Ryuuichi Sakamoto

Ryuichi Sakamoto 坂本 龍一
Sakamoto in 2010
Born	(1952-01-17) January 17, 1952 (age 65) Tokyo, Japan
Nationality	Japanese
Education	Tokyo National University of Fine Arts and Music
Occupation	Musician composer record producer pianist activist writer actor dancer
Years active	1975–present
Spouse(s)	Akiko Yano (m. 1982–2006)
Children	Miu Sakamoto
Website	sitesakamoto.com
Musical career
Genres	Electronic pop classical experimental world ambient
Instruments	Keyboard piano synthesizer drums
Labels	Columbia Alfa Sony Japan EMI For Life Warner Commmons A&M Restless
Associated acts	Yellow Magic Orchestra Akiko Yano Chris Mosdell Sandii Japan David Sylvian Kiyoshiro Imawano Michael Jackson Mari Iijima David Bowie Youssou N'Dour Madonna Talvin Singh Sketch Show

Ryuichi Sakamoto (坂本 龍一, Sakamoto Ryūichi, born January 17, 1952) (Japanese pronunciation: [sakamoto ɾʲɯːit͡ɕi̥]) is a Japanese musician, composer, record producer, pianist, activist, writer, actor and dancer, based in Tokyo and New York. He began his career while at university in the 1970s, as a session musician, producer, and arranger. His first major success came in 1978 as co-founder of the electronic music trio Yellow Magic Orchestra (YMO). With bandmates Haruomi Hosono and Yukihiro Takahashi, Sakamoto helped play a pioneering role in the development of synth-pop, techno and house genres.

He concurrently pursued a solo career, releasing the experimental electronic fusion album Thousand Knives (1978), and later released the pioneering album B-2 Unit (1980), from which "Riot in Lagos" influenced the development of electro and hip hop music. He went on to produce more solo records, collaborate with many international artists, and pursue a wide variety of projects, in different genres ranging from electronic to classical and world music. He composed music for the 1992 Barcelona Olympics opening ceremony, and his composition "Energy Flow" (1999) was the first instrumental number-one single in Japan's Oricon charts history. He has collaborated with a range of artists, including David Sylvian, Carsten Nicolai, Youssou N'Dour, and Fennesz.