12 (Ryuichi Sakamoto album)

2023 studio album by Ryuichi Sakamoto

Studio album by

Ryuichi Sakamoto

Released| January 17, 2023 (2023-01-17)
Genre|

* Electronic
* minimal

Length| 60:01
Label|

* Milan
* commmons

Producer| Ryuichi Sakamoto
Ryuichi Sakamoto chronology
| To the Moon and Back
(2022)  | 12
(2023)  |

|
|

12 is the fifteenth and final solo studio album (twentieth studio album overall[1]) by Ryuichi Sakamoto.[2] It was released on January 17, 2023, two months before his death from cancer,[3] through Milan Records and commmons.

## Composition

[edit]

12 has been noted to be an "unhurried" minimalist electronic album that features the "sound of him breathing as though engaged in strenuous activity" overlaid on "sparse piano pieces within electronic soundscapes imbued with a sobering weight."[4][5][6]

## Critical reception

[edit]

Professional ratingsAggregate scores

Source| Rating
AnyDecentMusic?| 7.9/10[7]
Metacritic| 85/100[8]
Review scores
Source| Rating
AllMusic| [9]
Clash| 9/10[10]
Financial Times| [11]
Loud and Quiet| 6/10[12]
Pitchfork| 7.6/10[13]
The Skinny| [14]
Slant| [15]
Spectrum Culture| 75%[16]
Uncut| 9/10[17]

At Metacritic, which assigns a weighted rating out of 100 to reviews from mainstream critics, the album has an average score of 85 based on nine reviews, indicating "universal acclaim".[8]

Reviewing the album for AllMusic, Paul Simpson compared it to Sakamoto's previous work. Simpson claimed that, "While [async] was an inventive, ambitious work incorporating field recordings, spoken word vocals, and several guest musicians, 12 is considerably more stripped-down, created entirely by Sakamoto, mostly playing piano and synthesizers." Simpson concluded by stating that, "being aware that it was his final work adds emotional weight to music that appears fragile and delicate."[9] In a review for The Skinny, Tony Inglis awarded 12 a 5-star rating and noted that unlike Sakamoto's previous works, 12 is a "collection [that] instead deals in the turbulent and unpredictable period that comes before the unknown."[14] In a positive review for Pitchfork, Rob Arcand highlighted how "Rarely does an album this understated say so much."[13]

## Track listing

[edit]

All tracks are written by Ryuichi Sakamoto.

12 track listingNo.| Title| Length

|
|

1.| "20210310"| 6:53
2.| "20211130"| 5:22
3.| "20211201"| 5:32
4.| "20220123"| 8:40
5.| "20220202"| 6:22
6.| "20220207"| 7:01
7.| "20220214"| 9:09
8.| "20220302 – Sarabande"| 3:10
9.| "20220302"| 2:52
10.| "20220307"| 2:31
11.| "20220404"| 2:26
12.| "20220304"| 1:08
Total length:| 60:01

## Personnel

[edit]

* Ryuichi Sakamoto – performance, production, mixing
* Zak – mixing
* Robin Schmidt – mastering
* Norika Sora – associate production
* Alec Fellman – associate engineering, production management
* Maria Takeuchi – production management assistance
* Makoto Kondo – engineering assistance
* Takuya Minami – artwork

## Charts

[edit]

### Weekly charts

[edit]

Weekly chart performance for 12 | Chart (2023)  | Peak
position

|

Belgian Albums (Ultratop Flanders)[18] | 82
Belgian Albums (Ultratop Wallonia)[19] | 71
French Albums (SNEP)[20] | 54
German Albums (Offizielle Top 100)[21] | 21
Italian Albums (FIMI)[22] | 70
Japanese Albums (Oricon)[23] | 2
Japanese Combined Albums (Oricon)[24] | 4
Japanese Hot Albums (Billboard Japan)[25] | 3
Portuguese Albums (AFP)[26] | 2
Scottish Albums (OCC)[27] | 40
Spanish Albums (PROMUSICAE)[28] | 74
Swiss Albums (Schweizer Hitparade)[29] | 41
UK Albums Sales (OCC)[30] | 31
UK Album Downloads (OCC)[31] | 58
US Top Album Sales (Billboard)[32] | 38
US Top Classical Albums (Billboard)[33] | 1

### Monthly charts

[edit]

Monthly chart performance for 12 | Chart (2023)  | Peak
position

|

Japanese Albums (Oricon)[34] | 21

## References

[edit]

