Ryuichi Sakamoto and Alva Noto announce collaborative album ‘12 Conversations’

The Noton label is releasing ‘12 Conversations’, a collaborative album by Japanese composer Ryuichi Sakamoto and German electronic artist Carsten Nicolai (Alva Noto). The project marks a continuation of their creative partnership that began in 2002.

The recordings were captured during sessions in November and December 2022, the same period during which Sakamoto produced his final solo album, ‘12’. While not originally intended as a standalone release, the artists decided to present these musical exchanges as a dedicated work to showcase their ongoing sonic dialogue.

The album features 16 tracks characterized by the synthesis of Sakamoto’s acoustic piano and Nicolai’s electronic processing. The work was mastered in 2026 at Calyx Mastering in Berlin by Bo Kondren. It includes vocal elements from Emma Maeda and references to texts by Rainer Maria Rilke.