Album Review #4: Haruomi Hosono - Watering a Flower

It has been a while since I did one of these.

Minimalism is something that is either adored or despised.The phrase “less is more” is something that I hear a lot in the music world, and I think that is a statement that holds a lot of truth, especially with this piece.

Watering a Flower, by Haruomi Hosono is an album released in 1984. The retail company, Muji, commissioned Hosono to compose music that would play in various stores. What he ended up making is extremely minimal ambient tones.

The album is very repetitive, however, not obnoxious or boring at all, it is in fact, quite serene and heartfelt. I would imagine while in the store shopping, this music would be much more ****led with all the people talking and going about their own shopping, so taking it out of the market setting makes it feel all the more calming, but also melancholic in a way. It’s like an unused page in a coloring book but without any crayons nearby, the page simply waits for the spaces to be filled with colors.

It’s very easy to have this album take me to a place of comfort and warmth. I imagine myself in a closed down tech store that only sells 80’s tech that is obsolete, waiting to be powered on again, nobody is there, there’s that smell of old books roaming around the room, as well as the soft old gray carpeting. It feels safe, but also lonely.

Watering a Flower is an album I surely didn’t expect myself to be writing a review of, but I guess here we are, while I procrastinate on my homework. If you’re looking for a calming album to relax to, this may be the one for you.

You can listen to the album here