Yellow Magic Orchestra’s Haruomi Hosono to play first UK show in seven years at Southbank Centre’s ESEA Encounters

Yellow Magic Orchestra leader Haruomi Hosono is to play his first UK show in seven years at London’s Southbank Centre.

READ MORE: Ryuichi Sakamoto, 1952-2023: an inimitable sonic innovator

The highly influential musician and producer is one of the artists that will play at the arts centre’s ESEA (East and South East Asia) Encounters series this summer, which will showcase a range of art and culture from the area.

The shows will run from 17 to 20 July and they will include a concert by Hosono at the Royal Festival Hall at 7pm on Saturday 19 July. Tickets for the performance are available now and you can find yours here.

Yellow Magic Orchestra, from left: Haruomi Hosono, Ryuichi Sakamoto and Yukihiro Takahashi. Credit: Charlie Gillett/Redferns

Other names on the ESEA Encounters line-up include the Chinese performance artist Tianzhuo Chen, with the Southbank Centre’s artistic director Mark Ball saying: “This is an insight into the work of artists from East and Southeast Asia and its diaspora communities that illuminates the preoccupations and ideas that are driving new artistic forms through a plethora of events – from the Japanese musical legend Haruomi Hosono, to a breathtaking 12-hour theatrical performance in the Queen Elizabeth Hall Foyer by Tianzhuo Chen, alongside a variety of dance, literature and family events across the weekend.”

“This is an open programme welcoming anyone of any age and background to be inspired by the span of creativity in this major cultural hub of the world,” he added.

Hosono is considered one of the most influential figures in modern Japanese music, founding Yellow Magic Orchestra in 1978 alongside Ryuichi Sakamoto and Yukihiro Takahashi. Their experiments with electronic music and early techno proved to be essential to the development of the genres, with their pioneering use of samplers, sequencers and drum machines anticipating the boom of synthpop in the early ‘80s.

Their 1978 track ‘Computer Game’ was a Top 20 single in the UK and their debut album ‘Solid State Survivor’ went on to be regarded as a seminal work by artists in hip-hop, techno and J-pop.

Sakamoto, who went on to be an acclaimed composer on films such as Merry Christmas, Mr. Lawrence and The Revenant, died at the age of 71 in 2023.

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