Ryuichi Sakamoto’s Merry Christmas, Mr. Lawrence OST to be reissued on vinyl

When Bowie met Sakamoto.

Hot off the heels of Yellow Magic Orchestra’s breakup in 1983, Sakamoto took a left turn with the soundtrack to British-Japanese drama Merry Christmas, Mr. Lawrence.

Oddly enough the role also took Sakamoto onto the screen alongside David Bowie, as director Nagisa Oshima insisted he was the man for the part despite his complete lack of experience as an actor. The film’s main theme has been a companion of Sakamoto’s live show throughout his career – whether stripped down to piano basics or processed through the sonic lens of Alva Noto.

Now, over two decades on from its original release, Milan Records will give the soundtrack a fresh vinyl pressing. The label announced the news via Twitter, with a video of the test pressing and sharing October as the release date.

Earlier this year, Milan Records brought Sakamato and Alva Noto’s soundtrack to The Revenant to vinyl. Sakamoto’s legendary performance for London event series St. John Sessions was also recently released as a vinyl edition.

#MerryChristmasMisterLawrence LP test pressing – vinyl coming out in October #RyuichiSakamoto pic.twitter.com/UZQQf9GEaX

— Milan Records (@MilanRecLabel) July 11, 2016