UK Project (stylized as UK.PROJECT) is a Japanese

independent record label An independent record label (or indie label) is a record label that operates without the funding or distribution of major record labels; they are a type of small- to medium-sized enterprise, or SME. The labels and artists are often represented ...

and an artist management company which runs various music labels, artist management agencies and concert venues under its umbrella company.

History

UK Project was founded in September 1987 with the theme of "discovering unknown ones" and has been operating under this concept ever since. The company is not registered with the Recording Industry Association of Japan, and as such is still regarded as an independent "indie" music company. In April 1989, the first record under UK Project was released. The company itself, UK Project Co., Ltd. was established in December 1991. UK Project initially signed a contract with Toshiba EMI (currently, Universal EMI R/EMI Records) in 1994 but the contract was dissolved in 1997. UK Project operates under the model of dividing its artist management arm and its record production arm through the creation of fully owned private limited record labels under the umbrella of UK.Project. Artists signed to UK Project are usually managed by UK Project or one of its artist management companies, and/or have their records released under UK Project or one of its labels, or both. Some notable UK Project-owned labels include RX-Records and Daizawa Records. Other than these two labels, UK Project continues to actively release records under their other brands, such as the Rice Records and Benten labels. UK.Project also owns and operates a few music venues and restaurants in Tokyo, including Club Que in Tokyo's

Shimokitazawa is a commercial and entertainment area in Kitazawa, Setagaya, Tokyo. It is located in the southwestern corner of the Kitazawa district, hence the name "Shimo-kitazawa" (literally ''lower Kitazawa''). Also known as "Shimokita", the neighbourhood ...

and Zher the Zoo in Tokyo's Yoyogi. UK Project is based in Daizawa,

Setagaya is a special ward in Tokyo, Japan. It is also the name of a neighborhood and administrative district within the ward. The ward calls itself Setagaya City in English. Its official bird is the azure-winged magpie, its flower is the fringed orch ...

Tokyo Tokyo (; ja, 東京, , ), officially the Tokyo Metropolis ( ja, 東京都, label=none, ), is the capital and largest city of Japan. Formerly known as Edo, its metropolitan area () is the most populous in the world, with an estimated 37.468 ...

. In spite of its "indie" label, UK Project is a prolific music company that has signed many Japanese indie-rock bands which later went on to commercial success. Many of UK Project bands have appear in major TV programs, as well as major music festivals including

Rock in Japan Festival The Rock in Japan Festival is an annual three-day rock festival held during early August at the Hitachi Seaside Park, in Hitachinaka, Ibaraki, Japan, organized by ''Rockin'on ''Rockin'On Japan'', often stylized in all caps, is a monthly magazin ...

, Countdown Japan and

Fuji Rock Festival is an annual rock festival held in Naeba Ski Resort, in Niigata Prefecture, Japan. The three-day event, organized by Smash Japan, features more than 200 Japanese and international musicians, making it the largest outdoor music event in Japan. ...

Labels

* Wonder Release Records (August 1991 - ) * Rice Records * TV-Freak Records (July 1997 - ) * Aaron field (September 1997 - ) * Tinstar Records (1998 - ) * Deckrec (February 1999 - ) * Libra records (May 1999 - ) * Daizawa Records (2001 - ) * Famires Records (2001 - ) * RX-Records (2005 - )

Management agencies

* (2001-) * UKPM Co.,Ltd. (formerly ) (2002 -)

Artists

Current

Alexandros Alexandros may refer to: *Alexandros, a Greek name, the origin for the English name Alexander * Alexander III of Macedon, commonly known as Alexander the Great * Alexandros, Greece, a village on the island of Lefkada *Alexandros (band) , sty ...

* Asobius * Cettia * Dats * Dip * Fullarmor * Helsinki Lambda Club * Kettles * Lost In Time * Odol * Ogre You Asshole (co-production with OYA) * Paionia * Pelican Fanclub * Polly * Riddle * Ryoji & The Last Chords * Seagull Screaming Kiss Her Kiss Her * Spicysol *

Syrup16g is a Japanese alternative rock band formed in the suburbs of Tokyo. History Syrup16g formed in 1993 when Igarashi and drummer Nakahata Daiki met at vocational school in Tokyo and decided to form a band. Shortly after, bassist Satou Motoaki an ...

