Watering A Flower is the fifth album of Japanese artist Haruomi Hosono. Released in 1984 through Fuyukisha Records, it is only available on cassette.
It was recorded after Japanese retail company MUJI commissioned Hosono to compose a background music for their stores. It was rumoured that Muji didn't accept the songs on the basis that it was too weird and would scare away customers, but Hosono denies that it ever happened. In 2017, decades after its release, the album got a late success through YouTube, where an upload of the full album has generated more than a million views (and has become part of the "YouTube-core Sub-Genre"). American Pop Rock band Vampire Weekend has sampled the track "Talking" on their song "2021". Another track recorded by Hosono at the time, "BGM", remained unreleased until appearing on the BGM 1980-2000 compilation album, along with the "MUJI version" of "Talking" which is just a short sped-up version of the original track followed by its original cut.
''Watering A Flower" has a short tracklist of two songs lasting over 14 minutes. "Talking" and "Growth" are minimalistic Ambient music, with the first one being serene and the second one being omnious.
Tracklist:
Side A- "Talking" (14:58)
Side B
- "Growth" (14:53)
Troping example flowers:
- Ambient
- Background Music: Intentionally recorded as such for MUJI shops in Japan. Hosono was surprised to see the late success of what he originally considered as Muzak.
- Concept Album: The soundtrack to MUJI retail stores.
- Epic Rocking: Both tracks of the album last around 14 minutes.
- Fade Out: "Growth" ends with a fade-out.
- Instrumentals: No vocals whatsoever are recorded for this album.
- Meaningful Name: Averted. Michio Akiyama (the album's co-producer) gave the album its title as a theme to his life. Hosono didn't quite get the meaning behind it but thought that it didn't matter, as explaining it might make it lose its charm.
- Minimalist Cast: Hosono wrote, arranged and co-produced the album along with Michio Akiyama.
- Mood Whiplash: While "Talking" has a sweet calming atmosphere, "Growth" sounds eerie and unnerving.
- New Age: The "BGM" version of "Talking" sounds closer to a Brian Eno-like Ambient track of this style, with synths fading in and out of the song.
- One-Word Title: "Talking" and "Growth"
- Song Style Shift: the "BGM" cut of "Talking" is the original song sped-up for thirty seconds before reverting back to its original slow version.
- Stylistic Suck: "Growth" contains off-key notes played for an unnerving effect.
