Hosono Haruomi - Psychedelic Artist of Rock and Roll

Hosono-sensei as he is sometimes referred to in Japan is probably the most influential artist in the history of Japanese popular music.

He started his career as the bassist of the psychedelic rock band Apryl Fool that predominantly released songs in the English language as it drew its influences from overseas groups such as The Beatles.

But it was when he joined forces with guitarists Eiichi Ohtaki and Shigeru Suzuki and drummer Takashi Matsumoto to form the folk-rock band Happy End that Hosono made an impact.

In 1973 Happy End split up and Hosono went on to a more creative path exploring the gap between the Japanese music scene and American rock music.

In 1978 he, together with drummer Yukihiro Takahashi and synth player Ryuichi Sakamoto, founded the infamous Yellow Magic Orchestra (YMO) that experimented in the field of electronic pop and parallels with German band Kraftwerk are not dismissible.

YMO influenced a whole generation and set the scene for a new genre that would later become J-POP.

In 1983 Japanese lifestyle retailer Muji commissioned Hosono to produce the in-store-background-music for their new store in Tokyo. The result was a cassette Watering a Flower.

In 2019 an American vinyl publisher rereleased Hosonos’ early solo albums.