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Bamboo Houses

"Bamboo Houses" is an electronic song by Japanese musician-composer Ryuichi Sakamoto and English singer-songwriter David Sylvian, released as a single on Virgin Records in 1982. It reached number 30 on the UK charts in the second week of August 1982.

The song has been noted for its similarities to modern grime music, 20 years before the genre was founded in 2002. Fact magazine said it "accidentally predicted" grime and called it "the earliest example of proto‑grime" with elements such as a "gleaming synth lead, syncopated drumming and the type of vaguely Asian motif that would go on to define" the Sinogrime subgenre.

The double A-side single "Bamboo Houses" / "Bamboo Music" was the first solo project by Sylvian, released while he was still a member of the band Japan. Similarly, Sakamoto was still a member of the band Yellow Magic Orchestra at the time, though he had already done some previous solo work.

It was the second collaboration between the two, the first being the track "Taking Islands in Africa" on the 1980 Japan album Gentlemen Take Polaroids which featured Sakamoto on keyboards. The "Bamboo Houses" single in turn featured drums by Japan member Steve Jansen, who also appeared in the promo video, and was co-produced by Steve Nye.

In 1983 Sylvian and Sakamoto would team up again on "Forbidden Colours", the theme song to the Nagisa Oshima film Merry Christmas Mr. Lawrence, along with several other projects in later years.

A remix of "Bamboo Houses" was included on David Sylvian's career retrospective Everything and Nothing in 2000 and A Victim of Stars 1982–2012 in 2012.

Composed and arranged by Ryuichi Sakamoto and David Sylvian.

Smash Hits reviewer David De Lisle wrote: "An enterprising project, a stunning sleeve, two talented performers from interesting bands... This should have been single of the forthnight. In fact it's disappointing, a double A-side that are really two slow and offbeat LP tracks."

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