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Sakamoto’s Hidden Side Seen Through Ōne’s Eyes
Between “Yura Yura Teikoku 2009.04.26 LIVE @ Hibiya Open-Air Concert Hall” and “Shintaro Sakamoto LIVE 2022 @ Cabaret New Hakuba,” there was the drama directed by Ōne, Tada’s Do-It-All House (2013). Sakamoto, now solo, provided the background music for the show as well as the ending theme, “Don’t Know What’s Normal.”
Ōne: Ever since I started working on dramas, I’ve taken care of commissioning the background music myself. Whether it’s for dramas or films, I don’t often go with professional composers. Instead, I like to collaborate with musicians, DJs, and track makers whose music I really connect with, because I want the soundtrack to reflect the music I genuinely love.
I reached out to Sakamoto after hearing the instrumental versions of all the tracks included in the first pressing of his solo album, How To Live With A Phantom (2011). That’s when I thought, “Wow, Sakamoto could definitely handle scoring background music.” People often see Sakamoto as somewhat mysterious or veiled—not quite a deity, but someone with an enigmatic presence. Yet in everyday life, he’s easy to talk to and quite sociable. Of course, he wouldn’t accept any work he wasn’t fully satisfied with, but for Tada’s Do-It-All House, he read the script, felt comfortable with it, and tackled the project with a craftsman’s dedication. The score he delivered perfectly matched the world of the drama and exceeded my expectations.
The song “Don’t Know What’s Normal” was born from the content of the drama, wasn’t it?
Ōne: The opening song was already decided to be “Beautiful Dreamer” by Flower Companies, so I wanted to ask Sakamoto-san to create the ending theme. I requested a song that would leave a lingering feeling from the drama—something warm yet bittersweet. I still vividly remember when the demo arrived. It came when about half of the shooting was done, with a message saying, “I’ve made something good.” I thought, “Sakamoto-san actually said, ‘I’ve made something good’!” [laughs] When I listened to it right then and there, from the intro to the final fade-out, everything was perfect, and I got goosebumps the whole time. I don’t think anything will ever top it in my lifetime.
Fans can also catch an amazing performance of “Don’t Know What’s Normal” in “Sakamoto Shintaro LIVE 2022 @ Cabaret New Hakuba.”
Ōne: Come to think of it, the setlist for the October show at Hitomi Memorial Hall, which happened just before New Hakuba, didn’t include “Don’t Know What’s Normal.” But it was definitely part of the New Hakuba set. Sakamoto-san never openly says, “I included that.” Later, I asked him, “Did you put it in because I was filming?” His reply was, “Well… I guess that’s part of it” [laughs]. That’s just the kind of person Sakamoto Shintaro is.
Sakamoto Shintaro LIVE 2022 @ Cabaret New Hakuba.
Performers: Shintaro Sakamoto, AYA, Yuta Suganuma, Toru Nishiuchi
Director: Jin Ōne
Streaming starts on Thursday, May 1, 2025, on Netflix.
*Available for a limited time only.
