Ryuichi Sakamoto died in March aged 71, but the legendary Japanese composer/computer-pop pioneer/actor has left behind this extraordinary “never-before-experienced mixed reality presentation” with technology collective Tin Drum, showcased by the Manchester international festival. The audience are given “optically transparent devices” – special glasses a bit like a VR headset. Once they’re all on, Sakamoto appears as if by magic, playing a grand piano, virtual white clouds wafting around his feet as if he is, well, playing in heaven. Seconds later, he is surrounded by falling snowflakes.
The audience are invited to walk around, which brings the realisation that because this is in 3D it’s possible to stand just feet behind virtual Sakamoto as he plays. Being able to watch the delicacy of his hands on the piano at close quarters is a magical experience few will have witnessed during his lifetime. Eerily, the technology renders the audience transparent – you can see Sakamoto through them – so that it is we that appear as ghosts, the pianist as solid.
