Recalling his first encounter with rocker Iggy Pop, a huge grin flashes across the face of Tomoyasu Hotei. It occurred at Berlin airport around 30 years ago when he was recording in Germany with former band Boøwy. Despite being one of the most famous musicians in Japan, the guitarist was too shy to approach the man known as the "Godfather of Punk."

"He had such an aura," Hotei tells The Japan Times. "I really wanted to go up and shake his hand, but I was so nervous. Fortunately his wife at the time was Japanese (Suchi Asano) and happened to be a big fan of mine so he actually came up and asked for my autograph. I couldn't believe it. This was someone I grew up idolizing and he wanted my signature. I spoke to him about it recently and he told me he remembers it."

The two men were reunited last year when Hotei — through a mutual friend — asked the frontman of Iggy and the Stooges to put his vocals and lyrics to two songs he'd been working on. Together they produced "How the Cookie Crumbles," an edgy track, bursting with attitude, and "Walking Through the Night," which Pop says is about a lonely night he spent in Shinjuku while feeling horny. Both songs feature on the upcoming album "Strangers," Hotei's first international LP with Spinefarm Records.