Chris Mosdell

Chris Mosdell is a British lyricist, poet, author, composer, vocalist and illustrator, based in Tokyo, Japan, and Boulder, Colorado, USA.

He has worked with a wide range of Japanese musicians and artists—the documentary Ink Music: In the Land of the Hundred-Tongued Lyricist bills him as the “Lafcadio Hearn of Lyrics”—though he is especially known for his work with Yellow Magic Orchestra and the poet Shuntarō Tanikawa. His solo album Equasian melded his scientific background into a musical framework, and his Oracles of Distraction, a set of poetic cards set to musical coordinates, further expanded his lyrical idiom.

He has written lyrics for Sarah Brightman and Boy George; co-written lyrics with Michael Jackson, had his work covered by Eric Clapton, worked with the West African kora player Toumani Diabaté and the calligraphy artist Juichi Yoshikawa; and wrote the verse dance drama Amaterasu, the Resurrection of Radiance, that was performed with the City Ballet of London at the Theatre Royal, Drury Lane (2001).

As "Mozz", Mosdell has also released a series of award-winning children's books, which he also illustrates.

A film about his life titled "Ink Music: In the Land of the Hundred-Tongued Lyricist", featuring interviews with many of his collaborators and shot in Japan and The United States, was released in 2009.

He continues to write every morning for 2–3 hours by hand in his favourite coffee shops.