Haruomi Hosono

Haruomi Hosono has had a hand in several of the defining shifts in post-war Japanese pop, from the rootsy songcraft of Happy End to the sleek futurism of Yellow Magic Orchestra. Before that, he began with the psychedelic band Apryl Fool, and across the decades since he has kept moving, treating pop, electronic music, soundtrack work and ambient composition as open ground rather than fixed camps.

His solo records trace that restless curiosity clearly, from the tropical tilt of Tropical Dandy and Paraiso to later film and electronic work. Hosono has also been an important producer and collaborator, working with artists including Akiko Yano, Sheena & The Roketts, Tatsuro Yamashita, Sandii & The Sunsetz, Miharu Koshi and Hajime Tachibana. The result is a catalogue that reaches widely without losing its personality.