Totalfat Totalfat (stylized as TOTALFAT) is a Japanese melodic punk band formed in 1999. Totalfat consists of vocalist/guitarist Jose (ホセ), vocalist/bassist Shun, and drummer Bunta. Background TOTALFAT started out playing NOFX songs in 2000. Their sh ...

* Tomovsky * Your Gold My Pink * * * * * *

Previous notable artists

* Art-School *

Base Ball Bear Base Ball Bear is a Japanese rock band from Tokyo that made its major debut in 2006 with EMI Music Japan. Although assembled in autumn 2001, the band formally began in 2002, and started off with self-produced releases. Their style influences incl ...

* Bazra * Bigmama * Boris * Burger Nuds * Condor44 *

DMBQ DMBQ is a Japanese rock band from Tokyo, whose name stands for Dynamite Masters Blues Quartet. They are influenced by British and American rock music of the early 1970s, especially bands like The Jimi Hendrix Experience, Deep Purple, and Led ...

* Flamong Echo * Doe * Going Steady * Hare-brained Unity *

Lite Lite may refer to: Food and drugs *Diet food, food or beverage that is part of a weight loss program or diet *Diet soda, a version of soda pop *Low-alcohol beer, beer with little or no alcohol content **Miller Lite, a brand of light beer *Lights ...

* Lostage * Karen *

Kishidan , which means "The Knights", are a Japanese rock band. They have a retro image, wearing Japanese school uniforms in the style of bōsōzoku. The lead singer, Sho Ayanokoji (often styled as "Show Ayanocozey"), was DJ Ozma, until he retired in De ...

(氣志團) * Mo'Some Tonebender * Modern Dollz * Nananine * * Pre-school * Pop chocolat * Potshot * Polysics * Scoobie Do *

Serial TV Drama Serial TV Drama (stylized as serial TV drama) （シリアル・ティーヴィー・ドラマ）is a Japanese band that was formed in 2004, managed by Sony Music Records Inc. and under Steezlab Music. The group consists of five members Hiroki A ...

* Sparta Locals *

The Boom ''The'' () is a grammatical article in English, denoting persons or things already mentioned, under discussion, implied or otherwise presumed familiar to listeners, readers, or speakers. It is the definite article in English. ''The'' is the m ...

The Novembers THE NOVEMBERS is a four-piece Japanese alternative rock band. A preceding band was first formed in 2002 by Kobayashi Yusuke and Takamatsu Hirofumi. Subsequently, the preceding band disbanded in 2005, and "The Novembers" was officially formed in ...

* The Telephones *

Thee Michelle Gun Elephant Thee Michelle Gun Elephant (often abbreviated to TMGE) was a Japanese garage rock band formed in 1991. History The band was formed in 1991,Strong, Martin C. (2003) ''The Great Indie Discography'', Canongate, , p. 1025-6 while Chiba, Ueno, and Kuh ...

* Tommy and the Bonjaskys (an offshoot of

, led by guitarist Saionji "Long Tall Tommy" Hitomi for one mini album in 2008) *

Unison Square Garden Unison Square Garden (stylized as UNISON SQUARE GARDEN, or USG) is a Japanese pop rock band signed to Toy's Factory. The band includes Kosuke Saito (vocals/guitar), Tomoya Tabuchi (bass/backing vocals), and Takao Suzuki (drums). Career In July 2004 ...

Vola and the Oriental Machine Vola and the Oriental Machine (also known as Vola) is a four-member Japanese rock band formed by Number Girl and ex-Zazen Boys drummer Ahito Inazawa in 2005. The group is named after the soccer team Vola F.C., which was also the name of the short ...

