Music | Sound Off Jun 5, 2022
Harry and the house that Hosono built
by Patrick St. Michel
None other than global pop star Harry Styles takes inspiration from one of Japan's most-talented musicians. The question is, will the West follow?
Music May 27, 2022
by Patrick St. Michel
Happy End’s decision in 1970 to play American-inspired yet sing in Japanese proved to be a watershed moment for pop music here.
Music / CD Reviews | LISTENING POST Feb 25, 2021
‘Heisei no Oto’: A sonic trip to the golden age of CDs
by James Hadfield
Osaka record store owners Eiji Taniguchi and Norio Sato have unearthed some musical treasures from 1989-96 for this bright and buoyant compilation.
Film / Reviews Oct 23, 2019
'No Smoking': Poking the embers of Haruomi Hosono's career
by James Hadfield
Marking the 50th anniversary of Haruomi Hosono's musical career, 'No Smoking' takes a look at his life and some of his famed concerts
Music Jun 19, 2019
Pioneering singer-songwriter Sachiko Kanenobu finally gets her due
by James Hadfield
If she had to sum up the past couple of years, Sachiko Kanenobu would probably opt for a simple "OMG!" "That's what I've said so many times, repeating over and over and over: 'Oh my God!'" she says, speaking by phone from her home in ...
Music / CD Reviews | LISTENING POST Mar 13, 2019
Haruomi Hosono reworks a modern classic with 'Hochono House'
by James Hadfield
As he enters his 50th year in the music business, Haruomi Hosono hasn't lost his talent for making you wonder what the devil he's up to. After using modern studio technology to recreate the sounds of mid-20th century pop on "Vu Ja De" in ...
Music Nov 22, 2018
Yellow Magic Orchestra go big and go home
by Irma Nunez
Yellow Magic Orchestra made its 1980 debut on the legendary American dance show “Soul Train” performing a cover of “Tighten Up” by Archie Bell & the Drells, two years after the November 1978 release of the trio’s eponymous first album Dressed in logoed button-downs with ...
Music Aug 23, 2018
Haruomi Hosono: 'I never tried to be a pioneer'
by Paul Fisher
Haruomi Hosono is widely regarded as one of the most important figures of Japanese popular music over the past 50 years. The grandson of the only Japanese passenger and survivor aboard the Titanic, he was born in Tokyo in 1947. From the end of the ...
Music / CD Reviews | LISTENING POST Nov 29, 2017
'Vu Ja De': Fans of Haruomi Hosono are rewarded with a deep dive
by James Hadfield
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 ...
Music Apr 11, 2017
The beginnings of Mariah's sound
by Patrick St. Michel
When U.S. label Palto Flats reissued Japanese band Mariah's album "Utakata no Hibi" ("Ephemeral Days") in 2015, it wasn't the first time an obscure record from the bubble era had been given new attention. However, the critical praise that followed the release triggered new ...
Music Dec 2, 2014
Flipping through rock's baby pictures
by Dexter Thomas
In the mid-1960s, a young Mike Nogami picked up a camera and started taking pictures of things around him — dogs, his neighborhood, friends playing guitar. Some of those friends were in a band called Happy End, the group that Haruomi Hosono played bass ...