Ryuichi Sakamoto was an incredibly influential electronic pop musician and composer from Japan. He died on 28 March 2023 after a long battle with cancer.
Sakamoto is often credited as being one of the most influential figures in electronic pop, alongside other visionaries such as Kraftwerk and New Order. To learn more about Sakamoto's life and work, check out this article from NPR.
But his work wasn't limited by genre, perceived prestige or even format. In 2008, Sakamoto was commissioned to compose a series of ringtones for the Nokia 8800, and these sounds are what we'll be working with today.
Many thanks to Tech Product Bangers for their work cataloguing all these unique pieces of art! Check out their website for more ringtones and sound effects from your favourite pieces of tech.
Download the ringtones from WeTransfer here.
For tonight's challenge, simply choose at least one sound from this pack, plus ANY other sounds, synths, or samples that you like, to make a track of ± 2 minutes long.
Upload your track to this Google Drive by 20:30 Berlin time, and then re-join the Zoom call at 21:00 for our celebratory listening session!
Please note: these ringtones ARE copyrighted material, so be careful when using them in work you intend to release.
For inspiration on how to use samples in your tracks, check out the tutorials below...