Haruomi Hosono, is without a doubt, one of the most important musicians/record maker in Japan. If I have to make a comparison with a Westerner, Van Dyke Parks comes to mind. Hosono is a producer, songwriter, founding member of YMO (Yellow Magic Orchestra) and very much a music historian. Of course, there are other figures in Japanese pop music that are important, but Hosono is unique in that he has a perspective that is very much Japanese but also has an understanding about music from other cultures. Also, to note, he knows about outside music that influenced Japanese taste and contemporary culture. In that sense, he's like Parks in that he knows his history and how to use it or comment on current culture by going back into the past and bringing back music, but in a different way or arrangement.
To dwell into Hosono's world is difficult just due to the range of music he made in his career. He went from traditional Japanese pop music to Hawaiian to rock to electro-pop, and ambient. The unique aspect of Hosono is that each style he investigates he does so with expert knowledge and an organic manner in appreciating the different types of music. It doesn't seem to be on a 'fashionable' or surface level, but a deep appreciation of how music has traveled around the world. It's interesting to note that Hosono uses the name Harry for these 'exotica' recordings.
"Paraiso" is a fascinating album that bridges his interest in tropical/exotica music but entering into the electronic world by baby-steps. Ryuichi Sakamoto and Yukihiro Takahashi make their first appearance here with Hosono before they formed YMO. So, the album is very much a journey, and it's not the destination that's important but the travel itself. 'Asatoya Yunta" is a traditional Okinawa song, but he also rips into "Fujiyama Mama," an American rockabilly song, which some may think is in rather bad taste, with respect to the bomb. Nevertheless, with humor and wit, Hosono makes his own planet of music that connects from dot to dot. A beautiful reissue from Light in the Attic, with a great interview in English with Hosono as an additional plus to the whole package.
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