* Wrong Scale * Wrecking Crew * Your Song Is Good * * * *

Other activities

Venues

Shimokitazawa Club QUE (born October 1994) Club Que is a fixture in Tokyo's

and is one of the more prominent live venues in the city. The venue hosts a variety of live performances of bands from all genres, although it is more geared towards rock acts. The club also hosts DJ and club events after hours. Club Que has a capacity of 280 people. Zher the Zoo Yoyogi (opened February 2005) Zher the Zoo is located in Yoyogi in Tokyo's

Shibuya Shibuya ( 渋谷区 ''Shibuya-ku'') is a special ward in Tokyo, Japan. As a major commercial and finance center, it houses two of the busiest railway stations in the world, Shinjuku Station (southern half) and Shibuya Station. As of April 1 ...

district. It is a concert venue with a capacity of 280 people and is a bar after hours. (September 2006 - ) Fuchi Kuchi is a small intimate casual dining restaurant located in Shimokitazawa. It has an indoor eating space, a terrance as well as an event space. As such, it sometimes hosts live acoustic performances.

UKFC on the Road

Since 2011, UK Project has held an annual summer event named "UKFC on the Road", which started as a nationwide tour but has since evolved into a two-day

music festival A music festival is a community event with performances of singing and instrument playing that is often presented with a theme such as musical genre (e.g., rock, blues, folk, jazz, classical music), nationality, locality of musicians, or h ...

with current and previous UK Project bands, as well as foreign and affiliated bands. UKFC on the Road 2011 :''Venue/Dates:'' Zepp Sendai (August 11, 2011), Niigata Lots (August 10, 2011), Fukuoka Drum Logos (19 August 2011) :''Artists:'' Bigmama, Champagne, Polysics,

, The Telephones UKFC on the Road 2012 :''Venues/Dates:'' Osaka Big Cat (July 25, 2012), Nagoya Club Diamond Hall (July 26, 2012), Niigata Lots (August 1, 2012), Sendai Rensa (August 2, 2012), Fukuoka Drum Logos (August 24, 2012) :''Artists:'' Champagne, Bigmama,

, Polysics, The Telephones :''Venue/Date:'' Tokyo, Shinkiba Studio Coast (August 14, 2012) :''Artists:'' Champagne, The Novembers, Bigmama, Polysics, Lost In Time, The Telephones, The ★ 米騒動, Paionia, 武藤昭平 with ウエノコウジ, , Riddle UKFC on the Road 2013 2013 was the first year the annual tour became a music festival event held at

Studio Coast ageHa (also as 'AGH') was a weekend club event in Tokyo, Japan. It was held on Friday and Saturday at the Usen Studio Coast event space in the Shin-Kiba district, which also hosted live concerts and other events. The word ''Ageha'' is Japanese for ...

in Shin Kiba, Tokyo with live performances and DJ sets. :''Date:'' August 20, 2013 :''Artists:'' Champagne, Bazra, Bigmama, 伊藤文暁, Lost In Time, Potshot, Paionia, Riddle,

, つづくバンド, Unison Square Garden, ゾンビちゃん :''DJs:'' 片平実 (Getting Better), 石毛輝 (The Telephones) :''Date:'' August 8, 2013 :''Artists:'' Dad Mom God, Dip, DJ ハヤシ／五十嵐隆(弾き語り), Killing Boy, , Mo’Some Tonebender,

, Ogre You Asshole, Polysics, The Telephones, ゾンビちゃん :''DJs:'' 片平実 (Getting Better), 庄村聡泰( lexandros, Shun (Totalfat) :''Date:'' August 22, 2013 :''Artists:'' Asobius, Bigmama, Champagne, Kettles, The ★ 米騒動,

, Polysics, 静カニ潜ム日々, The Telephones, うみのて／ゾンビちゃん :''DJs:'' 片平実 (Getting Better), Bunta&Kuboty (Totalfat) UKFC on the Road 2014 In 2014, UKFC on the Road grew into a massive event with a tour, a two-day festival at Studio Coast and additional performances at the Monster Bash music festival. The event in 2014 also had live performances by UK Project bands past and present, DJ sets and foreign bands. :''Venue/Date:'' Osaka Big Cat (July 15, 2014) :''Artists:''

