細野晴臣 / Cochin Moon (LP)

在YMO結成的前夕，細野晴臣受邀與橫尾忠則進行了一趟印度放浪之旅，將途中體驗製作成一張以”觀光音樂”為概念的專輯，由橫尾繪製專輯封面，細野則捨棄了吉他貝斯與鼓，找來坂本龍一與松武秀樹協助，首次完全以合成器等電子樂器製作整張專輯。 A面以當時他們的投宿旅店「Hotel Malabar」為名，充滿藥味的正弦波在腦內左右碰撞，一路從大廳trip到屋頂。B面則是一趟祭祀之旅，融合當地音樂元素的節奏有著「熱帶音樂三部曲」尾端的韻味，精巧的音像設計與橫尾的畫作完美匹配，無限飄渺的LFO與電子琵音交錯來回讓人忘了身在何處，就似異國情調永遠是不存在的神秘他方。

（text by Spazz Society）

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Tracklist

Side A
1 ホテル マラバル 一階…海の三角形
2 ホテル マラバル 二階…動く三角形
3 ホテル マラバル 屋上…レベル・アタック

Side B
1 肝炎
2 ハム・ガラ・サジャン
3 マドラス総領事夫

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. 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. After the band’s amicable break up in 1973, Hosono began his solo career with Hosono House, an intimate slice of Japanese Americana recorded inside a rented house with recording gear squeezed into its tiny bedroom. Hosono’s solo career would take many twists and turns from this point forward, with forays into exotica, electronic, ambient, and techno, culminating in the massive success of techno pop group Yellow Magic Orchestra (YMO).

Released in September 1978, a mere two months before YMO’s debut, Cochin Moon is a clear precursor to the groundbreaking synth and sequencer-dominated sounds that would come to define the iconic trio. Credited to Hosono and Pop Art legend Tadanori Yokoo (who created the cover art), Cochin Moon is a fictional soundtrack to a journey into unknown worlds, inspired by Hosono and Yokoo’s trip to India. Initially the album was to be a kind of ethnographic musical document, using found sounds and field recordings made by Hosono himself. Instead, after Yokoo introduced Hosono to the sounds of Kraftwerk and krautrock during the trip, Cochin Moon became something much stranger. Created almost entirely on synthesizers and sequencers with the help of future YMO collaborators Ryuichi Sakamoto and Hideki Matsutake, the music on the album is the perfect encapsulation of Hosono’s concept of “sightseeing music,” transporting the listener to an exotic place that may or may not exist. This highly sought-after album sees its first-ever official release outside of Japan.

Admired by artists ranging from Van Dyke Parks to Mac DeMarco, Hosono continues to forge ahead as he heads into his fifth decade as a musician. With the re-release of his key albums for the first time outside of Japan, his genius will be discovered by a whole new generation of fans around the world.