Ryuichi Sakamoto

Hidari Ude No Yume ALFA, 1981

You say: “Sakamoto said he wanted to fuse his spirit with that of a machine. This is where he achieves that.” Lloyd Mahoney, via Facebook

It’s certain this LP wouldn’t have made the list if it hadn’t been for Wewantsounds’ amazing double-disc reissue in 2020. Initially a Japan-only release, this collaboration with King Crimson’s Adrian Belew, M’s Robin Scott, Stockhausen alumnus Robin Thompson, plus Takahashi and Hosono of YMO, is a rhythm-based exercise in cut-ups, collage and texture, much like David Byrne and Brian Eno’s My Life In The

Bush Of Ghosts. The melodies are light, the vocals endearingly naive but the instrumental base (as featured on the reissue’s second disc) is astonishing, a blend of marimba, sho, hichiriki, and guitars with wailing no wave sax and dub rhythms.