Author: Matthew Bedford

abcdefg*record: promoting independent art

abcdefg*record is a Nagoya-based independent label.  Formed in 1998 by Nomura Masahiro and Hashimoto Sayuri, abcdefg*record offers its artists very unique and dynamic handmade-style packaging for distribution.  Though a self-proclaimed “indie-pop” label, the company covers a wide variety of musical styles including, but not limited to, rock, piko piko, shibuya-kei, post-rock, and shoegaze.  With a solid roster of artists including “naivepop or petitfool” and co-founder Hashimoto Sayuri’s own “miette-one” abcdefg*record offers a very cool and creative brand of indie music wrapped in attractive handmade packages.
In addition to distributing for independent artists, abcdefg’s founders use their label to promote their other artistic endeavors.  The co-founders are not only involved in their own music projects, they also promote a free digital zine titled P+M Magazine.  P+M is a bilingual (English and Japanese) written publication devoted to music and photography.  Issues are available for free download at the zine site (http://onimaga.com) and each features various musical artists and photographers.  Definitely worth checking out.

abcdefg*record is not only a very cool example of an independent label, but as an outlet for independent art in general.  For more information visit http://abcdefg-record.net and do some exploring.  It will definitely be worth your while!

What is the Muso Project Japan?

The Muso Project was created with the goal of finding hidden gems of Japanese music and showcasing them for likeminded individuals. For people outside of Japan the most accessible genres of Japanese music tend to be J-Pop and J-Rock, many artists of which are discovered through anime programs or various conventions. Muso identifies that there are indeed those who seek bands outside of these genres, but are often unable to due to the lack of non-Japanese resources. The purpose of this project is to hopefully build a bridge connecting the world of local and independent Japanese artists to the audience that seeks it. Though not limited exclusively to these genres, the focus of the Muso Project will be on the strong shoegaze, post-rock, indie-rock, indie-pop, shibua-kei, and other forms of alternative music scenes that exist in Japan today. To do so, the Muso Project will strive to expose you, the music fan, to the some of the wonderful aspects of the Japanese music world.