Editing Ryuichi Sakamoto (section)

===1980s===
[[File:Bob Motherbaugh, Yukihiro Takahashi, Ryuichi Sakamoto.png|thumb|Sakamoto (on the right) with [[Bob Mothersbaugh]] of [[Devo]] and [[Yukihiro Takahashi]] in 1980]]

In 1980, Sakamoto released his second solo album, ''[[B-2 Unit]]'', which has been referred to as his "edgiest" record<ref name="buckley"/> and is known for the electronic track "Riot in Lagos",<ref name="buckley">{{cite book|last=Buckley|first=Peter|title=The rough guide to rock|year=2003|publisher=[[Rough Guides]]|isbn=1-84353-105-4|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=7ctjc6UWCm4C&pg=PT908|access-date=May 25, 2011|page=901}}</ref> which is considered an early example of [[electro music]] (electro-funk),<ref name="broughton_2007">{{cite book|last=Broughton|first=Frank|title=La historia del DJ / The DJ's Story, Volume 2|year=2007|publisher=Ediciones Robinbook|isbn=978-84-96222-79-3|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=1GMxP6mpRdgC&pg=PA121|access-date=May 25, 2011|page=121}}</ref><ref name="mantronik_interview"/> as Sakamoto anticipated the beats and sounds of electro.<ref name="wire_1996">{{citation|title=A-Z Of Electro|work=[[The Wire (magazine)|The Wire]]|issue=145|date=March 1996|author=David Toop|url=http://www.thewire.co.uk/articles/210/|access-date=May 29, 2011}}</ref> Early electro and [[hip hop]] artists, such as [[Afrika Bambaataa]]<ref name="wire_1996"/> and [[Kurtis Mantronik]], were influenced by the album—especially "Riot in Lagos"—with Mantronik citing the work as a major influence on his electro hip hop group [[Mantronix]].<ref name="mantronik_interview">{{citation|title=Kurtis Mantronik Interview|work=Hip Hop Storage|date=July 2002|url=http://www.cheebadesign.com/legends/articleX.html|access-date=May 25, 2011|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110524234641/http://www.cheebadesign.com/legends/articleX.html|archive-date=May 24, 2011}}</ref> "Riot in Lagos" was later included in [[Playgroup (band)|Playgroup]]'s [[compilation album]] ''Kings of Electro'' (2007), alongside other significant electro compositions, such as [[Hashim Music|Hashim]]'s "Al-Naafyish" (1983).<ref>{{allMusic|album|r2003688|Kings of Electro}}</ref> The album is also credited with introducing the influential [[Roland TR-808]] [[drum machine]] "in the clubs for the first time" with "a new [[Electronic body music|body music]]" that "foretold the future" of music according to [[Mary Anne Hobbs]] of [[BBC Radio 6 Music]].<ref name="BBC">{{cite web |last1=Hobbs |first1=Mary Anne |author1-link=Mary Anne Hobbs |date=9 December 2020 |title=In praise of the 808 - 8 essential tracks to celebrate the drum machine that changed the world |url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/articles/4vxylVTKQrw6Hl8kgNrFv61/in-praise-of-the-808-8-essential-tracks-to-celebrate-the-drum-machine-that-changed-the-world |access-date=3 March 2025 |website=[[BBC Radio 6 Music]] |publisher=[[BBC]]}}</ref>

