Haruomi Hosono Love on a Monday: Getting Lost in His Video Game Music

Although everyday is Hosono day, those in need of a specific boost on this Monday might find fuel in some video game music by Haruomi Hosono. Inspired by the booming video arcade scene in Tokyo, Hosono absorbed the chaotic shock-of-the-new 8-bit rhythms and melodies and proceeded to Hosono-ize them.

Celebrating its 40th anniversary on April 25, Video Game Music is a founding chiptune document, and surprisingly inexpensive on the used market. It was released on Yen Records, with Hosono arranging and producing the 10 tracks by feeding them through filters and adding layers of sound.

“We called them arcade games, and those video games were everywhere at the time. All three YMO members loved playing those games,” Hosono told Todd Burns in a Red Bull Music Academy interview. “You could play them in coffee shops as well. The famous ‘Space Invaders.’ I didn’t know where they were from, but as a techno musician, I felt close to that industry. Then I found out that Taito is a Japanese company. I thought, ‘These are Japanese? So Tokyo is a “Technopolis” after all!’ I felt really excited by that and played those games a lot.”

Hosono continued:

Day in and day out, I played those tabletop video games found in coffee shops and restaurants obsessively. Then that one called “Xevious” came out. It was so fun. I played it until I could clear the stages. I don’t play them anymore though. What was the question? Anyway, the times were like that. Everyone from kids to adults began playing video games. And the record company said to me, “Please produce an album like this,” so I did. That’s the story.

Added Hosono of video game music: “We were the only ones who gave game music any attention. Normally it’s something that would be considered to be like Muzak, but the music for games like ‘Xevious’ and ‘Super Mario Brothers’ was excellent. There were composers who made them. And I thought it was a good idea to record their music for posterity. It wasn’t very common back then. It became quite a hit.”

That same year, Hosono wrote the theme song to Hayao Miyazaki’s Nausicaä of the Valley of the Wind.

On Monday at In Sheep’s Clothing NYC, we’ll be playing an all-Hosono group of album sides from across the brilliant composer and Yellow Magic Orchestra co-founder’s discography.

Details below:

Haruomi Hosono Dedicated Listening

Where: In Sheep’s Clothing NYC, 350 Hudson St. (Enter on King)
When: Monday, April 15, 2-5 p.m.