“Music, work and life all have a beginning and an ending. What I want to make now is music freed from the constraints of time.”
—Ryuichi Sakamoto

As we near the one year anniversary of his death, Left Handed Dream: Celebrating the Music & Film of Ryuichi Sakamoto offers an illuminating program centring the lasting influence of Japanese composer-musician Ryuichi Sakamoto and his contributions to contemporary culture. Comprising both film screenings and specially commissioned music performances, audiences are invited to experience the musical sensitivities of an artist at pace with the present, yet never out of pace with history.

In this rare performance from one of Australia’s most rigorous ambient musicians, audiences can expect a reworked arrangements from Nico Niquo’s celebrated and highly sought-after back catalogue, specifically arranged to closely engage with the style and aesthetics of Ryuichi Sakamoto’s own. Particular emphasis will be placed on the piano paired with synthesisers, the trademark ‘sound’ and approach of Sakamoto’s last solo album, 12.

Reflecting on his connection to Sakamoto’s oeuvre, Nico writes “I was introduced to his music a long time ago by a childhood friend; a friend who I haven’t spoken to in years, but think back to with great fondness. It’s a connection that, no doubt, could be evoked flawlessly by one of Sakamoto’s composition, come to think of it.

“There is something to this individual’s music – at the granular level, its beauty and poise, to its sheer breadth and richness at the macro level – that, to me, has only grown more affecting and compelling over time. 

But there is so much more beyond that, too; learning of Sakamoto’s philosophy and advocacy through his writings and interviews, in totality with the utter uniqueness of his musical catalogue and the vastness of his legacy, leads me to wonder and ponder like listening to no other, every time I listen, more often than not, every single day.”

About Nico Niquo
Nico Niquo (Nico Callaghan) is a London-based Australian musician with releases on Orange Milk Records (US) and Daisart (AU). He has performed in Japan and North America, and contributes to Picnic (US/AU) and J and the Woolen Stars (AU). His most recent album Esperanto (2023) follows Timeless (2018) and In A Silent Way (2017).