Haruomi Hosono

been listening to tropical dandy a lot recently, liking it a lot

yeah, that lullaby-type instrumental at the end is amazing. but really Bon Voyage Co. and ESPECIALLY Paraiso are even better.

Man, 'Cochin Moon.' It's astonishing that they were using the relatively new musical form (electronic pop music) with such total control, making it sound effortless and alive in ways electronic pop made with a further couple decades rarely match. I'd say it almost makes 'E=MC2' sound a little clunky. And the production is just unbelievable--not sure what method is employed, but it has moments that create a surround-sound effect--beyond stereo, sounds around the listening point, or moving far away or nearby in front of you.

It's like Dockstader or Parmegianni or Henry--making fully-realized, emotional electronic and electro-acoustic music a decade or two earlier, while most people were just barely managing to twiddle knobs and make "UFO sound effects". So far ahead of the game, I'd be bowled over if it were released today--because it's just so good, it's decidedly secondary that it's visionary.

good description, just wanted to point out that "Hum Ghar Sajan" blows me away every damn time, I wish there were more songs like that one

I'm starting to get into his Omni Sight Seeing/Medicine Comp/NDE period and it's pretty good; essentially a mix of the different styles he's attempted, plus some very Indian-style techno, again ahead of its time. Strongly recommended, it turns out there is life after YMO

"birthday" is so cool

"happy birthday", i mean. sounds so far ahead of its time.

One last time. "birthday party"

only song i've ever uploaded to youtube is a killer cover of "sports man"

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7gi8futLRbM

hey that's neat! love the different vocals that occur midway through.

I always wondered what Sportsmen was about...my guess was it's about being from a family of athletes, but kind of sucking at everything?

I don't know if I can call "Birthday Party" ahead of its time; who else makes music like that??

i love how Sportsmen has this endearingly outsider/emasculated point of view as he considers fitness, it always makes me think of retro illustrations of athletes as a sort of utopian ideal.

just wanna paste these lyrics, it sounds like he's having a near-death experience (and then again, it could just be about nothing)

My car radio's playing a song
That makes me feel very strange
It's taken so long
Through the gradation of the grey scale
A landscape like I've never seen
As far as my eyes can see
Out on the road
I've seen so many shades, shades of grey
Now I'm back in the tunnel again
Every minute, every second
I can feel it getting closer
Speeding ahead
To where grey meets white

thematically, the lyrics of "sportsmen" remind me of "pride" by robert palmer (except the dude in "pride" is a total prick and the dude in "sportsmen" is humble and introspective).

i just made a ~75 minute mix of Hosono tracks, mostly from his post-YMO era (topping out at 1993 since I haven't heard anything after), focusing on the more surreal/gorgeous stuff. anyone interested?

y'huh

and yes, please, and thank you!

Hells yes frogbs, post that thing!

been spinning the monad stuff a lot lately, so this sounds right up my alley. v much interested!

Alright, here she is. Nearly every Hosono album I've heard has two or three tunes on it that hit me in a weird way, or make me want to listen to them over and over again, so I basically just put a bunch of them into one playlist and I've been listening to it nonstop. It focuses on the electronic stuff, though there are a few solo piano tracks here. I kept everything from the (numerous) collaborations out as well as his pre-Cochin Moon material since it doesn't really fit in here. Enjoy!

http://www.sendspace.com/file/r4b8ud

into this, thank you.

just discovered the tale of genji ost this week. incredible.

those shimmering, reverb-drenched percussion sounds. man.

I always hosono every day

the percussion is my favorite part of many of these tracks. listening to them all in a row it's kind of neat how consistant he is with that, even with the ten-year gap the drum loops on "Hum Ghar Sajan" and his cover of "Caravan" are very similar, ditto "Sayokoskatti"

one thing I really dig about Hosono is that there's a real sense of location to a lot of his music. it doesn't really feel like it was created in a studio. the tale of genji ost is a good example of this but really everything he does kind of transports you to a strange place.

"sayokoskatti" is so awesome

yep

http://i.imgur.com/i0eBG.jpg

i'd put that on my car

"sayokoskatti" is so awesome

Thirded. All time.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_yB2sxzq4TE&playnext=1&list=PL56FFF887D6F3EE79

really like how chill old Harry is. great rendition

and here we have him dancing around the studio. didnt know he had another new album out (this time, all covers, from Dylan to Tiny Tim to Kraftwerk)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qeHTFlkBBcM

um this is the greatest thing i've ever heard

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PxvjXDAfPhk

wrote a bit about why I love Paraiso so much here

http://critterjams.wordpress.com/2013/12/11/haruomi-hosono-paraiso-1978/

Anyone heard the album he did with Miharu Koshi called Swing Slow? It's one of those rare albums I wound up playing 3x the first time I got it, dunno how to really describe it well but there's something about this. It's mostly poppy in the Shibuya-kei sense but not overly cheery or anything, and a lot of the songs have a 50's or 60's vibe to them. But there is some rather modern-sounding production, through neat ambient interludes or sudden electronic beats. Kinda jokey and it can be a little sparse but it's very high-quality, maybe the best 90's Hosono release I've heard so far. It does contain a cover of "I'm Leavin' it up to You", which was a hit for the Osmonds I believe, and "Good Morning, Mr. Echo", which I hadn't heard before:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RPAt0J-e0yU&noredirect=1

yeah! I really like this one. interesting production choices all around and it gives the straight material a slightly peculiar character I'm into. it really gets cooking with the last couple tracks. big fan of "capybara":
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=d22PIXGVP9w

but I think my favorite 90s hosono thing is still love, peace, & trance. that one is top tier imo or pretty damn close anyway (tough to say with someone with so many classics in his catalog).

