FLAU

ABOUT

FLAU is a record label based in Tokyo, Japan, was founded in December 2006. curated by Yasuhiko Fukuzono aka aus.

2006年末に設立された東京のレコード・レーベル。

 

CONTACT

General Information: flau at flau.jp
Press: press at flau.jp
Booking (for FLAU artists only): booking at flau.jp
Music Promos (for Radio): promos at flau.jp

 

NEWSLETTER

ENGLISH
JAPANESE (日本語)

 

DEMO POLICY

We are only accepting demos in digital form. Please email demos at flau.jp with links to audio files (but NO email attachments), SoundCloud, and Dropbox etc.
We are not releasing Japan only edition or CD only edition. Please do not send us demos that already have a record contract.

 

PRESS

the nation’s premier label for hushed music – Pitchfork

Flau releases are sonically quite diverse, from acoustic folk to dream pop and complex drum experiments. And though eclectic, never before has a label’s oeuvre come together to so closely sound the way a cherry blossom looks – The FADER

one of the biggest names in the world of really small sounds…the perfect soundtrack to a Sunday evening – Timeout Tokyo

consistently impressive – XLR8R

Flau has associated itself with a signature sound…association with Flau suggests a superior level of pop craftsmanship…What’s remarkable about Fukuzono’s project, which launched at the end of 2006, is that he’s achieved quality control without uniformity – exclaim!

Flau has shown that sometimes silence beats flashiness – METROPOLIS Magazine

flau seem to have a magic touch; everything they put out..has a celestial, positively glowing aura about it that has us longing for more..sonically the label is incredibly diverse, but what its releases share in common are a playful curiosity, an unmatchable quality and a genre-bending commitment to evoking time and space within their sounds – DUMMY

Flau label casts its net across a worldwide community of artists with a particular affection for fragile arrangements and microscopic songwriting…A reliable resource for all the finest, quirkiest exploratory electronic pop music – Boomkat

it combines genuine emotion with a sense of playfulness – Fluid Radio

everyone’s favourite Japanese label and, of course, we make no exception – Going Solo

constantly surprising, consistently stunning – Dummy

un monde de l’infiniment fragile et doux – Ondefixe

one of our favourite labels – Textura

Flau are one of those unassuming labels, which since 2007 have been quietly making their way in the world releasing a diverse range of high quality albums…their roster of international artists blend field recordings, acoustic instruments, microsounds, and voice, in a sound that has become truly synonymous with the label – Furthernoise

worth finding – Foxy Digitalis

grow, pushing boundaries and releasing gems – Drifting, Almost Falling

An inner experience and pure fascination to little things concept and microscopic sounds. FLAU is the latest Label Of The Moment – Otsechka

the Tokyo label’s dreamy and cinematic aesthetic seems tailor-made for two favourite hobbies: idleness and letting the imagination run wild – Solar Flares

This label collects very particular artists from all over the world all under one roof that eclectically holds them together. Each artist is so unique, that you would like to read a whole book about them – PonyDanceClyde

 

FLAU NIGHT

2008-09 London, Cafe OTO
2009-09 Melbourne, Toff In Town
2010-08 Berlin, Altes Finanzamt
2012-05 Malaysia, Black Box Map
2012-05 Macau, LMA
2012-05 China Tour Beijing-Shanghai-Hangzhou
2012-06 Tokyo, Fujimigaoka Church & VACANT
2012-06 Kyoto, Metro
2013-04 London, Cafe OTO
2013-04 Berlin, Antje Øklesund
2013-12 Tokyo, VACANT
2016-03 Tokyo, VACANT

SCHEDULE

marucoporoporo

10/10（木）名古屋・live & lounge vio w/ Suso Saiz, The Pyramid & more

aus

10/20（日）東京・Wall & Wall w/Efterklang
10/27（日）東京・UNIT DOME FESTIVAL
11/4（月・祝）渋川・原美術館ARC

Kazumichi Komatsu

10/19-20（土・日）相模原DAICHI silent river： By This River

ARTISTS

SEE FULL LIST

©FLAU

IKEBANA

Japanese female duo IKEBANA is consists of 2 very gifted female artists, maki and en. maki, from the legendary Japanese shoegaze band INCENSE, is a very traditional Japanese. She only owns an old mobile phone, she doesn’t have a digital equipment nor uses the internet. Her musical influence is limited to those of the 80’s.
The story started when maki recorded the music she made into a cassette MTR. One day, moOog Yamamoto (of Buffalo Daughter whohas released the album from Beastie Boys own Grand Royal) bumped into her music in this cassette, and he immediately felt in love with it. From there, maki, Moog and their friend DJ Codomo decided to come together to form a band, and they named it “IKEBANA”. After some time, Moog and DJ Codomo left the band, and en took their place in joining IKEBANA.
In 2012, Yo La Tengo picked up IKEBANA’s self-released album as one of his best albums on STUDIO VOICE.
In additional to music making, maki also makes hand-made clothing (second-hand clothing with her own collages) with the clothing label FLANGER. Artists like Cornelius, Buffalo Daughter and Kiiiiiii are taking these clothing. (wei@mu-nest)