1. ^ Kress, Bryan (April 2, 2022). "Ryuichi Sakamoto, Pioneering Electronic Music Composer, Dead at 71". Consequence. Retrieved April 3, 2023.
2. ^ William, Mata (April 3, 2023). "Who was Ryuichi Sakamoto and what scores did he compose? Japanese legend dies aged 71". Evening Standard. Retrieved April 3, 2023.
3. ^ Tsioulcas, Anastasia (April 2, 2023). "Ryuichi Sakamoto, a godfather of electronic pop, has died". NPR. Retrieved April 2, 2023.
4. ^ Attard, Paul (January 11, 2023). "Ryuichi Sakamoto '12' Review: A Stark Song Cycle About Mortality". Slant Magazine. Retrieved March 7, 2023.
5. ^ "Ryuichi Sakamoto: 12". Pitchfork. Retrieved March 7, 2023.
6. ^ "Ryuichi Sakamoto: 12 album review — the sound of ongoing life". Financial Times. January 20, 2023. Retrieved March 7, 2023.
7. ^ "12 by Ryuichi Sakamoto (reviews)". AnyDecentMusic?. Retrieved January 23, 2023.
8. ^ a b "12 by Ryuichi Sakamoto Reviews and Tracks". Metacritic. Retrieved July 27, 2023.
9. ^ a b Simpson, Paul (January 20, 2023). "Ryuichi Sakamoto – 12 Album Reviews, Songs & More". Clash. Retrieved July 21, 2023.
10. ^ Roseblade, Nick (January 18, 2023). "Ryuichi Sakamoto – 12". Clash. Retrieved January 23, 2023.
11. ^ Hunter-Tilney, Ludovic (January 20, 2023). "Ryuichi Sakamoto: 12 album review — the sound of ongoing life". Financial Times. Archived from the original on January 23, 2023. Retrieved January 23, 2023.
12. ^ Younis, Reef (January 16, 2023). "Ryuichi Sakamoto – 12". Loud and Quiet. Retrieved January 23, 2023.
13. ^ a b Arcand, Rob (January 17, 2023). "Ryuichi Sakamoto – 12". Pitchfork. Retrieved January 23, 2023.
14. ^ a b Inglis, Tony (January 11, 2023). "Ryuichi Sakamoto – 12". The Skinny. Retrieved January 23, 2023.
15. ^ Attard, Paul (January 11, 2023). "Ryuichi Sakamoto 12 Review: A Starkly Beautiful Song Cycle About Mortality". Slant. Retrieved January 23, 2023.
16. ^ Rega, Konstantin N. (January 23, 2023). "Ryuichi Sakamoto – 12". Spectrum Culture. Retrieved January 23, 2023.
17. ^ Bonner, Michael (March 2023). "Ryuichi Sakamoto – 12". Uncut. No. 310\. p. 30. Retrieved April 3, 2023.
18. ^ "Ultratop.be – Ryuichi Sakamoto – 12" (in Dutch). Hung Medien. Retrieved July 2, 2023.
19. ^ "Ultratop.be – Ryuichi Sakamoto – 12" (in French). Hung Medien. Retrieved July 2, 2023.
20. ^ "Lescharts.com – Ryuichi Sakamoto – 12". Hung Medien. Retrieved July 3, 2023.
21. ^ "Offiziellecharts.de – Ryuichi Sakamoto – 12" (in German). GfK Entertainment Charts. Retrieved June 30, 2023.
22. ^ "Album – Classifica settimanale WK 26 (dal 23.06.2023 al 29.06.2023)" (in Italian). Federazione Industria Musicale Italiana. Retrieved July 1, 2023.
23. ^ "Oricon Top 50 Albums: 2023-04-17" (in Japanese). Oricon. Retrieved April 12, 2023.
24. ^ "Oricon Top 50 Combined Albums: 2023-01-30" (in Japanese). Oricon. Retrieved March 1, 2023.
25. ^ "Billboard Japan Hot Albums – Week of April 12, 2023". Billboard Japan (in Japanese). Retrieved April 12, 2023.
26. ^ "Portuguesecharts.com – Ryuichi Sakamoto – 12". Hung Medien. Retrieved July 7, 2023.
27. ^ "Official Scottish Albums Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved September 3, 2023.
28. ^ "Spanishcharts.com – Ryuichi Sakamoto – 12". Hung Medien. Retrieved July 3, 2023.
29. ^ "Swisscharts.com – Ryuichi Sakamoto – 12". Hung Medien. Retrieved July 2, 2023.
30. ^ "Official Albums Sales Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved September 3, 2023.
31. ^ "Official Album Downloads Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved September 3, 2023.
32. ^ "Ryuichi Sakamoto Chart History (Top Album Sales)". Billboard. Retrieved September 3, 2023.
33. ^ "Ryuichi Sakamoto Chart History (Top Classical Albums)". Billboard. Retrieved September 3, 2023.
34. ^ "Oricon Top 50 Albums: 2023-01" (in Japanese). Oricon. Archived from the original on February 8, 2023. Retrieved March 1, 2023.

* v
* t
* e

Ryuichi Sakamoto

Studio albums|

| Solo|

* Thousand Knives
* B-2 Unit
* Esperanto
* Futurista
* Neo Geo
* Beauty
* Heartbeat
* Sweet Revenge
* 1996
* BTTB
* Chasm
* Async
* 12

|

Collaborations|

* Summer Nerves
* Vrioon
* A Day in New York
* Insen
* Cendre
* utp_
* Summvs
* Flumina

|

Extended plays|

* Zero Landmine
* World Citizen
* Sala Santa Cecilia
* Revep

Live albums|

* Asian Games
* Cinemage
* Playing the Piano
* Glass

Compilations|

* Tokyo Joe
* Async – Remodels

Soundtracks|

* Merry Christmas, Mr. Lawrence
* The Last Emperor
* The Sheltering Sky
* Tacones lejanos (High Heels)
* Emily Brontë's Wuthering Heights
* Wild Palms
* Little Buddha
* Love Is the Devil: Study for a Portrait of Francis Bacon
* Snake Eyes
* Gohatto
* Femme Fatale
* Tony Takitani
* The Revenant

Songs|

* "Bamboo Houses"
* "Merry Christmas Mr. Lawrence"
* "Forbidden Colours"
* "Heartbeat (Tainai Kaiki II)"
* "Love & Hate"
* "Snooze"

Filmography|

* Merry Christmas, Mr. Lawrence
* The Last Emperor
* "Rain"
* New Rose Hotel
* Freeter, Ie wo Kau
* Hungry!

Related artists|

* Yellow Magic Orchestra
* David Sylvian
* Alva Noto
* Fennesz
* Christopher Willits
* Miu Sakamoto

Related articles|

* Discography
* Commmons
* Ryuichi Sakamoto. Conversazioni
* Ryuichi Sakamoto: Coda
* Ryuichi Sakamoto: Opus

* Category

Authority control databases |

* MusicBrainz release group

|

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