When Ryuichi Sakamoto died last year, the music community in Detroit felt the blow. Like most of the world, Detroit was first introduced to Sakamoto by way of Yellow Magic Orchestra (YMO), heard on the airwaves and in the clubs in the early 1980s. Budding musicians and DJs from the techno community quickly gravitated to YMO’s electronic sound experiments.
I had the opportunity to include Detroit in a book called Japan’s Sakamoto (ele-king Books). In the feature, called “Computer Games and Participation Mystique: Ryuichi Sakamoto’s lasting effect on Detroit,” I interviewed four key players: Jeff Mills (AKA The Wizard), Juan Atkins (Cybotron and Model 500), Tony Drake, and Neil Ollivierra (The Detroit Escalator Co.). Each musician gives his perspective on how Sakamoto influenced his work (or didn’t necessarily, as in one case).
YMO was quirky with an unexpected, underlying funk. Their influence on Detroit techno would be ranked alongside the German group Kraftwerk and George Clinton’s Parliament-Funkadelic.
But the influence of YMO didn’t stop with techno. As Sakamoto took on more experimental and compositional works, the fans in Detroit who had already taken notice were still watching and listening. Sakamoto’s ability to focus on textures and to find a home between the notes resonated with a newer generation of electronic musicians.
Writing this feature was an opportunity to get deep into the details and attributes of each song and each musician. It’s the type of nerd-out session I can’t seem to resist, especially when it allows me to catch up with some of the world’s most inspirational musicians.
When I submitted the document containing over 2,000 words, I hoped for an English-language edition to be published. As of now, the interview has only been published in the Japanese language. I will update this post to let you know when that changes; subscribe to my mailing list if you’d like to be notified in your inbox. If you read Japanese, or you would like a copy of the book as a collector’s item, it is available for purchase online.
An aspect of Sakamoto and Detroit we can’t forget presents itself with J Dilla. Dilla sampled YMO’s “Rap Phenomena” from the album BGM for his cut “Go Get Em.” The song, released during a time of creative differences between YMO bandmates, is credited to Haruomi Hosono. Sakamoto likely played a minimal role, if any, in the creation of the song. Yet, we are tangentially tied to Sakamoto’s creative output yet again when discussing Detroit’s role in the development of hip-hop.
This is an aspect I couldn’t cover for this particular feature but could be included when discussing YMO’s overall influence on music in Detroit, moving beyond focusing on Sakamoto.
As with all music — in fact, all art — the story of the interconnectedness is ever-evolving. That’s how it should be. Art is there to create discussions and to inspire. It can happen on the other side of the world as easily as it can happen next door. We are all benefactors.
perform a rendition of “Merry Christmas, Mr. Lawrence” by Ryuichi Sakamoto
May 6, 2023, The Lodge Room, Los Angeles, California
All Images on this page are taken from the book, Bessatsu ele-king Ryuichi Sakamoto memorial issue “Japanese Sakamoto”, courtesy ele-king Books.