abcdefg*record is an independent label based in Nagoya, Japan. It was founded in 1998 and has released over 50 titles in genres such as Shibuya-Kei, indie pop/rock, electro, post-rock, shoegaze and more. Discover select songs from their upcoming releases now!

We got to talk with Masahiro Nomura who founded abcdefg*records with Sayuri Hashimoto. Read the interview below.

What are your forthcoming releases?

We will release 3 titles, Naivepop or Petitfool ‘I love NP’, Miette- one ‘Children’s Corner’, and Strawberry Machine ‘Girl friend’, for our 10th anniversary. The albums are limited editions and have original designs by each artist. Naivepop or Petitfool’s CD comes with a Japanese style towel, a “Tenugui”, Miette- one’s CD is paper packaged with her original painting on the cover, and Strawberry Machine’s CD comes in a small purse.

Where does the label name comes from?

There is no special reason for the name. I wanted to begin with ‘a’, because I thought it would be easy to memorize. I came up with ‘abcedfg’. It’s easy to remember and hard to forget, can you?

What are your main influences?

I’m influenced by US and UK 90’s indie rock, Swedish pop and Shibuya-Kei. Each staff member has their own favorites, such as classical music, French pop, electro or dance music.

How many people are involved in the label, is this a full time job?

Ms. Hashimoto and I have worked together since 1998. I have played in my own band, Naivepop or Petitfool, and Sayuri Hashimoto is the solo singer in Miette-one and owns her own Jazz bar.

How do you manage to survive the musical crisis, you seem to love physical and limited releases…are limited editions the way to go?

These days sales aren’t so good in the Japanese music industry. Sales are decreasing, however we don’t have a desire to sell many CDs, we rather prefer to make people happy. We aim to make CDs for people’s happiness. Our music is not mainstream and the label is really small. But we take that weakness for sales. For example we sell CDs limited amounts ,and prepare special packages. We encourage free and creative work which big companies can’t do.

How important is internet for you today?

The internet is very important for our label. We have used the internet since we established the label. We own an online shop, and we update our blogs daily. We really like many kinds of internet services such as Podcast, Videocast, SNS, Myspace,iTunes, and P2P. Internet allows a direct contact between the label and the clients, that’s great.

As a record label, what services do you expect from the internet?

We can enjoy music more than before as well as endanger the music business. Paying money for music will probably disappear in the future. That’s the same as many internet services. It is really bad for us but listeners look forward to that. Today we can easily find countries’ unkown bands, and download music as soon as you find it. We thought that it was dream 10 years ago, but the dream is becoming true now.

How’s the scene in Nagoya?

We don’t have a special indie scene in Nagoya. However, there are some cool bands. I think that people prefer hip hop. Most bands that become popular go to Tokyo in Japan.

What are the cool spots in the area?

There is a very wonderful castle & a Great Buddha in Nagoya. Moreover, We have a really good food culture in Nagoya. We have a lot of strange food which you can’t find anywhere else. Most of the food here is topped with Miso.

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