77-year-old Haruomi—a.k.a. Harry—Hosono has always been ahead of the curve. After releasing a string of albums with his psychedelic folk rock band in the early 70s, he embarked on a remarkable solo career starting with 1973’s Hosono House. When the recording of Paraiso began in 1977, he enlisted Ryuichi Sakamoto and Yukihiro Takahashi to contribute to the record’s techno-exotica sound. The three enormously talented musicians quickly formed Yellow Magic Orchestra to explore their shared interest in then-nascent electronic instruments and synthesizers—something like Japan’s answer to Germany’s Kraftwerk. During their initial six-year run, YMO became a watershed in pop music, influencing everyone from Michael Jackson to Aphex Twin. Takahashi passed away in January 2023 of complications from a brain tumor, and Sakamoto lost his nearly decade-long battle with cancer just two months later. The last living member of YMO, Hosono plays “eclectic sounds and rhythms” at London’s Southbank Centre on Saturday July 19, alongside the young Japanese group CHO CO PA CO CHO CO QUIN QUIN. —Spike Carter