Tin Drum To Present Groundbreaking Mixed Reality Concert Event With Legendary Composer And Musician Ryuichi Sakamoto In Summer 2023

Tin Drum--the world's premier mixed reality content production studio--has announced its latest collaboration, KAGAMI. Created with award-winning musician and composer Ryuichi Sakamoto, the mixed reality concert event will debut this June at The Shed in New York and during the Manchester International Festival in the United Kingdom. In 2024, the KAGAMI tour will continue with presentations including the Sydney Opera House and Big Ears Festival.

KAGAMI represents a new kind of concert, fusing dimensional moving photography with the real world to create a never-before-experienced mixed reality presentation. Audiences will wear optically-transparent devices to view the virtual Sakamoto performing on piano alongside dimensional art aligned with the music. Presented in surround sound, the experience will be both collective and individual, inviting observers to connect to the work--and each other--throughout. While audiences may view the show in a seated format, they will also be free to wander and explore during the hour-long event.

Sakamoto is an international sensation, with a body of work spanning from electronic to classical composition and performance, including original scores for Oscar-winning films such as The Last Emperor and The Revenant. Reflecting on the collaboration, he writes:

There is, in reality, a virtual me.
This virtual me will not age, and will continue to play the piano for years, decades, centuries.
Will there be humans then?
Will the squids that will conquer the earth after humanity listen to me?
What will pianos be to them?
What about music?
Will there be empathy there?

Empathy that spans hundreds of thousands of years.
Ah, but the batteries won't last that long.

"In my mind, Ryuichi Sakamoto may be the most complete artist of all time. His whole career has been a relentless pursuit of innovation and beauty," says KAGAMI Director Todd Eckert. "With KAGAMI, he is presented in concert through mixed reality--a recorded event presented in real time. This makes him the first immortal musician, in a way, and I cannot imagine anyone more fitting for the distinction."

"This is one of the first fully staged concerts in mixed reality, and it's no surprise that the uniquely inventive Ryuichi Sakamoto is realizing this new interdisciplinary show," says The Shed's Artistic Director Alex Poots. "Sincere thanks to Ryuichi and our partners Todd Eckert and the Tin Drum team for bringing this to life."

"I am delighted that this groundbreaking project from one of the world's true greats is coming to Manchester as part of Manchester International Festival 2023. I am also really happy to be working with the visionary Tin Drum and Todd Eckert, whose work is helping to imagine the future of performance and art. The project is a perfect example of the Festival's collaborative spirit working with artists and partner organizations from around the world to bring extraordinary, original projects to Manchester in both the live and digital spheres." says Artistic Director and Chief Executive of Manchester International Festival John McGrath.

Event dates and ticket information for The Shed and Manchester International Festival will be announced soon via theshed.org and factoryinternational.org.

In addition to the premiere of KAGAMI, Tin Drum's 2023 calendar includes the North American debut of Medusa, an evolving mixed-reality experience bridging art, science, music, and technology. Directed by scientist Yoyo Munk, the installation was developed in collaboration with renowned architect Sou Fujimoto and features his undulating architectural designs. Medusa will open at Pioneer Works in March 2023 with a new score by Brooklyn-based composer Kelly Moran.

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