NEO GEO cover
Released

By the time of 1987’s Neo Geo, Sakamoto was operating near a peak in both Japanese and Western pop music scenes, as close as anyone has come to perfect synergy between the two sensibilities. On “Neo Geo,” he’s able to take a traditional folk melody and have the likes of Sly Dunbar and producer Bill Laswell funk it up. But he’s just as good at inverting the formula, filling the electro-street funk of “Shogunade” with grunted Japanese chants. The album also features what might be Sakamoto’s greatest collaboration, “Risky,” a sleek and forlorn pop tune featuring Iggy Pop. One can only wonder what a full album from the duo might have yielded.

Andy Beta

Recommended by

Suggestions
Copine. cover

Copine.

Taeko Onuki
Belle de Nuit cover

Belle de Nuit

Satsuki Shibano, Yoshio Ojima
Works II - TV/Inst. cover

Works II - TV/Inst.

Ryuichi Sakamoto
Venus cover

Venus

Logic System
Omni Sight Seeing cover

Omni Sight Seeing

Haruomi Hosono
D.M. cover

D.M.

Ichiko Hashimoto
Rice Music cover

Rice Music

Masami Tsuchiya