YMMV / Ryuichi Sakamoto

• Archive Panic: Has an absolutely enormous discography. From his solo work and soundtracks to his work with YMO and collaborations with other artists, he was constantly at work from the '70s all the way until his death.
• Big-Lipped Alligator Moment: Sakamoto's early work is generally quite experimental and unmelodic, yet his second release, Summer Nerves, is a pure party record with funk, disco and reggae influences.
• Broken Base: "Coro" is a divisive entry in Sakamoto's discography. To some, it's an innovative mix of chiptune and Harsh Noise that adds onto Chasm's overarching musings on the state of the world in the early 2000s. To others, it's just amorphous Sensory Abuse for the sake of Sensory Abuse with a flimsy justification.
• Covered Up: For a given definition of "cover" (given that he's a member of the group), Yellow Magic Orchestra's renditions of Sakamoto's solo work tend to be better-known than the originals, if only because of YMO's much higher profile.
• Friendly Fandoms: Thanks to his frequent collaborations with the man, Sakamoto's fanbase strongly overlaps with that of David Sylvian (and by extent, Japan). Both artists having eclectically experimental styles and displaying an interest in Maoist China in their early work further fuels the camaraderie between the two's fanbases.
• Signature Song: The main theme to Merry Christmas, Mr. Lawrence — both in its instrumental version and its vocal version, "Forbidden Colours" — remains his best-known work as a solo artist and a soundtrack composer, to the point where he and collaborator David Sylvian re-recorded it multiple times over the years.

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