THE KAJITSU PLAYLIST: RYUICHI SAKAMOTO BEYOND BACKGROUND MUSIC
Ricardo Gomes
The Kajitsu Playlist: Ryuichi Sakamoto Beyond Background Music is an editorial artifact exploring the relationship between listening, space, memory, materiality and attention, starting from the playlist Ryuichi Sakamoto created for Kajitsu restaurant in New York.
The project begins with an episode Sakamoto recounted: after visiting the restaurant, he wrote to its owners saying, “I love your food, but I hate the music.” The gesture sparks a reflection on the role of music in a space devoted to the experience of food, and on whether a musical selection can go beyond mere ambient sound.
The publication draws connections between Sakamoto’s artistic personality, the restaurant’s architecture and atmosphere, the principles of shōjin ryōri and the importance of listening as a practice of attention and care. The contrast between the atmosphere of Trump Tower and the reference to Katsura Rikyu is one of the narrative’s central moments, presenting music as something that can shape perceptions of space, time and atmosphere.
Formally, the project uses a slow-paced editorial composition: generous space, alternation between text and silence, photographic sequences and pause pages. The graphic language turns the publication into an experience of reading and listening, rather than simply presenting information about Sakamoto or reproducing his playlist.
The result is an editorial object that shows how sonic choices can carry aesthetic, spatial and cultural meaning, questioning the idea of music as mere background.
Imprint / Technical Rider:
Year: 2026
Dimensions: 170 × 175 × 40 mm; 192 pages
Materials: Cover: Rives Tradition Cream 320 g
Text block: Munken Pure 90 g/m²
Painted and glazed ceramic
Carved wood
Production and finishing: Editorial design, typesetting, image treatment and composition, illustration and print production. Twelve thread-sewn signatures, paperback-bound into the cover, with a 12 mm spine.
Resources and credits: Minion Pro — Robert Slimbach
Nimbus Sans — URW Type Foundry
Printed by Tipografia Comercial, António Cruz & Filho, Lda., Portugal
Binding by Ana & Carvalho – Encadernação e Tipografia, Lda.
Curricular Unit:
Project (1st year)
Supervising Professor:
Eduardo Aires
Keywords: Editorial Design, Background Music, Visual Exploration, Japanese Culture
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