Feb 24, 2011 Who is Harry Hosono?
It’s easy to breeze past a column of YouTube videos, but together these clips make a point about Haruomi Hosono. Difficult to pin down, his style ranges from folk rock and proto electronica (recently shown some love by Deerhunter and The Fader) to tropical exotica and weird, watery dreamscapes inspired by a trip to India, the runs, and a guy with a synth. And this just in the years between 1973 and 1978–the middle period between Hosono’s most widely known bands: Happy End (whose Kaze o Atsumete turned up on the Lost in Translation soundtrack) and YMO. Just imagine all that he’s done before and since (or at least check out Sketch Show).
Soon you can hear the sound of his new HoSoNoVa, a long-awaited solo album of vocal tracks, originals and covers, featuring Hosono’s former Tin Pan Alley band mates, including Shigeru Suzuki (also of Happy End), and guests ranging from Yoko Ono to Van Dyke Parks. It’s out April 20, followed by a May 1 release show in Tokyo. I joined the lottery for tickets (link at the bottom of Hosono’s homepage). If I win, by hook or by crook I’ll make it.
folk rock
proto electronica
exotica
genuine faux