Tag Archives: Hinata Toshifumi

Hinata Toshifumi “Tokyo Love Story” Interview (2026)

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Here is a delightfully in-depth interview with Hinata Toshifumi about the recent 35th Anniversary Edition re-release of his (quite fantastic) 1991 soundtrack album Tokyo Love Story. Additionally, there is a lot of interesting discussion about his early career in general. Enjoy!

Interview & text: Otani Takayuki (Japanese text: one, two, three, four)
English translation: Henkka
Hinata Toshifumi: Website, Instagram, YouTube, Facebook

Note: You can buy this album on CDJapan.

— Today, I’d like to ask you to look back on the days of Tokyo Love Story. But before you do, allow me to ask you about your most recent work from 2025. The Dark Night Rhapsodies is your first fully orchestral album. It’s a wonderful work; an exquisite combination of lush, beautiful melodies reminiscent of Italian opera of the yesteryear, along with concern—and prayer—for an increasingly troubled modern society. I’ve found myself listening to it whenever I possibly can.

Hinata Toshifumi: Ah. Thank you very much.

— But what really left an impression on me was when I interviewed you about that album and our conversation happened to turn to your TV drama soundtrack work of the ’90s, and you quietly remarked, “Those were truly difficult years for me.”

Hinata: Hahahaha. Did I really say that?

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Henkka’s New Music Discoveries #1

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I love music, and I’m always—constantly—looking for new stuff to listen to.

Pretty much my favorite activity in life is to sit down in a dark room, pour myself a drink, put on some headphones, and listen to new music in search of gems I haven’t heard before. This is something I’ve been doing quite consistently since my early teens. (Well, the drinks may have come a little bit later.)

In any case, here are a few recent “fruits of my labor.”

These findings are from the past year or so. I’ve listed each song, in no particular order, with its musical genre and year of release. Feel free to grab a drink and listen along if you’d like.

Young Gun Silver Fox
“Lenny”
2018 | YACHT ROCK

I discovered these guys a while ago when I came across a collaboration they’d done with the amazing Rod Temperton. (On a side note, I would list Rod Temperton’s Heatwave among my favorite bands of all time.) They’ve released four albums so far, and each one consists of this sort of very friendly, sunny-sounding yacht rock. Awesome stuff.

By the way, I learned from an interview of theirs that the band name Young Gun Silver Fox is derived from its two members. One of them is a young gun, while the other is a silver fox.

Pretty academic stuff, I know. Really makes you think.

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