Ryuichi Sakamoto
Japan, 1975–2023
Japanese composer (1952-2023), conservatory-trained and endlessly restless. A founder of Yellow Magic Orchestra, he went on to Oscar-winning film scores (The Last Emperor) and the enduring 'Merry Christmas Mr. Lawrence', moving between synth-pop, orchestral writing and spare late-period ambient work.
MusicRoots documents 5 artists who influenced Ryuichi Sakamoto and 1 artist Ryuichi Sakamoto influenced in turn. Every connection cites a published source.
Who influenced Ryuichi Sakamoto?
- Claude Debussy — Debussy was Sakamoto's lifelong touchstone: 'Asian music heavily influenced Debussy, and Debussy heavily influenced me' - a circle he was conscious of closing.
- Kraftwerk — Kraftwerk's machine-precise electronic pop was the other pole of Sakamoto's music alongside Debussy, and the direct model for Yellow Magic Orchestra's technopop.
- John Cage — Cage's ideas about sound, silence and chance shaped Sakamoto's experimental side; the two eventually worked together.
- The Beatles — The Beatles were among the pop records that pulled the conservatory student Sakamoto outside classical music.
- The Rolling Stones — One of Sakamoto's two named early influences, with the Beatles.
Which artists did Ryuichi Sakamoto influence?
- Yellow Magic Orchestra — Sakamoto's conservatory training and harmonic sophistication are the other half of Yellow Magic Orchestra's sound.