Kraftwerk, the influential German group, paid tribute to Ryuichi Sakamoto, the late composer and musician, by covering his famous track ‘Merry Christmas, Mr Lawrence’ during their headline set at the Fuji Rock Festival in Japan over the weekend. Prior to the performance, Kraftwerk made an announcement that the song was for their friend Ryuichi Sakamoto. They performed an instrumental version of the classic track, an unusual cover from the pioneering group. Sakamoto himself composed the score for the 1983 film of the same name, in which he also starred alongside the likes of David Bowie and Tom Conti.
Sakamoto’s last posthumous album, Opus, is set to be released next month. The record is a compilation of works performed by the late composer in his final concert in 2022 before his death in April 2023. The 20-track album features several compositions from Sakamoto’s final-ever performance at the NHK 509 Studio in Tokyo, which was filmed by his son, Neo Sora, across numerous sessions, without an audience.
Kraftwerk and Sakamoto, who were also good friends, had made music together on previous occasions. Since their first Kraftwerk concert in Tokyo in 1981, and for the No Nukes festival in 2012, Sakamoto had written new lyrics in Japanese for the hit song ‘Radioactivity’, which was played during the show.
Gemma Ross, Mixmag’s Assistant Editor, reported that the emotional performance by Kraftwerk at Fuji Rock Festival left the audience mesmerized and conveyed the impact of an artist who had created music and paved the way for other creative individuals
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