Hosono’s work has shaped pop, indie, and electronic music and beyond globally for over five decades, predicting entire lanes of music before they existed. Frieze has proclaimed him as “probably the most significant artist in the history of Japanese popular music.” Now at the age of 78, Hosono is entering his next chapter with his 23rd studio album, Yours Sincerely due Sept 11th.

Shaped by mid-century American music, Hosono’s work now reverberates back through a new generation of Western artists—a remarkable circular exchange. Hosono has been cited by an acclaimed list of contemporary artists, including Mac DeMarco, Cameron Winter, Ginger Root, Vampire Weekend, and Harry Styles. Harry Styles named his chart-topping 2022 album Harry’s House directly after HOSONO HOUSE (1973), Mac DeMarco has called him his “hero,” and Vampire Weekend’s Ezra Koenig sampled his work on the Grammy-winning Father of the Bride. 

A founding member of Happy End and Yellow Magic Orchestra (YMO), Hosono helped establish Japanese-language rock in the 1970s and pioneered electronic music with YMO—whose 1979 album Solid State Survivor topped the Japanese Album Chart, sold over two million copies, and became foundational to synth-pop, techno, and hip-hop.