Haruomi Hosono (細野晴臣, Hosono Haruomi, born July 9, 1947 in Minato, Tokyo),… Read Full Bio ↴Haruomi Hosono (細野晴臣, Hosono Haruomi, born July 9, 1947 in Minato, Tokyo), also known as Harry Hosono, is a Japanese popular musician, best known internationally as a member of Yellow Magic Orchestra.

Hosono first came to attention in Japan as the bass player of the psychedelic rock band Apryl Fool, who released the album "The Apryl Fool" in 1969. Members from this band (including Hosono) then formed the influential folk-rock group Happy End, which led to Hosono's first collaboration with Van Dyke Parks. After Happy End disbanded, Hosono worked with a loose association of artists making "exotica"-style music under the title Tin Pan Alley and also released four solo albums with increasingly eclectic instrumentation. Additionally, he made an innovative electronic soundtrack for the film "Cochin Moon", together with artist Tadanori Yokoo.

In 1978, Hosono formed the Yellow Magic Orchestra with Yukihiro Takahashi and Ryuichi Sakamoto. The Yellow Magic Orchestra (a.k.a. YMO) released a number of albums in the late 70s and early 80s to considerable acclaim both inside and outside Japan. After YMO disbanded in 1984, Hosono released a number of solo albums covering a variety of styles, including film soundtracks, and a variety of electronic ambient albums.

He was one of the first producers to recognize the appeal of video game sounds and music. YMO's self titled debut in 1978 continued substantial game sounds and after YMO disbanded an early project was an album simply titled "Video Game Music" containing mixed and edited Namco game music and sounds. In the late 80s and early 90s the influence of world music on his music deepened, and he worked with international singers and musicians such as Amina Annabi.

As well as recording his own music, Haruomi has done considerable production work for other artists such as Miharu Koshi, Sheena and the Roketts, Sandii and the Sunsetz, Chisato Moritaka and Seiko Matsuda.

He's produced a number of short term band projects as a band member. His first post-YMO band was Friends of Earth. As with most of his projects he combines musical styles he's interested in. F.O.E. seemed to be a combination of Funk and Techno and included a collaboration with James Brown and Maceo Parker for a remake of the song "Sex Machine". Another notable band project was 1995's Love, Peace & Trance. Members were Mimori Yusa ("Love"), Miyako Koda ("Peace"), Haruomi Hosono ("&") and Mishio Ogawa ("Trance").

In the 1990s he started the Daisyworld label to release a wide range of experimental artists from Japan and the rest of the world. Hosono collorated on many of the releases, such as World Standard, a trip into Americana; HAT, a supergroup (the acronym stands for Hosono, Atom Heart, Tetsu Inoue),and "Quiet Logic", by Mixmaster Morris and Jonah Sharp. The Orb also paid tribute with a series of remixes including the notorious "Hope You Choke On Your Whalemeat".

In 2002 Haruomi formed the duo Sketch Show with his YMO band-mate Yukihiro Takahashi. They have released two albums, one of which, Loophole, has received a UK release. When the third former YMO member, Ryuichi Sakamoto deepened his involvement it was decided to bill those collaborations as Human Audio Sponge.

In 2007, his fellow YMO members and other artist paid tribute to Haruomi with a 2-disc album titled "Tribute to Haruomi" in Spring of 2007. Also, that same year, the animated film "EX MACHINA" (Appleseed) which will be released worldwide will feature a soundtrack performed and supervised by Haruomi Hosono.

恋は桃色
細野晴臣 Lyrics

Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴

ここがどこなのかどうでもいいことさ
どうやって来たのか忘れられるかな
土の香りこのペンキのにおい
壁は象牙色空は硝子の色

夜をつかって辿り着くまで
陽気な唄を吐き出しながら
闇へとつっぱしる火の車

赤いお月様と鬼ごっこ

ここは前に来た道
川沿いの道
雲の切れ目からのぞいた
見覚えのある街
トルットゥールルトルットゥールル
トルットゥールル

おまえの中で雨が降れば
僕は傘を閉じて
濡れていけるかな
雨の香りこの黴のくさみ
空は鼠色恋は桃色

ここは前に来た道
川沿いの道
雲の切れ目からのぞいた
見覚えのある街

トルットゥールルトルットゥールル
トルットゥールル

Overall Meaning

The lyrics to 細野晴臣's song 恋は桃色 describe a landscape of a familiar place, including the scent of earth and paint, ivory-colored walls, and a glass-colored sky. The singer is questioning the significance of the location and how they arrived there. They remember arriving by traveling through the night while singing a cheerful tune and racing towards the darkness. They remember the journey, walking along the riverside and peering through the clouds to catch a glimpse of the familiar town. The sweet, romantic scent of rain mixed with the musky smell of mildew fills the air, and the color of the sky is gray, while the color of love is rosy pink.

The singer is accompanied by a lover or friend, and they ponder whether they can keep moving forward, even if it means getting drenched in the rain. The song speaks to the importance of persevering through the hardships of love or any journey, even when we question what lies ahead. The lyrics are straightforward and simple, yet they bring to life an intoxicating feeling of nostalgia, romance, and hope.

Line by Line Meaning

ここがどこなのかどうでもいいことさ
It doesn't really matter where this place is

どうやって来たのか忘れられるかな
I wonder if I'll forget how I got here

土の香りこのペンキのにおい
I smell the earth and paint in the air

壁は象牙色空は硝子の色
The walls are ivory and the sky is glass-colored

夜をつかって辿り着くまで
Until we arrive by travelling through the night

陽気な唄を吐き出しながら
While singing cheerful songs out loud

闇へとつっぱしる火の車
A blazing fire car that rushes into the darkness

赤いお月様と鬼ごっこ
Playing tag with the red moon

ここは前に来た道
This is the way I've come before

川沿いの道
The road alongside the river

雲の切れ目からのぞいた
I looked through a break in the clouds