Frogbs, is there any chance you could repost that Hosono mix you did? I missed it first time round.

I lost it too. But, I can make a new and better one!

That'd be great!

I've never gotten to grips with his solo work, especially 80's onward, same goes for Sakamoto.

Yuki's solo stuff that I have heard, I've not been very impressed with even though he's undeniably an interesting dude.

Here's a mix I did a year or so back of YMO and related stuff including Hosono and Sakamoto

Kicks off with "Gradated Gray", my favorite YMO tune...very nice!!!

Alright, here we go. This time I cheated by using some of Hosono's productions, though I tried to keep it to the stuff that sounds most like his solo work. Mostly, I was trying to pull the tracks I liked best. Maybe cheating a bit but I think they all fit together quite well. Already I feel I whiffed on this by not including any Happy End, but its too late to change now. I have yet to hear all his albums and I'm sure I missed a great pick or five but I've been listening to these mixes today and they seem real solid so far!

I divided this roughly into the more ambient tracks and the more techno or pop oriented ones, both about 70 minutes long so they'll fit on a CD-R. I know that's a lot but this is a 4-decade, dozen-band career we're talking here! Enjoy!

Hosono Technopop

1. Chaos Panic - Yellow Magic Orchestra B-Side, 1983 (???)
2. Living-Dining-Kitchen - Philharmony, 1982
3. Image - Miharu Koshi Parallelisme, 1984
4. Return of Body Snatchers - F.O.E. Friend or FOE?, 1985 (I believe this is a Hosono solo track)
5. Right Place Wrong Time - F.O.E. Sex, Energy and Star, 1986 (Dr. John cover!)
6. Sayokoskatti - Coincidental Music, 1985
7. Tokyo Shyness Boy - Bon Voyage Co., 1976
8. Capybara - Swing Slow, 1996
9. [japanese title] - World Standard, 1985 (Hosono produced this album and this is the track that most bears his touch)
10. Caravan - Omni Sight Seeing, 1989
11. Asatoya Yunta - Paraiso, 1978
12. I'm Leaving It All Up to You - Swing Slow, 1996
13. Good Morning, Mr. Echo - Swing Slow, 1996
14. Hush-a Mandala Ni Pali - Love, Peace, and Trance, 1995
15. Flying George - Sketch Show Audio Sponge, 2002
16. Memphis, Milano - Coincedental Music, 1985

http://www.sendspace.com/file/ydlcvi

Hosono Ambient Mix

1. Shimendoka - Paraiso, 1978
2. Gradated Gray - Yellow Magic Orchestra Technodelic, 1981
3. Kokoro Da - Love, Peace, and Trance, 1995
4. Wakamurasaki - The Tale of Genji soundtrack, 1987
5. La Gojo - Nokto de la Galaksia Fervojo soundtrack, 1985. Miharu Koshi on vocals.
6. Birdoj - The Endless Talking, 1987
7. Mass - Yellow Magic Orchestra BGM, 1981
8. La Travida Malgojo de Giovanni - Nokto de la Galaksia Fervojo, 1985
9. Hum Ghar Sajan - Cochin Moon, 1978
10. Bio Philosophy - Coincidental Music, 1985
10. Bamboo Wave - Good Sport, 1995
11. Fly me to the River - Sketch Show Loophole, 2003
12. Hasu Kriya - Love, Peace, and Trance, 1995
13. Ohotzka - Sketch Show Tronika, 2003
14. Ekot (Cornelius Mix) - Sketch Show Loophole, 2003
15. Pleocene - Omni Sight Seeing, 1989

http://www.sendspace.com/file/bf1hc9

these look awesome!

but

...no "windy land"??? ;-)

thanks, frogbs

whoa these look great, frogbs! Thanks!

I'm really enjoying the ambient one, well most of it anyway. Thank you very much, frogbs.

Here's a mix I did a year or so back of YMO and related stuff including Hosono and Sakamoto

― That elusive North American wood-ape (Capitaine Jay Vee), Wednesday, March 12, 2014 11:35 PM (Yesterday) Bookmark Flag Post Permalink

any chance you could post a tracklist?

seconded - there were some tunes in there that I didn't recognize and I'm curious what they were. YEN records stuff maybe?

Thank you very much Frogbs and Capitaine!

A few weeks back a friend requested a mix of 'some of that Japanese stuff you like' so in the spirit of sharing here is a link.

It's a mish-mash of Shibuya Kei, some older new wave and some things in-between.

http://we.tl/pZbLNC13e8

1. Clammbon - Rock Climbing
2. Kahime Karie - Mike Alway's Diary
3. Akiko Yano - Ikanaide
4. Comoesta Yaegashi - Bossa With Madam Rosa
5. Fantastic Plastic Machine - L'Aventure Fantastique
6. Ikuko Harada - Kodama
7. Cubismo Grafico - Obrigado Obrigada
8. Hikashu - The Model
9. Our Hour - Panda Riot
10. Shione Yukawa - 風よ吹かないで
11. Mariah - そこから
12. Capsule - Sweet Time Replay (feat. Dahlia)
13. Midori Hirano - Ancient Story In The Room
14. Nagisa Cosmetic - Cosmetic Happy
15. Happy End - Ghosts Of Flying Squirrels At Kuriyamizaka
16. Hazel Nuts Chocolate - Kaze Hiite Batankyuu
17. Macdonald Duck Eclair - Many Many Sweets
18. Buffalo Daughter - Ivory
19. The Folk Crusaders - Harenchi

Hey guys sorry but never made a tracklist. There's stuff off bootleg demos and rehearsals floating around on there if I recall
but it's all mainly released stuff.

np, just thought I'd ask in case you had it handy