Even those who are unfamiliar with Haruomi Hosono have probably heard his music somewhere. It could have been in a commercial or at a café, or perhaps sung by Bill Murray. That’s right: ‘Kaze wo Atsumete’, the song Murray’s character Bob Harris performed in ‘Lost in Translation’, was composed by Hosono for his band Happy End – the folk rock group he formed long before becoming part of the legendary Yellow Magic Orchestra (YMO).
To the uninitiated, YMO is a Japanese electronic music outfit formed in Tokyo back in 1978. Together with his bandmates Yukihiro Takahashi and Ryuichi Sakamoto, Hosono is considered an influential and leading figure in the local electronic music scene, known for their key roles in the popularisation of several EDM genres including J-pop, synthpop and techno.
Now aged 71, Hosono is back in the international spotlight thanks to American label Light In The Attic, which last year re-released five of his albums from the ’70s and ’80s. The response to these has been remarkable, with Hosono now scheduled to play gigs in both New York and Los Angeles in May and June this year.
While Hosono started out by exploring American music history through the window of rock, he later took on both internationally focused techno-pop and domestic pop, and even dabbled in ambient in the very early days of that genre. Looking back at the history of Japanese popular music from the late ’60s until today, Haruomi Hosono shows up as a permanent presence, so perhaps it’s no wonder that his eclectic career and innovative spirit are now capturing the attention of a truly global audience.
March 6, the day we sat down with Hosono for this interview, marked the release of ‘Hochono House’ – a reimagination of his 1973 debut album ‘Hosono House’. About to reach yet another generation of open-minded listeners, the artist himself still hasn’t quite wrapped his head around the attention.
Were you aware that people from other parts of the world are really interested in your music now?
Not at all – I was a bit surprised actually [when getting word about the planned re-release in 2018]. I just thought there are people with quirky tastes in America. But with Vampire Weekend sampling ‘Hana ni Mizu’, which is one of my old instrumental pieces, and other things like that, I gradually started to realise that there’s international demand for my stuff.
Why do you think that is?
I guess it’s because the internet has changed what information is available. YouTube is such an effective medium. I also think that with the music industry becoming more and more establishment-like, people are countering that by becoming more sensitive and open to music that doesn’t sound like everything else – the kind of music you won’t hear on the radio.
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What is the concept behind your new album ‘Hochono House’?
First of all, I decided that I was going to create it all on my own, and then just started out without much to go with. I would probably have finished it sooner and with less effort if I had been working with my usual band members, but I didn’t want to take the easy way out. It was really hard.
Why were you so adamant about going at it alone?
Listening to my old demo tapes, I noticed that I was playing alone, instead of doing sessions with anyone else to decide on this or that arrangement. I wanted to go back to that way of doing things.
You always approach music-making from two different perspectives: one from the point of view of a musician and another from the listener’s. I think that has had an impact on other musicians around the world.
If that’s true, I’m happy to hear it. Lately I’ve been making acoustic boogie, and playing only old stuff on my radio show. Young people take a fresh approach to those things, which are what I have been wanting to do. The music of the 20th century is such a mountain of treasures, but our path to those treasures has been cut off. Unless someone does something about it, we may no be able to reach the mountain any longer. My mission is to keep that connection alive, so having my music reach people in other countries, be it the US or somewhere else, makes me happy.
Had I gone on a tour of the US a decade ago, I think the audience would have been only techno fans of the YMO generation. They might have booed me had I played the stuff I’m making now, but now I think times have changed.
You’ve written that life is neither a straight line nor a circle, but an upward spiral. I think you can say the same for ‘Hochono House’.
Well, I’m actually just wandering all over the place. But you can’t just draw a line from one point to the other and follow it. Life sometimes turns you upside down. Maybe I’ll turn into a baby next, like Benjamin Button...
Have you been listening to any new music lately?
I didn’t for about 10 years, but I have checked out some new stuff recently. I get curious about people’s sounds all of a sudden – about once every 10 years. I tried to be objective when making this album, and compared various sounds to each other to establish standards. I didn’t do that for my previous album, so I guess this marks a turning point. As for names, I like Keepon – he’s a 15- or 16-year-old kid. Olympic athletes all feel young to me now, and maybe that’s true of musicians too.
Some of the lyrics on ‘Hochono House’ differ from those on ‘Hosono House’. What has changed for you between the two albums?
Back then [in 1973] you could still feel the Tokyo of old, but it was already disappearing. We used to lament that with Takashi [Matsumoto, Happy End’s drummer and lyricist] and the others. But now, it’s all gone. I have no emotional attachment [to modern Tokyo].
What are you looking forward to on your US tour?
I think America has also lost a great many things. I have a longing for diners, so I’d like to ask the locals where to find a good old-school diner and go look for one.
