The unbelievably prolific Haruomi Hosono is one of the major architects of modern Japanese pop music. With his encyclopedic knowledge of music and boundless curiosity for new sounds, Hosono is the auteur of his own idiosyncratic musical world, putting his unmistakable stamp on hundreds of recordings as an artist, session player, songwriter and producer.

The unbelievably prolific Haruomi Hosono is one of the major architects of modern Japanese pop music. With his encyclopedic knowledge of music and boundless curiosity for new sounds, Hosono has put his unmistakable stamp on hundreds of recordings as a session player, producer, and auteur of his own idiosyncratic musical world. Born and raised in central Tokyo, his adolescent obsession with American pop culture informed his early forays into country music, which he would revisit later in his career. Hosono made his professional debut in 1969 as a member of Apryl Fool, whose heavy psychedelia was somewhat at odds with his influences, which leaned towards the rootsy sounds of Moby Grape and Buffalo Springfield. The latter was one of the main inspirations for his next group, Happy End, whose unique blend of West Coast sounds with Japanese lyrics proved to be highly influential over the course of three albums.

“Harry and Mac” is a duo unit by Haruomi Hosono (Harry) and Makoto Kubota (Mac). They have been close friends since the 1970s, recorded in Tokyo, LA and New Orleans in 1999 and released their only album. This album which has many Japanese and American musicians as guests is greatly influenced by the New Orleans funk and swamp-music of the early 70s. Contains 13 songs including “Night Shade”, a co-written song by them at the opening song of the album, a song written by Makoto Kubota and sung by himself, and Haruomi Hosono’s self-cover “Choo Choo Gatta Gotto ’99” and “Pom Pom Joki” and others."

Reuniting the best session musicians Japan had to offer to make an album that would evoke the atmospheres of South Pacific islands, the kind of places Japanese people spend their vacations in. Pacific (1978) is a treat to the ears; its theme of the southern Pacific ocean and its warm cerulean waters relax its listeners with a fusion of city pop, soft jazz, and that good old 1970’s funk while remaining surprisingly fully instrumental throughout all contributions from artists Haruomi Hosono, Shigeru Suzuki, and Tatsuro Yamashita. A true cult LP and an inspiration for a lot of, so called, “vaporware” music.