Ryuichi Sakamoto
Elephantism

THE REVIEW

In 2002, Sakamoto visited the Africa of the Masai in search of the origin of the human race. During his journey, a documentary "Africa In The Image Of Ryuichi Sakamoto: "Elephantism" was made, for which this album is the soundtrack and at the same time the personal tribute that the artist has dedicated to Ground Zero.

The atmosphere is magical, majestic, but also melancholic and nostalgic, situated in a place where it is possible to blend the notes of a sitar with the majesty of elephants and the joy of children. “Elmolo Dance”, for example, is intoned by the clapping of hands, the crackling whistle full of vital energy of the children made restless by the rhythm, but the harmony that accompanies them, in a whispered background, is melancholic and poignant.

And so again “Masai Dance”, in which the voices of the warriors fade away leaving room for the sound of the African night and the notes of the piano, up to “Elephant Dance” where the sounds evoke farewells to the most beautiful things. The nostalgia for something that perhaps one would have liked to possess, or experience, at least once and that once encountered, is already perceived as finished, impossible to reach, perhaps because we ourselves no longer possess the innocence necessary to embody it.