A new chapter of the collaboration between the late Japanese master Ryuichi Sakamoto and Alva Noto is released. This is “12 Conversations”, a new collaborative album that will be released on September 18, 2026 by the NOTON label. The album represents the last chapter of one of the most influential partnerships in contemporary music, born in the early 2000s and capable of redefining the dialogue between piano, electronics, ambient and minimalism.
Over the years, the Japanese composer and Carsten Nicolai, better known as Alva Noto, have built a unique language, in which Sakamoto's melodic and cinematic sensitivity has intertwined with the electronic abstraction and sonic rigor of the German musician. A delicate balance, suspended between emotion and research, which has given life to some of the most appreciated works of contemporary experimental music.
“12 Conversations” collects a series of musical exchanges recorded between November and December 2022, in the same creative period that led to the creation of “12”, the last solo album released by Sakamoto before his death. Those recordings were not created with the aim of becoming an independent album: only after completing “12”, the two artists decided to transform that material into an independent work, enhancing its intimate, spontaneous and profoundly experimental character.
According to the album presentation, the project reflects the vitality and curiosity that have fueled over twenty years of collaboration. The compositions arise from an open creative process, based on mutual listening, in which sounds expand, modify and transform continuously. Conceived as the continuation of an artistic dialogue destined to survive beyond Sakamoto's physical presence, the album also represents the fulfillment of the Japanese composer's desire not to leave these recordings confined in an archive, but to share them as a lasting testimony of their collaboration.
The first single “Conversation 3” is a preview of the album, already available (listen above). A second extract, “Conversation 6”, will be released on August 26th, while the complete album will arrive on September 18th in vinyl, CD and digital formats. In Japan it will be distributed through the commmons label, founded by Ryuichi Sakamoto himself. Pre-orders for the physical editions are also already open.
Daniel D`Amico for SANREMO.FM
