At a recent concert in Tokyo, Haruomi Hosono enlisted a pair of comedy acts to open the proceedings. First stand-up duo Knights did a routine based on mangled misreadings of the headliner's Wikipedia page, then impersonator Michiko Shimizu and her brother, Ichiro, performed the Happy End song "Aiaigasa" in character as Akiko Yano and, er, Haruomi Hosono.
He may be one of the most revered figures in the Japanese music industry — a veteran of not one, but two of the most influential bands the country has ever produced — but Hosono isn't about to start taking himself seriously.
There's an air of nonchalance pervading "Vu Ja De," his 21st solo album. Spread over two discs yet clocking in at under an hour, it finds him joining the dots in his musical heritage, and seeking fresh inspiration by casting his eye backward.