Ryuichi Sakamoto Ongaku Zukan Import LP & 12" Vinyl EP

Limited LP version, includes 12" EP with three extra tracks: "Replica," "Ma Mère l'Oye," and "Tibetan Dance (Version)."

The first-ever international release of Ryuichi Sakamoto's landmark 1984 album, Ongaku Zukan, originally issued in Japan on his own School label in 1984. Remastered by Saidera Mastering in Tokyo.

The early '80s were a turning point for Japanese musician Ryuichi Sakamoto. As a solo artist, the smash-hit soundtrack he had composed for 1983's Merry Christmas Mr. Lawrence had put him on the verge of becoming a global superstar. Meanwhile, he had called a halt to his work with Yellow Magic Orchestra, the influential, globally successful pop trio calling it quits after the release of their 1983 album Naughty Boys. Against this backdrop, Sakamoto descended on Tokyo's Onkyo Haus Studio to record his fourth solo album, Ongaku Zukan ("Musical Encyclopedia"), accompanied by a handful of musicians, including his ex-YMO partners Haruomi Hosono and Yukihiro Takahashi, and the prolifically talented Yasuaki Shimizu, Tatsuro Yamashita and Toshinori Kondo.

It was on his return to the studio the following year that the album truly began to take shape. Released in August 1984, the album Ongaku Zukan proved a huge success, providing Sakamoto with his first top five hit in Japan. Filled with inspired melodies that showcase his unique gift as a composer, it offers up a fascinating mix of styles.

Featuring remastered audio with bonus tracks and new liner notes by Andy Beta, this is the very first time that the two 1984 Japanese editions of Ryuichi Sakamoto's classic album have been released internationally in collaboration with the artist's management and Midi Inc., with remastered audio and the original artwork faithfully reproduced.