Aim is to harness the new wave of Japanese urban music
Launches with FLEUR’s new song ‘Ding Dong (feat A.G.O)’
Warner Music Japan has announced the launch of a new urban label called +809 (pronounced ‘plus eight-oh-nine’). The label is focused on discovering and nurturing talent from Japan’s fast-growing urban music scene and promoting its artists through Warner Music’s global network.
The label has launched with the release of the track ‘Ding Dong (feat A.G.O.)’ by up-and-coming Japanese R&B singer FLEUR.
Simon Robson, President, Warner Music Asia, says: “Urban music’s exploding across Asia and the Japanese market has some very exciting talent coming through. Warner Music Japan has geared itself to become a digital-first business and that’ll work well for urban acts that primarily play in the streaming space. I look forward to helping some brilliant Japanese urban artists build an international fan base.”
Kaz Kobayashi, President and CEO, Warner Music Japan, adds: “I’m incredibly proud we’re launching +809 and believe it’ll help break down barriers and enable Japanese artists to succeed in the global streaming market. I want it to become our country’s leading urban label and showcase the future of Japanese urban music to the world. It’s amazing that we’ve been able to launch the label with a track from such brilliant talents as FLEUR and A.G.O.”
Japanese urban music has its roots in the 1980s, but has really grown in popularity over the last few years as artists shifted from copying the US scene and largely performing in English, to focusing on issues close to the hearts of local fans and more often rapping in Japanese.
FLEUR is a 23-year-old artist from the city of Kyoto who is heavily influenced by hip-hop and R&B, but is not afraid to blur genres and freely combine intricate lyrics with his emotional voice. His debut EP Fleur was released digitally in June and immediately went to Number 3 on the local iTunes R&B chart and he was chosen as ‘New Artist of the Week’. Songs from the EP were included on popular playlists, such as Spotify’s ‘Tokyo Rising’.
His collaborators include young producers such as MONBEE of hip-hop collective BCDMG and he created his first single on +809 with A.G.O., a producer from the Tokyo and LA-based hip-hop crew CIRRRCLE.