According to ''Dusted Magazine'', Sakamoto's use of squelching [[Bounce music|bounce]] sounds and mechanical [[Beat (music)|beats]] was later incorporated in early electro and hip hop productions, such as "[[The Message (Grandmaster Flash and the Furious Five song)|Message II (Survival)]]" by [[Melle Mel]] and [[Duke Bootee]] (1982), "[[Whodini (album)|Magic's Wand]]" (1982) by [[Whodini]] and [[Thomas Dolby]], "Electric Kingdom" (1983) by [[Twilight 22]], and ''[[The Album (Mantronix album)|The Album]]'' (1985) by Mantronix.<ref>{{cite web|last=O'Connell|first=Jake|title=Dusted Reviews – Mantronix: The Album (Deluxe Edition)|url=http://www.dustedmagazine.com/reviews/4485|work=Dusted Magazine|access-date=July 21, 2011|date=August 22, 2008}}</ref> The 1980 release of "Riot in Lagos" was listed by ''[[The Guardian]]'' in 2011 as one of the 50 key important events in the history of [[dance music]], at number six on its list.<ref>{{cite news|last=Vine|first=Richard|title=Ryuichi Sakamoto records 'Riot in Lagos'|url=https://www.theguardian.com/music/2011/jun/15/ryuichi-sakamoto-riot-in-lagos|newspaper=[[The Guardian]]|location=UK|date=July 9, 2011|access-date=July 9, 2011}}</ref> ''[[Resident Advisor]]'' said the track anticipated the sounds of [[techno]] and hip hop music, and that it inspired numerous artists from cities such as Tokyo, New York City and Detroit.<ref name="RA">{{cite news |title=Remembering Ryuichi Sakamoto's Extraordinary Musical Life |url=https://ra.co/features/4172 |access-date=29 June 2023 |work=[[Resident Advisor]] |date=3 April 2023}}</ref> Peter Tasker of ''[[Nikkei Asia]]'' said it was influential on techno, hip hop and [[house music]].<ref>{{cite news |last1=Tasker |first1=Peter |title=The real musical magic of Ryuichi Sakamoto |url=https://asia.nikkei.com/Life-Arts/Life/The-real-musical-magic-of-Ryuichi-Sakamoto |access-date=29 June 2023 |work=[[Nikkei Asia]] |date=8 April 2023 |url-status=live |url-access=subscription |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230407233620/http://asia.nikkei.com/Life-Arts/Life/The-real-musical-magic-of-Ryuichi-Sakamoto |archive-date=2023-04-07}}</ref>

One of the tracks on ''B-2 Unit'', "Differencia" has, according to ''[[Fact (UK magazine)|Fact]]'', "relentless tumbling beats and a stabbing [[bass synth]] that foreshadows [[Oldschool jungle|jungle]] by nearly a decade". Some tracks on the album also foreshadow genres such as [[Intelligent dance music|IDM]], [[broken beat]], and [[industrial techno]], and the work of producers such as [[Actress (musician)|Actress]] and [[Oneohtrix Point Never]]. For several tracks on the album, Sakamoto worked with UK [[reggae]] producer [[Dennis Bovell]], incorporating elements of [[Afrobeat]] and [[dub music]].<ref>{{Cite magazine|url=http://www.factmag.com/2015/01/22/the-essential-yellow-magic-orchestra/|title=The Essential... Yellow Magic Orchestra|magazine=[[Fact (UK magazine)|Fact]]|date=January 22, 2015}}</ref> According to'' [[Pitchfork (website)|Pitchfork]]'', "''B-2 Unit'' still sounds futuristic" with tracks such as "E-3A" looking "ahead to [[Mouse on Mars]]’ idyllic ’90s [[electronica]]."<ref name="Pitchfork">{{cite web |last1=Reynolds |first1=Simon |date=2 April 2023 |title=Ryuichi Sakamoto's Borderless Brilliance |url=https://pitchfork.com/features/afterword/ryuichi-sakamotos-borderless-brilliance/ |access-date=3 March 2025 |website=[[Pitchfork (website)|Pitchfork]]}}</ref>

Also in 1980, Sakamoto released the single "War Head/Lexington Queen", an experimental [[synthpop]] and electro record. His collaboration with [[Kiyoshiro Imawano]], "Ikenai Rouge Magic", also topped the [[Oricon]] singles chart.<ref>{{cite web|title=Biography|publisher=Kiyoshiro Imawano official site|url=http://www.kiyoshiro.co.jp/history/index.html|access-date=June 22, 2011|language=ja}} ([https://translate.google.com/translate?hl=en&sl=ja&tl=en&u=http://www.kiyoshiro.co.jp/history/index.html Translation])</ref> Sakamoto also began a long-standing collaboration with [[David Sylvian]], when he co-wrote and performed on the [[Japan (band)|Japan]] track "Taking Islands in Africa" in 1980.

In 1981, Sakamoto collaborated with [[Talking Heads]] and [[King Crimson]] guitarist [[Adrian Belew]] and [[Robin Scott (singer)|Robin Scott]] for an album titled ''Left-Handed Dream''. According to ''[[The Baffler]]'', the album combined "slow, simmering, primeval" [[techno]] with "sprawling, raw-edged sci-fi [[gagaku]]" using traditional Japanese [[taiko]] drums.<ref name="Monroe 2023"/>

