Legendary Japanese musician returns with his first new album in seven years, arriving September 11 via Ghostly International
Legendary Japanese musician, producer and composer Haruomi Hosono has shared his new single ‘Sincerely’, offering another glimpse into his forthcoming studio album Yours Sincerely, due September 11 via Ghostly International.
The new track follows the previously released ‘Note of Mothership’ and introduces another side of an album that finds Hosono reflecting on compassion, care and the emotional connections that exist between people.
At the heart of Yours Sincerely is an exploration of ideas that are difficult to translate directly between languages. Hosono began the album by considering the Japanese concepts of omoiyari (思い遣り), jihi (慈悲) and boseiai (母性愛), searching for an English word that could capture their combined emotional weight.
Rather than settling on “compassion”, Hosono chose the more familiar language of correspondence: “sincerely”.
The title track takes that idea one step further. Originally a 1954 doo-wop hit by The Moonglows, written by Harvey Fuqua, ‘Sincerely’ was later recorded by The McGuire Sisters, whose version became a major mainstream success. For his interpretation, Hosono has retained the spirit of the original while writing new Japanese lyrics centred on the phrase’s deeper meaning — “from the heart”.
“Since the theme of this album itself is the spirit of sincerely—a closing salutation—I could hardly leave this song uncovered,” Hosono explains.
That sense of tenderness runs throughout Yours Sincerely. Recorded over two years, the album moves between exploratory folk, understated arrangements and bubbling avant-pop, while Hosono considers a maternal force that he describes as enveloping the Earth.
The musician describes the record as an attempt to reconnect with instincts that are often buried beneath everyday life — particularly maternal compassion, mercy and the capacity to care for others.
It is a fitting subject for an artist whose influence has stretched across generations and genres for more than five decades.
Hosono first emerged as a key figure in Japanese popular music through his work with Happy End, helping establish Japanese-language rock in the 1970s. He later became a founding member of Yellow Magic Orchestra, whose pioneering approach to electronic music would have a profound influence on synth-pop, techno, hip-hop and countless artists that followed.
YMO’s 1979 album Solid State Survivor topped the Japanese Album Chart and went on to sell more than two million copies, becoming one of the defining records in the development of electronic pop.
Hosono’s influence has continued to expand well beyond Japan. His work has been cited by artists including Mac DeMarco, Harry Styles, Vampire Weekend, Ginger Root and Cameron Winter, while Styles famously named his 2022 album Harry’s House after Hosono’s 1973 solo album HOSONO HOUSE. Vampire Weekend’s Ezra Koenig also sampled Hosono’s work on the Grammy-winning Father of the Bride.
For an artist whose music was deeply shaped by mid-century American sounds, the influence has now come full circle, with Hosono’s work continuing to find new audiences among contemporary Western artists.
At 79, Hosono enters another chapter with Yours Sincerely, his 23rd studio album and his first new album in seven years.
The album arrives as Hosono prepares to return to North America for The Yours Sincerely Tour this September. The run includes headline performances at Radio City Music Hall in New York on September 16 and The Greek Theatre in Los Angeles on September 20, with Toro y Moi supporting both shows.
Yours Sincerely Tracklist
Note of Mothership
Sincerely
Ayurveda
M for Mandala
Rojiura
Happy Holidays
To a Wild Rose
Humming “Dream of Love”
Figlio Perduto
Anemo Wheel
Haruomi Hosono — Yours Sincerely
Out September 11, 2026 via Ghostly International
‘Sincerely’ is out now, with Yours Sincerely available to pre-save ahead of its September release.
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