, Bigmama, Totalfat, (opening act) DJハヤシ :''Venue/Date:'' Nagoya Diamond Hall (July 16, 2014) :''Artists:'' Alexandros, The Telephones, Totalfat, (opening act) きのこ帝国 :''Venue/Date:'' Sendai Rensa (August 8, 2013) :''Artists:'' Bigmama, Polysics, The Telephones, (opening act) Asobius :''Venue/Date:'' Shin Kiba Studio Coast (August 20, 2014) :''Artists:''

, Asobius, Bigmama, 銀杏Boyz (solo), 松本素生 (Going Under Ground), Mo'Some TOonebender, Pee Wee Gaskins (from Indonesia), Polysics, The Telephones, Totalfat, Helsinki Lambda Club, pirukuru, (DJ )片平実 (Getting Better) :''Venue/Date:'' Shin Kiba Studio Coast (August 21, 2014) :''Artists:''

, Bigmama, 勝手にしやがれ, きのこ帝国, Magumi and the Breathless, ニューロティカ, Polysics, The Telephones, Totalfat, ウソツキ, Cettia, (DJ)片平実 (Getting Better) :''Event:'' UKFC on the Road 2014 extra in Monster Bash :''Venue:'' Kanagawa, Kokueisanukimann no Koen (August 23, 2014) :''Artists:'' Asobius, Bigmama, Mo'Some Tonebender, Polysics, The Telephones, Totalfat :''DJs:'' Bunta&Kuboty (

), DJハヤシ(Polysics), DJノブ (The Telephones) UKFC on the Road 2015 The event in 2015 was smaller than the previous year. It was again held as a two-day event at Studio Coast in Shin Kiba. Instead, the event this year became more of a music festival, with three stages. Two stages located in the main hall had live performances, while a stage in the building foyer had DJ sets. As with past years, current and past UK Project bands and affiliated bands, as well as a foreign band, performed in the event on both days. :''Date:'' August 18, 2015 :''Artists:''

Marmozets Marmozets are an English rock band from Bingley, West Yorkshire, England. Formed in 2007, the band consists of Rebecca "Becca" Macintyre (vocals), Jack Bottomley (guitar), Sam Macintyre (guitar/vocals), Will Bottomley (bass/vocals) and Josh Ma ...

, Mo'Some Tonebender, Straightener, ストレイテナー,

, Asobius, Cettia, Dats, Lost In Time, Pelican Fanclub :''DJs:'' ヒサシ the Kid (The Jerry Lee Phantom/The Beaches), 片平実 (Getting Better), 木下理樹 (Art-School/KillingBoy), 西村道男 (Getting Better), 斎藤雄(Getting Better), しもっきー (a.k.a.自称下北沢の守り神) :''Date:'' August 19, 2015 :''Artists:'' Bigmama, Downy, キュウソネコカミ, Orange Range, Polysics, The Telephones, Helsinki Lambda Club, 武藤昭平 with ウエノコウジ, odol, polly, Spicysol, ウソツキ :''DJs:'' 片平実 (Getting Better), K(uchuu,), 木下理樹 (Art-School/KillingBoy), 西村道男 (Getting Better), 斎藤雄 (Getting Better), しもっきー(a.k.a.自称下北沢の守り神), タロウサイファイ (Avengers in sci-fi)

Highline Record

Highline Record was an indie record store and record label located in

. It was established in 1997 by a subsidiary of Space Shower TV. The record store at that time was managed by UK Project. In 2002, Highline Records became a fully owned subsidiary of UK.Project. Notable Highline Record artists were

Bump of Chicken is a Japanese alternative rock group from Sakura, Chiba, Japan. The band members are Motoo Fujiwara (Vocalist, vocals, Rhythm guitar, rhythm), Hiroaki Masukawa (guitar), Yoshifumi Naoi (Bass guitar, bass) and Hideo Masu (Drum kit, drums). Since ...

, Good Dog Happy Man and Nananine. Highline Record was dissolved in July 2006.