Sakamoto worked on another collaboration with Sylvian, a single entitled "[[Bamboo Houses|Bamboo Houses/Bamboo Music]]" in 1982. The song "Bamboo Houses" in particular "accidentally predicted" [[grime music]] according to ''[[Fact (UK magazine)|Fact]]'' magazine, calling it "the earliest example of proto-grime" with similarities to the [[Sinogrime]] subgenre which [[Wiley (musician)|Wiley]] and [[Jammer (musician)|Jammer]] were known for in the 2000s.<ref name="Fact">{{cite web |last1=Raw |first1=Son |title=10 accidental grime tracks that predicted East London's signature sound |url=https://www.factmag.com/2016/07/30/10-accidental-grime-tracks-wolverine-proto-grime/ |website=[[Fact (UK magazine)|Fact]] |access-date=4 March 2025 |date=30 July 2016}}</ref> Sakamoto's earlier 1978 songs "Grasshoppers" and "The End of Asia" from ''Thousand Knives'' also have melodic lines similar to grime or Sinogrime.<ref>{{cite news |last1=Takahashi |first1=Logan |author1-link=Teengirl Fantasy |title=Teengirl Fantasy's Logan Takahashi Gives Us the Lowdown on Ryuichi Sakamoto's Most Influential Releases |url=https://www.vice.com/en/article/teengirl-fantasy-ryuichi-sakamoto-releases/ |access-date=7 March 2025 |work=[[Vice (magazine)|Vice]] |date=8 August 2016}}</ref>

Sakamoto began work on his next album ''Ongaku Zukan'' in 1982, but it didn't release until 1984. During production, he was one of the first musicians to use the [[Yamaha DX7]], the same year the [[digital synthesizer]] released in 1983. He initially used the DX7 for [[Mari Iijima]]'s debut [[city pop]] album ''Rosé'', released in 1983, before using it for his solo album ''Ongaku Zukan'', which eventually released in 1984.<ref name="Yamaha">{{cite web |title=Sakamoto and Yamaha Synthesizers |url=https://usa.yamaha.com/products/contents/music_production/synth_50th/anecdotes/011.html |website=[[Yamaha Corporation|Yamaha]] |access-date=28 February 2025}}</ref>

Sakamoto broadened his musical range with a number of solo albums such ''Ongaku Zukan'' (1984), ''[[Neo Geo (album)|Neo Geo]]'' (1987), and ''[[Beauty (Ryuichi Sakamoto album)|Beauty]]'' (1989). These albums included collaborations with artists such as [[Thomas Dolby]],<ref>{{Citation |title=a tribute to Ryuichi Sakamoto | date=April 3, 2023 |url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QUw6nUkjFcM |access-date=2023-05-08}}</ref> [[Iggy Pop]], [[Youssou N'Dour]], and [[Brian Wilson]].<ref name=":3">{{Cite news |last=Robin |first=William |date=2023-04-02 |title=Ryuichi Sakamoto, Oscar-Winning Composer, Dies at 71 |work=[[The New York Times]] |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2023/04/02/arts/music/ryuichi-sakamoto-dead.html}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news |last=Peters |first=Daniel |date=2023-04-03 |title=Ryuichi Sakamoto, 1952–2023: an inimitable sonic innovator |work=[[NME]] |url=https://www.nme.com/en_asia/features/music-features/ryuichi-sakamoto-obituary-yellow-magic-orchestra-merry-christmas-mr-lawrence-3424911}}</ref>

In 1985, Sakamoto was commissioned to score a dance composition by New York choreographer [[Molissa Fenley]] called ''[[Esperanto (Ryuichi Sakamoto album)|Esperanto]]''. The performance itself debuted at the [[Joyce Theatre Foundation|Joyce Theater]], to mixed reviews from [[Anna Kisselgoff]] at ''The New York Times'' which said of Sakamoto's music, that "The sound often resembles a radio shut on and off."<ref name="Kisselgoff 1985">{{Cite news |last=Kisselgoff |first=Anna |date=1985-11-13 |title=Dance: Fenley Dancers at The Joyce |work=[[The New York Times]] |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1985/11/13/arts/dance-fenley-dancers-at-the-joyce.html}}</ref>
The score was subsequently released in Japan by Midi, Inc., and includes contributions from [[Arto Lindsay]] and YAS-KAZ. Jen Monroe of ''The Baffler'' said the [[Sampling (music)|sample]]-based music "manages to be unremittingly gorgeous, aggressive, angular, and lush."<ref name="Monroe 2023">{{Cite news |last=Monroe |first=Jen |date=2023-06-13 |title=Ryuichi Sakamto,1952-2023 |work=[[The Baffler]] |url=https://thebaffler.com/latest/ryuichi-sakamoto-monroe}}</ref>