In this article, I will share with you how I discover 1970s Japanese pop singer, Hiromi Iwasaki. It would not have happened if not for my interest in analogue vinyl records, a journey that I began only in 2021.

Hiromi Iwasaki (岩崎 宏美,) began her singing career in 1975 after winning a talent competition. She had three No. 1 hits on the Japanese Orion music charts in her career. She has a mezzo soprano vocal range and her songs are rather catchy and representative of the genres during the late 70s.

The first song that she released was 二重唱(デュエット)”Duet”, released in April 1975. It peaked at No. 19 on the Orion chart. Three months later, she released her second single, ロマンス “Romance”, and that hit No. 1 for three weeks.

Before I found her and her songs, I was not particularly interested in Japanese pop songs of the 70s. So during a casual crate digging online, I found a listing of a 3LP compilation album “HIROMI” at a rather cheap price. For an artist to have a compilation album in the 70s must mean that this was a very accomplished singer. Being the first time that I came across this artist, I decided to do some research, and eventually read more about her career history.
I usually prefer to buy the studio album rather than compilation because the track sequence for the studio album contains a musical flow that the artist or the producer intended. Somehow, this particular compilation album was not available on Spotify, so in order to experience the compilation album track-to-track, I manually created a playlist with the tracks from all her individual albums. That was when I realised that this “HIROMI” compilation album effectively contains all her best songs from her individual albums between 1975 and 1979. The musical flow for this compilation album works for me better than the individual albums.
After listen to the Spotify playlist for many weeks, I am convinced that I am loving the songs in this album, and finally placed an order. Yes, I impose a stringent process to make sure I buy records that I will keep for a long time, especially obscure albums with no immediate resale value, because not many people is going to be keen on Hiromi Iwasaki’s records. It takes a lot of conviction to buy an artist’s physical records in this day and age when their entire catalogue is available online. Here are some reasons why I collect records.
Anyway, that’s not the end of my Hiromi Iwasaki collection.

I started digging for her 7-inch singles casually and was surprised to find them listed at throwaway prices. As always, I am very selective in deciding which single to collect, more so when the songs are already contained in the 3LP album. I choose the singles that represent the best works of Hiromi. The melodies and arrangements capture the essence of the 70s Japan pop disco style that will sure to get your body grooving.
Her only 80s single I have collected is 聖母たちのララバイ “A Lullaby for Madonna”. It’s released in 1982 and was her last No. 1 single. It is a very powerful emotional ballad and definitely one of her best and most timeless songs in her discography.

Till this day, Hiromi Isawaki remains active in the music industry and releases new albums regularly.