
Unlimited Streaming
Listen to this album in high quality now on our apps
Start my trial period and start listening to this albumEnjoy this album on Qobuz apps with your subscription
SubscribeEnjoy this album on Qobuz apps with your subscription
Digital Download
Purchase and download this album in a wide variety of formats depending on your needs.
A genre unto itself, Ryuichi Sakamoto's music over the decades on synthesizer, piano, keyboard, as a member of synth-pop band Yellow Magic Orchestra and as a film composer contains multitudes. He's collaborated with titans nearly as towering as himself, but on 12, Sakamoto works achingly, sublimely alone in the studio.
12—Sakamoto's first original (non-film score) album since 2017's async—finds the artist at his most meditative, which stands to reason. During 2021 and 2022, Sakamoto composed, played and recorded the pieces while undergoing treatment for cancer, which he has lived with for nearly a decade. The artist recalled the creative exercise in a brief statement, writing that "after I finally 'came home' to my new temporary housing after a big operation, I found myself reaching for the synthesizer. I had no intention of composing something; I just wanted to be showered in sound."
Though async was composed after Sakamoto first learned of his cancer diagnosis, in 2017 his muse seemed to be in a more static-filled place. An oft-peaceful, occasionally tense series of a dozen pieces, each titled and sequenced according to the date Sakamoto composed it, 12 mixes reverberant piano melodies, which echo and sustain as if recorded at the edge of an abyss, with subtle but rich electroacoustic effects. Piano notes linger until they sound like a choir on "20211201," gently sustaining themselves until they merge with the collected hum of earlier notes. An Erik Satie-esque energy imbues both the phrases and the silence between them with a soothing, resolved beauty.
At times 12 is literally breathtaking. As the artist plays his instrument on "20220207" and others, the faint hiss of his inhalations and exhalations seeps into the recording, in effect tracking time not by meter or clock but through the body's natural pacing—the blessed state of living itself. Sakamoto has referred to 12 as a series of diary entries, which suggests a certain casualness. But the album is anything but. Rather, it's a self-portrait by an expert who can casually create masterpieces with a series of brilliantly executed brush strokes. © Randall Roberts/Qobuz
More infoYou are currently listening to samples.
Listen to over 100 million songs with an unlimited streaming plan.
Listen to this playlist and more than 100 million songs with our unlimited streaming plans.
From $10.83/month

Ryuichi Sakamoto, Composer, Producer, MainArtist, AssociatedPerformer
(P) 2023 KAB America Inc. under exclusive license to Milan Records, a label of Sony Music Entertainment.
Ryuichi Sakamoto, Composer, Producer, MainArtist, AssociatedPerformer
(P) 2023 KAB America Inc. under exclusive license to Milan Records, a label of Sony Music Entertainment.
Ryuichi Sakamoto, Composer, Producer, MainArtist, AssociatedPerformer
(P) 2023 KAB America Inc. under exclusive license to Milan Records, a label of Sony Music Entertainment.
Ryuichi Sakamoto, Composer, Producer, MainArtist, AssociatedPerformer
(P) 2023 KAB America Inc. under exclusive license to Milan Records, a label of Sony Music Entertainment.
Ryuichi Sakamoto, Composer, Producer, MainArtist, AssociatedPerformer
(P) 2023 KAB America Inc. under exclusive license to Milan Records, a label of Sony Music Entertainment.
Ryuichi Sakamoto, Composer, Producer, MainArtist, AssociatedPerformer
(P) 2023 KAB America Inc. under exclusive license to Milan Records, a label of Sony Music Entertainment.
Ryuichi Sakamoto, Composer, Producer, MainArtist, AssociatedPerformer
(P) 2023 KAB America Inc. under exclusive license to Milan Records, a label of Sony Music Entertainment.
Ryuichi Sakamoto, Composer, Producer, MainArtist, AssociatedPerformer
(P) 2023 KAB America Inc. under exclusive license to Milan Records, a label of Sony Music Entertainment.
Ryuichi Sakamoto, Composer, Producer, MainArtist, AssociatedPerformer
(P) 2023 KAB America Inc. under exclusive license to Milan Records, a label of Sony Music Entertainment.
Ryuichi Sakamoto, Composer, Producer, MainArtist, AssociatedPerformer
(P) 2023 KAB America Inc. under exclusive license to Milan Records, a label of Sony Music Entertainment.
Ryuichi Sakamoto, Composer, Producer, MainArtist, AssociatedPerformer
(P) 2023 KAB America Inc. under exclusive license to Milan Records, a label of Sony Music Entertainment.
Ryuichi Sakamoto, Composer, Producer, MainArtist, AssociatedPerformer
(P) 2023 KAB America Inc. under exclusive license to Milan Records, a label of Sony Music Entertainment.
Album Description
A genre unto itself, Ryuichi Sakamoto's music over the decades on synthesizer, piano, keyboard, as a member of synth-pop band Yellow Magic Orchestra and as a film composer contains multitudes. He's collaborated with titans nearly as towering as himself, but on 12, Sakamoto works achingly, sublimely alone in the studio.
12—Sakamoto's first original (non-film score) album since 2017's async—finds the artist at his most meditative, which stands to reason. During 2021 and 2022, Sakamoto composed, played and recorded the pieces while undergoing treatment for cancer, which he has lived with for nearly a decade. The artist recalled the creative exercise in a brief statement, writing that "after I finally 'came home' to my new temporary housing after a big operation, I found myself reaching for the synthesizer. I had no intention of composing something; I just wanted to be showered in sound."
Though async was composed after Sakamoto first learned of his cancer diagnosis, in 2017 his muse seemed to be in a more static-filled place. An oft-peaceful, occasionally tense series of a dozen pieces, each titled and sequenced according to the date Sakamoto composed it, 12 mixes reverberant piano melodies, which echo and sustain as if recorded at the edge of an abyss, with subtle but rich electroacoustic effects. Piano notes linger until they sound like a choir on "20211201," gently sustaining themselves until they merge with the collected hum of earlier notes. An Erik Satie-esque energy imbues both the phrases and the silence between them with a soothing, resolved beauty.
At times 12 is literally breathtaking. As the artist plays his instrument on "20220207" and others, the faint hiss of his inhalations and exhalations seeps into the recording, in effect tracking time not by meter or clock but through the body's natural pacing—the blessed state of living itself. Sakamoto has referred to 12 as a series of diary entries, which suggests a certain casualness. But the album is anything but. Rather, it's a self-portrait by an expert who can casually create masterpieces with a series of brilliantly executed brush strokes. © Randall Roberts/Qobuz
About the album
- 1 disc(s) - 12 track(s)
- Total length: 01:01:06
- Main artists: Ryuichi Sakamoto
- Composer: Ryuichi Sakamoto
- Label: Milan
- Genre: Pop/Rock Ambient
-
24-Bit 96.0 kHz - Stereo
(P) 2023 KAB America Inc. under exclusive license to Milan Records, a label of Sony Music Entertainment.
Improve album information
Why buy on Qobuz?
-
Stream or download your music
Buy an album or an individual track. Or listen to our entire catalog with our high-quality unlimited streaming subscriptions.
-
Zero DRM
The downloaded files belong to you, without any usage limit. You can download them as many times as you like.
-
Choose the format best suited for you
Download your purchases in a wide variety of formats (FLAC, ALAC, WAV, AIFF...) depending on your needs.
-
Listen to your purchases on our apps
Download the Qobuz apps for smartphones, tablets, and computers, and listen to your purchases wherever you go.