Haruomi Hosono • Tadanori Yokoo ~ Cochin Moon [1978, King, 2005] 320/FLAC

KICS-1139

1. Hotel Malabar Ground Floor …Triangle Circuit On The Sea-Forest… 2:28
2. Hotel Malabar Upper Floor …Moving Triangle… 8:45
3. Hotel Malabar Roof Garden …Revel Attack… 8:58
4. Hepatitis 4:43
5. Hum Ghar Sajan 8:50
6. Madam Consul General of Madras 9:04



Composer - Haruomi Hosono
Keyboards – Shuka Nishihara, Hiroshi Sato, Ryuichi Sakamoto
Programmed By [Computer] – Hideki Matsutake
Artwork - Tadanori Yokoo

'Before performing with Ryuichi Sakamoto in classic Japanese synth pop outfit Yellow Magic Orchestra [or just YMO], producer and onetime session bassist Haruomi Hosono made his share of eclectic music. If you're familiar with YMO, you might imagine he was involved in Kraftwerk-influenced electronic music, or perhaps more traditional pop, but as it happens, he made his name as session bassist and playing in bands like the psychedelic Apryl Fool and folk rockers Happy End-- a far cry from the modernist slant of his reputation in the West. However, he also made a record in 1978 called Cochin Moon with keyboardist Shuka Nishihara, and future YMO bandmates Sakamoto and Hideki Matsutake that is arguably more bizarre and forward thinking than anything he's done since.

Cochin Moon-- co-credited to Pop artist Tadanori Yokoo, who did the incredible Bollywood-style cover art-- is an electro-tropical soundtrack to a fake movie of the same name. That is, there was no film called Cochin Moon, but after visiting India, Hosono was inspired to make music suggesting the exotic, luxurious, and seemingly wonder-filled scenarios played out in Indian cinemas. However, the actual sound he and his cohorts came up with is often a world away from India: Imagine a totally electronic world of chattering bugs, fluttering birds, magic harps and drums that alternate between a thud and a blip. Hosono shares compositional duties with Nishihara, and Sakamoto's playing style is readily on display, as are Matsutake's considerable programming skills. As a historical document to YMO fans, Cochin Moon is interesting; as a slice of out-music stuck somewhere between Tangerine Dream, Wendy Carlos and Disney's Fantasia"

a quick search in the engine reveals that this classic is pretty ubiquitous on the blogosphere, but most everyone seems to be sharing the same source folder. i knew when i embarked upon this blobbing endeavour that eventually eyed share a superior rip of this landmark album of candy coated gloops n' gleeps & that day has finally dawned, so please enjoy the upgrade