Overview
“Philharmony” is the sixth solo album by Japanese musician Haruomi Hosono.
Commentary
Hosono and Yukihiro Takahashi had established their own record label YEN Records (1982–1985) in Alfa Records in 1982 when they were members of YMO.
The album “Philharmony” was recorded and mixed by Hosono and engineer Yoshifumi Iio at LDK Studio in Tokyo in 1982, and was released on LP as the first releases of the YEN Records along with Hajime Tachibana’s album “H” in the same year.
Hosono produced the music of the album almost by himself by using E-mu Emulator I (sampler), Roland MC-4 (sequencer), Prophet-5 (analog synthesizer), and LinnDrum (drum machine).
Though it is an experimental synth-pop album with heavy use of sampling, it also includes three pop songs featuring Hosono’s vocals: “Funiculi Funicula”, “Living-Dining-Kitchen”, and “Sports Men”.
The lyrics are English (partly Japanese).
The first press edition of the album was accompanied by a flexi disc “Yume-Miru Yakusoku (A Promise to Dream)“. “Yume-Miru Yakusoku” is a song in the Shōwa Kayō style, which was produced by Hosono under the influence of Guernica (a band he had produced in YEN Records).
“Funiculi Funicula” is a cover with Japanese lyrics of “Funiculì, Funiculà” (1880), an Italian popular song (Canzone Napoletana) composed by Luigi Denza.
“Luminescent/Hotaru” is a track based on the sound of Gamelan gong.
“Living-Dining-Kitchen” is a funky synth-pop song like Sly & The Family Stone.
“Birthday Party” is an avant-garde track composed by looping sampled sounds, such as breaths, voices, noises, and instruments.
“Sports Men” is a synth-pop song with a catchy melody.
“Air-Condition” is an ambient music-style track including sounds like air flow noises. It shows the influence of Brian Eno’s ambient series.
In 2005, the remastered edition of the album was released on CD by SMDR GT Music. The purchasers of this CD could listen to “Yume-Miru Yakusoku” on streaming on the Internet.
In 2019, the remastered edition by Yoshinori Sunahara was released on SACD hybrid and LP by GT Music. The SACD hybrid includes “Yume-Miru Yakusoku” as a bonus track.
Personnel
- Haruomi Hosono – synthesizer, programming, vocals, LinnDrum
- Hideki Matsutake – MC-4 computer programming
- Yukihiro Takahashi
- Kōji Ueno
- Yukimasa Okumura – voice on track 2
- Ryuichi Sakamoto – piano on track 6
- Shigeru Umebayashi – voice on track 6
- Namu (a cat) – voice on track 7
- Masako (Masami) Hikasa – voice on track 7
- Masayoshi Sukita – breaths on track 7
- Hajime Tachibana – voice on track 7
- Keiko Shinozaki – voice on track 7
- Films – noises on track 7
- Moro Fukuzawa – voice on track 7
- Kazuhiko Katō – voice on track 8
Track Listing
All the tracks composed and produced by Haruomi Hosono except for “Funiculi Funicula”.
Original LP
- Picnic – 1:52
- Funiculi Funicula – 4:31
- Luminescent/Hotaru – 4:22
- Platonic – 4:20
- In Limbo – 2:25
- Living-Dining-Kitchen – 3:46
- Birthday Party – 3:51
- Sports Men – 4:02
- Philharmony – 3:22
- Air-Condition – 4:23
2019 remastered edition (SACD hybrid) bonus track
- Yume-Miru Yakusoku – 4:05