Ryuichi Sakamoto : 'Riot In Lagos'

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I'm fascinated by this track - it seems so . . . ahead of its time. Does anybody know how it was put together? Am I right in thinking that Dennis Bovell was involved? And how was it received at the time (I think Peel used to spin it on Radio 1)? Was it a pre-'Planet Rock' dancefloor/boombox hit in NYC?

― Edmundo (Edmundo), Friday, 27 August 2004 09:59 (twenty-one years ago)

My comment about it being 'ahead of its time' is not particularly incisive, I know. But the track seems not to have any immediately identifiable antecedents - apart from a nod to Kraftwerk. I don't know much about YMO, btw.

― Edmundo (Edmundo), Friday, 27 August 2004 10:14 (twenty-one years ago)

mantronix has the song on his 'thats my beat' compilation of his favourite songs etc... it said somehwere that bovell was the engineer on the B 2 unit album. It is a good song too.

― see ar (see ar), Friday, 27 August 2004 13:23 (twenty-one years ago)

just about any Sakamoto and Hosono from this period is ridiculously ahead of its time. Cochin Moon! Tropical Dandy! Left Handed Dreams. whither the YMO revival?!

JP new-schooler Tao did a nice cover of "Lagos" on his Esoteric Red album (like nearly everything else on Language, overlooked and worth discovering), which IIRC spawned remix tribute 12"s featuring Plaid, Si Begg, and some of the Renegade Hardware guys.

― echoinggrove (echoinggrove), Friday, 27 August 2004 13:49 (twenty-one years ago)

minor correction: Masayuki Ishikawa's "Lagos" cover wasn't on the Tao album. just on the second of the remix 12"s.

― echoinggrove (echoinggrove), Friday, 27 August 2004 13:55 (twenty-one years ago)

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