Award, while scores for films including Merry Christmas, Mr. Lawrence, The Sheltering Sky, and The Revenant cemented his reputation as a master of emotional and atmospheric composition.
Interest in Sakamoto’s legacy has continued to grow in the years since his passing. In 2024, his final concert performance was released as Opus, accompanied by a feature-length concert film. Earlier this year, his 1976 collaboration with percussionist Toshi Tsuchitori, Disappointment–Hateruma, received a long-awaited reissue, shedding new light on a formative period that predated Yellow Magic Orchestra.
Fans will also have another opportunity to engage with Sakamoto’s artistic vision later this year when seeing sound, hearing time opens at Berlin’s Hamburger Bahnhof. Running from September 11 through May 2027, the exhibition will showcase a series of large-scale audiovisual installations exploring the composer’s lifelong fascination with sound, space, and technology.
With Music Sets You Free, readers will gain unprecedented access to the thoughts and experiences behind a career that transformed contemporary music and continues to inspire generations of artists worldwide.
