Ryuichi Sakamoto

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Sakamoto Cartier Love Bracelet to Benefit Jane Goodall

Ryuichi Sakamoto has joined the 2007 Cartier LOVECHARITY project by selecting a green silk band to accompany his LOVE bracelet.

A portion of the proceeds from sales of Sakamoto's green-banded LOVE bracelet will benefit the Jane Goodall Institute Japan: Visit http://www.jgi-japan.org/

The Cartier LOVE bracelet was introduced more than 30 years ago, and has risen to be one of the most coveted jewelry designs in the world.

In 2006 alone, more than $1.2 million was donated to eight global charities from the sales of its LOVECHARITY bracelet, spurring the company to create a new LOVECHARITY bracelet for 2007. The goal is to exceed last year's donations as a number of new celebrities join the endeavor.

The 2007 LOVECHARITY bracelet features an 18K white gold miniature LOVE bracelet graced with the word LOVE and accented with two signature screw motifs. It is set into a knotted silk cord available in various colors, with each cord designating support of a unique cause. The bracelet costs $475 with $100 per bracelet benefiting its corresponding charity.

The complete list of the 2007 Ambassadors and their corresponding charities includes:

o   Faith Hill and Tim McGraw have a chocolate brown bracelet for the Neighbor's       Keeper Foundation
o   Djimon Hounsou has a deep copper bracelet for SOS Children's Villages
o   Eva Mendes has a navy bracelet for The Art of Elysium
o   Julianne Moore has a lavender bracelet for the Tuberous Sclerosis Alliance
o   Rihanna has a sea foam green bracelet for Believe
o   Usher has a gold bracelet for the New Look Foundation
o   Rachel Weisz has a lilac bracelet for The Constant Gardener Trust
o   Elie Wiesel has a yellow bracelet for The Elie Wiesel Foundation for Humanity

The 2006 LOVECHARITY Bracelets will also be available through the year, supporting YouthAIDS (Rosario Dawson) ; the Salma Hayek Foundation (Salma Hayek) ; USA Harvest (Scarlett Johansson) ; Maurice Kanbar Institute of Film & Television Graduate Division / Tisch School of the Arts/NYC (Spike Lee) ;  Maasai Wilderness Conservation Trust (Edward Norton) ;  UNICEF (Sarah Jessica Parker) ; The Breast Cancer Research Foundation (Liv Tyler) ; and Mercy Corps Gulf Coast Recovery Fund (Michael Stipe).

More information of the Cartier LOVECHARITY is available at http://love.cartier.com

Former YMO Members Form HASYMO

Original YMO members Ryuichi Sakamoto, Haruomi Hosono, and Yukihiro Takahashi have formed HASYMO (pronounced has eee mo). More than just a melding of their previous incarnations as Human Audio Sponge (HAS) and Yellow Magic Orchestra (YMO), HASYMO have developed a new sound that transcends the two groups.

The first single from the group, “Rescue,” written for the film Appleseed: Ex Machina, will be released on August 22nd by the commmons/Avex label.

Produced by John Woo, Appleseed: Ex Machina, is more of a new beginning than a direct sequel to the wildly successful animated feature Appleseed. Once again directed by Shinji Aramaki, Appleseed: Ex Machina will feature original designs by Miuccia Prada and Music Supervision by Haruomi Hosono.

Fennesz + Sakamoto Nominated for 2007 EMMA AWARD

Fennesz + Sakamoto's release Cendre has been nominated for a 2007 EMMA Award in the Best World Music category. Other EMMA music nominees include: Rihanna, Norah Jones, Beyonce, Kanye West, Alejandro Sanz, Corinne Bailey Rae, Joss Stone, and more. John Lennon will be recognized with a Legend award, and the Lifetime Achievement recognition goes to Oprah.

After ten successful years in the UK, The EMMA AWARDS (Ethnic Multicultural Media Awards), move to the US for the first time in 2007.

The EMMA award is a televised, feature length, humanitarian media award. EMMA celebrates the very best in diversity, media and cultural excellence. The USA event will be based on the highly prestigious, phenomenally successful UK model and is to be completely tailored to the American audience. 

The Event, to be held at the Waldorf Astoria Hotel, in New York is both glamorous and culturally enriching. The BBC has televised the EMMA's in the UK.  The EMMA panel, with most categories open to online voting, has selected the short-listed nominees.  The short-list represents the greatest achievements, the greatest achievers and the very best of the best. Previous recipients of the EMMA include: Nelson Mandela, Maya Angelou and Stevie Wonder. "Legend award" winners, (generally posthumous) range from: Ghandi and Bruce Lee to Martin Luther King. The "Legend award"; is always received, by a direct member of the family. 

This year's EMMA awards will be in New York, a city of vibrant cultural diversity; it is a metropolis, as famous for Ellis Island, as it is for the United Nations.  The entire award ceremony is transmissible, from the "red carpet" through to the after party, sandwiched around the award itself.  The event is a hot ticket, one cannot buy seats, and one is invited.  The guest list is made up of the greatest luminaries in Film, Television, Politics, The Arts, Theatre and Literature.  The award nominees include: Bill Clinton, Spike Lee, George Clooney, Tiger Woods, and Yao Ming. We honour professions ranging from cutting edge theatre to literate surgeons.

Former UK Prime Minister Tony Blair said of the EMMA:  "The recognition of achievement and talent of ethnic multicultural professionals in the media industry has long been overdue and I commend the organizers of the Ethnic Multicultural Media Awards (EMMA) for their initiative in this area," while Nelson Mandela had this to say upon receiving his EMMA, "I hope that my receipt of this award will in a small way add value to the work that EMMA is doing in promoting cultural diversity and co-operation."

Additional information about the EMMA is available at www.emmaglobalvillage.com
For the more information on Ryuichi Sakamoto check out www.sitesakamoto.com