Music / Cochin Moon

Cochin Moon is a collaborative album between Japanese artist Haruomi Hosono and graphic designer Tadanori Yokoo (under the name Hosono & Yokoo). It came out through King Records in 1978 and was the third and last album he released during that productive year of his career.

The initial setting of the album was a trip between Haruomi and Tadanori in India. Tadanori was suppposed to take part in the album musically but had a severe case of diarrhea during the trip, making it a Hosono solo album illustrated by Yokoo. Conceptually, Cochin Moon is the soundtrack to an imaginary Bollywood film divided in two parts, the first part being experimental, the second one being influenced by indian folkloric music (and also referencing India's colonial history). Compared to Hosono's previous work, the album stands out thanks to its extensive use of synthesizers and elements of World Music which would reappear much later in Hosono's solo career.

Future YMO members Ryuichi Sakamoto and Hideki Matsutake took part in the album's recording, as well as Hosono's band Tin Pan Alley.

Tracklist:

Side A (Hotel Malabar)

1. "Ground Floor···Triangle Circuit on the Sea-Forest" (2:28)
2. "Upper Floor···Moving Triangle" (8:45)
3. "Roof Garden···Revel Attack" (8:58)

Side B (untitled)

4. "Hepatitis" (4:43)
5. "Hum Ghar Sajan" (8:50)
6. "Madam Consul General of Madras" (9:04)

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This album provides examples of:

• Ambient: "Ground Floor" starts with ocean waves, and bird sounds replicated by a synthesizer. In terms of sub-genres, it is reminiscent of Kankyo Ongaku ^note environmental music, a nature-based ambient response to Japan's growing urbanism in The '80s (the genre itself has been retroactively assigned to this decade, making Cochin Moon a precursor).
• Boléro Effect: "Madam Consul General of Madras" has an ostinato from the first minute to the seventh where it switches to ambient.
• Bookends "Madam Consul General of Madras" ends with the same ambient sounds that are heard on "Ground Floor".
• Named After Somebody Famous: The second half of the album is credited to Shuka Nishihara, a pseudonym of Hosono which is based on Japanese writer Hakushu Kitahara.
• Concept Album: Based on Hosono's trip in India. The first half of the album (Hotel Malabar) is a reference to the hotel where he stayed while the second half is indian folkloric music. The album as a whole is the soundtrack to a fictional Bollywood film.
• Cover Version: "Hum Ghar Sajan" is originally an indian song popularized by Bhai Pyara Singh Ji.
• Design Student's Orgasm: The excentric cover art done by Tadanori Yokoo, one of Japan's most known graphic designers.
• Epic Rocking: All songs except "Ground Floor" and "Hepatitis" last over 8 minutes.
• Gratuitous Foreign Language: "Hum Ghar Sajan" is sung in hindi.
• In-Scene Title Text: The back cover features the tracklist and the personnel on the front of the Malabar Hotel, an indian hotel where Hosono stayed during his trip.
• Instrumentals: "Upper Floor···Moving Triangle" and "Madam Consul General of Madras".
• Location Song
  • Cochin is the former english name of Kochi, a city of southern India. It is also the name of a kingdom which disappeared after India's independence in 1947.
  • The first half of the album contains songs named in reference to floors of the Hotel Malabar, an indian hotel Hosono stayed in during his trip. The hotel's front can be viewed on the back cover of the album.
  • "Madam Consul General of Madras" refers to the presidency of Madras, a subdivision of British India which disappeared after the country's independence in 1947.
• Longest Song Goes Last: "Madam Consul General of Madras", clocking at 9 minutes and 4 seconds.
• Mystical India: The trip which influenced the album was born out of Hosono's interest in Indian culture, which happened during a period where he also grew interest in the Western view of Asia, resulting in this fictional soundtrack to a Bollywood movie. It is also reflected on the album cover which features elements associated with Indian culture such as a lotus flower, decorated elephants, and the Aum symbol.
• One-Word Title: "Hepatitis".
• Siamese Twin Songs: The first three tracks form a suite called "Hotel Malabar" which is also the name of the album's Side A. Each track represents a floor of the hotel, starting from the ground on the first track to the roof on the third one.
• Spoken Word in Music: "Ground Floor" and "Roof Garden···Revel Attack" contain japanese spoken lyrics.
• Vocal Dissonance: Vocals on the album are warped to varying degrees through a vocoder.