Haruomi Hosono: Yours Sincerely review

Haruomi Hosono is one of the most influential figures in Japanese music. In 1969, his psych-folk group Happy End were the first rock group to sing in Japanese; decades later, their song Kaze wo Atsumete was rediscovered for the Lost in Translation soundtrack. He was also an integral member of electronic pioneers Yellow Magic Orchestra, and scored movies and video games, while his solo albums swing from foundational city pop texts to experiments in ambient and arch exotica.

Now 79, with disciples including Van Dyke Parks and Harry Styles (who named 2022’s Harry’s House after 1973 solo album Hosono House), he still makes whatever music he wants. His 23rd solo album is wilful, playful, unpredictable and utterly beguiling. Rooted in the Japanese concept of omoiyari, roughly translated as compassion, these songs are big-hearted, focusing on warmth and positivity: opening reverie Note of Mothership features a chorus of overlapping voices murmur-singing “we are mothers”; the sweet Happy Holiday repeats its title over an enchantingly simple melody; Sincerely is a sleepy, Leon Redbone-esque strum.

But Yours Sincerely evades mawkishness with its mischievous invention. The Gallic waltz of Aayurveda is inverted exotica, with Europe cast as the mysterious “other”; the primitive electronica of Anemo Wheel channels the innocent charms of early synth innovators Isao Tomita and Wendy Carlos; Rojiura (Walking Vibration) is rooted in Japanese rhythms and percussion, but deliciously lost in time. Hosono’s themes of compassion and hope in humanity’s better side make this collection of miniatures and sketches something greater than its already bewitching parts.