sharing and talking about a not-well-known but massively influential figure in late 20th ctry. pop, techno, and alternative.
Haruomi Hosono [abridged]: late 60's - bassist/vocalist in the first rock band to sing in Japanese early 70's - worked with Van Dyke Parks on a country-rock solo debut 70's - makes a lot of well-put-together exotica-influenced rock and pop records, some of which get mentioned on here a lot late 70's - collaborations with Ryuichi Sakamoto lead to a few projects that could be classified as jazz fusion, before spawning YMO with Yukihiro Takahashi early 80's - YMO dominates Tokyo airwaves, Hosono's solo work comprises tight, refined synthpop tracks alongside drone and found-noise ambient music 80's - heavy experimentation with sample-based music 90's - one-off collabs, noise projects
To bump i'll be uploading and posting some albums that aren't in the archive first, and maybe reposting some to get the word out.
The two of them went to India to try to get inspiration for a new project, but then they both got sick and spent the whole trip shitting their asses off. The resulting thing is almost totally unrelated to the story behind it.
This album basically goes back and forth between really well-made synthpop songs that are either funny or adorable, to really varied ambient compositions that are variably peaceful or downright eerie, even by today's standards
also, looking REALLY hard for a good download of this
Hosono & Koshi - Swing Slow
Luis Sanders
Gimme a minute, I've got it
Isaac Stewart
whup, realized an old link I posted to this album is gone from the archive. Not Hosono but he was a session musician in his circle and his music is in the same vein/context
kinda funny how ymo was originally envisioned as a minor one-off project by hosono before it exploded and became what it is remembered for today
Julian Russell
Absolute music legend One of my favorites. I wish it was easier to find sheet music and guitar tabs for his stuff.
PS Mac Demarco is a big fan
Landon Powell
Haruomi Hosono - Tropical Dandy (1975) >rock-pop, exotica like nearly all his solo albums, Tropical Dandy is a catalog of opportunities taken to try out new things within a theme. It becomes hard to categorize, but this album is generally a laidback, happy, exotica-laden thing.
Plus, the version I zipped when I uploaded this has a bonus track that I worked in with the metadata that's a live version of peking duck that I really like. Take it or leave it.
yeah i know. Shit, i gotta up Paraiso if it's not in there already.
Back when they were "yellow magic band" all working for Hosono as session musicians the album they made was AMAZING. i'll get that up if its not there.
It was there but relinking with a better description.
Haruomi "Harry" Hosono & his Yellow Magic Band - "Paraiso" (1978) >synth-rock/jazz fusion >other influenced: Japanese Traditional, Caribbean, Exotica
Yukihiro Takahashi and Ryuichi Sakamoto work as session musicians in this album that comes together incredibly well for being in such a transitional spot in the careers of all three musicians. This initiated the collaboration that would become YMO.
Good god thank you. do you have Saravah! by Takahashi? There's a thing I had to find on soulseek, i'll post it here if you want.
Hudson Campbell
this guy is definitely in my top 3 musicians, incredible man
Noah Smith
Haruomi Hosono and Friends Of Earth - SFX (1984) >sample-based electronic instrumentals and concrete-synthpop
This album is almost the logical conclusion to late french-touch imo, or at least a great premonition of what it and other sample-heavy club genres would come to be.
This is the low-point (imo) of his exotica projects. Its timing suggests that a lot of it was maybe diddies and covers that didn't make it onto Tropical Dandy as he kept pushing the exotica theme to its limit (which is sometimes tedious, sometimes fun).
