** 180-gram pressing with a Japanese OBI and a new translation of Haruomi Hosono's original 1975 liner notes. Blue Ocean Vinyl. ** Fifty years after its original release, Haruomi Hosono's Tropical Dandy finally receives its first-ever international reissue through Stones Throw Records, marking a momentous celebration of one of Japanese music's most influential yet overlooked masterpieces. Originally released in 1975, this cult classic marked Hosono's pivotal shift toward genre-blending fusion, combining exotica, jazz, and pop to lay the essential groundwork for what would become Japanese City Pop - described by none other than Van Dyke Parks as "cinematic romance with sonic texture."Available on classic black vinyl or limited edition Ocean Blue pressing, this 180-gram vinyl edition features exclusive Japanese OBI strip and a new translation of Haruomi Hosono's original 1975 liner notes, offering contemporary listeners unprecedented access to the artist's own thoughts on this revolutionary work.

Van Dyke Parks, who first met Hosono in Los Angeles in 1972, compares his old friend to artists like Harry Nilsson and Ry Cooder, "whose works are in categories all their own." As Parks observes, "All of these nails that stuck out at that time were, to me, exemplary. I heard that, in Japan, the tendency is to hammer down the nails that stick out. I think that Haruomi Hosono is a nail that sticks out. And has maintained that." Tropical Dandy represents the first installment of Hosono's legendary "Tropical Trilogy" - followed by Bon Voyage Co (1976) and Paraiso (1978) - albums that transformed his tropical leanings into a full-on obsession. These recordings offer a glimpse into his unique global perspective, equal parts Martin Denny, Professor Longhair, Sly Stone, and Muscle Shoals, all filtered through the neon-lit atmosphere of Yokohama's Chinatown. Born and raised in central Tokyo as the grandson of the only Japanese survivor of the Titanic, Hosono's early obsession with American pop culture informed his journey from the heavy psychedelia of Apryl Fool through the rootsier West Coast sounds of Happy End, before arriving at the intimate Americana of Hosono House and ultimately the tropical sophistication of Tropical Dandy.

Sound explorer and writer David Toop captures Hosono's essential character: "Harry was a nomad, an island hopper... With intelligence and wit, as well as a love of all musics, his songs told stories about cultural misunderstandings and emerging identities, about 'life seen through the eyes of a stranger.'" Tropical Dandy emerges as the crucial bridge between Hosono's early explorations of American musical forms and his later electronic innovations, documenting a moment when Japanese musicians were beginning to synthesize global influences into something entirely new. The album's sophisticated blend of exotica and pop sensibilities would prove foundational to the City Pop movement that continues to find new audiences worldwide.