Haruomi Hosono, Shigeru Suzuki & Tatsuro Yamashita: Pacific [VICTORY]

Why you'll love it

Pacific is a holy grail of Japanese city pop and exotica: Hosono on the verge of starting Yellow Magic Orchestra, joined by two of the era's finest musicians. "Cosmic Surfin'" is an early version of a YMO favourite.

This edition

• Single LP, 8 tracks
• Reissue with the original 1978 artwork

About the album

An instrumental cult curio from 1978 cooked up by three highly regarded Japanese composers, Pacific effortlessly lives up to its name.

Tatsuro Yamashita, Shigeru Suzuki and Haruomi Hosono (who was just about to sign on with Yellow Magic Orchestra when this record was made) offer up a whimsical blur of lounge-lizard tropicalia, breezy cocktail-hour jazz, wet electro-funk and occasionally something approaching Italo-disco on this singularly strange and enchanting piece of work. Trying to describe Pacific doesn't really do it justice, but it all kinda makes sense when you hear it even if the whole thing shouldn't really make a lick of sense at all. It's a one-of-a-kind record and, given the experimental predilections of all three chaps involved, remarkably easy on the ears in an almost "yacht rock" fashion. You'll definitely want a fruity drink with this one. Maybe a pool, too.

Also at Kops: more Haruomi Hosono on vinyl · browse World

Tracklist

Listen

A reissue of the 1978 album.