maki（INCENSE）とen（ex-CITRUS）によるギターユニット。makiがカセットMTRに録音した音源をきっかけにバンドがスタート。山本ムーグ（Buffalo Daughter）、DJ Codomoが在籍・脱退後、enが加入し、現在の編成に至る。2009年に発売されたファーストアルバム『From Dusk Till Dusk』は自主流通のみながら、各所で話題を呼び、すぐに廃盤となる（後にウリチパン郡などで知られるAKICHI RECORDSより2ndエディションがリリース→現在廃盤）。 今年flauと契約、６月に初の全国流通盤となるセカンドアルバム『when you arrive there』をリリース。
バンドはYo La Tengoが昨年のベストに入れるなど、欧米のサイケデリック／ドローンの流れとは一線を画す純粋培養されたミニマル・シューゲイザーサウンドとして、高い評価を獲得、 makiによる古着をリメイクしたアートワークプロジェクトFLANGERなど、アート／映像との親和性も高く、様々なイベント／プロジェクトに参加している。

photo by Ryo Mitamura

DISCOGRAPHY

From Dusk Till Dusk (self/AKICHI,2009)
When You Arrive There (flau,2013)
When You Arrive There Remixes (flau,2013)

PRESS QUOTES

Beautifully Blooming…Japanese duo constructs minimal shoegaze music – SPIN MAGAZINE

It’s flooring stuff, suited for fans of Windy & Carl and Grouper
– The FADER

IKEBANA‘s brooding drones and shoegaze tones give way to songs still tinged with hope; not dark or sad, but simply pensive and aware…Sometimes being alone isn’t a bad thing at all.- DECORDER Magazine

The message is sincere, and as focused as its title. The pacing is unforced, its end result reaching something uniquely sublime
– Studiums & Shrines

minimal shoegaze, reminiscent of Slowdive’s Pygmalion or Grouper’s works. Breathtaking.e – No Fear Of Pop

the drone-indebted shoegaze outfit Ikebana has a sound that seems to decidedly draw inspiration from its moniker—one which is considerably restrained and sparse, relying on the repetition of delicately embellished chordsl – XLR8R


where the guitar strums and vocals illuminate the chill of night with only the glow of the moon in the sky for comfort – IMPOSE Magazine

 

“Ikebana” showcases the more adventurous side of the group, one where untethered fragments of hushed vocals and echo-laden guitars drift and intermingle freely within wide open spaces. – Textura

PRESS QUOTES

Beautifully Blooming…Japanese duo constructs minimal shoegaze music – SPIN MAGAZINE

It’s flooring stuff, suited for fans of Windy & Carl and Grouper
– The FADER

IKEBANA‘s brooding drones and shoegaze tones give way to songs still tinged with hope; not dark or sad, but simply pensive and aware…Sometimes being alone isn’t a bad thing at all.- DECORDER Magazine

The message is sincere, and as focused as its title. The pacing is unforced, its end result reaching something uniquely sublime
– Studiums & Shrines

minimal shoegaze, reminiscent of Slowdive’s Pygmalion or Grouper’s works. Breathtaking.e – No Fear Of Pop

the drone-indebted shoegaze outfit Ikebana has a sound that seems to decidedly draw inspiration from its moniker—one which is considerably restrained and sparse, relying on the repetition of delicately embellished chordsl – XLR8R


where the guitar strums and vocals illuminate the chill of night with only the glow of the moon in the sky for comfort – IMPOSE Magazine

 

“Ikebana” showcases the more adventurous side of the group, one where untethered fragments of hushed vocals and echo-laden guitars drift and intermingle freely within wide open spaces. – Textura

IKEBANA

JAPAN

Japanese female duo IKEBANA is consists of 2 very gifted female artists, maki and en. maki, from the legendary Japanese shoegaze band INCENSE, is a very traditional Japanese. She only owns an old mobile phone, she doesn’t have a digital equipment nor uses the internet. Her musical influence is limited to those of the 80’s.
The story started when maki recorded the music she made into a cassette MTR. One day, moOog Yamamoto (of Buffalo Daughter whohas released the album from Beastie Boys own Grand Royal) bumped into her music in this cassette, and he immediately felt in love with it. From there, maki, Moog and their friend DJ Codomo decided to come together to form a band, and they named it “IKEBANA”. After some time, Moog and DJ Codomo left the band, and en took their place in joining IKEBANA.
In 2012, Yo La Tengo picked up IKEBANA’s self-released album as one of his best albums on STUDIO VOICE.
In additional to music making, maki also makes hand-made clothing (second-hand clothing with her own collages) with the clothing label FLANGER. Artists like Cornelius, Buffalo Daughter and Kiiiiiii are taking these clothing. (wei@mu-nest)

maki（INCENSE）とen（ex-CITRUS）によるギターユニット。makiがカセットMTRに録音した音源をきっかけにバンドがスタート。山本ムーグ（Buffalo Daughter）、DJ Codomoが在籍・脱退後、enが加入し、現在の編成に至る。2009年に発売されたファーストアルバム『From Dusk Till Dusk』は自主流通のみながら、各所で話題を呼び、すぐに廃盤となる（後にウリチパン郡などで知られるAKICHI RECORDSより2ndエディションがリリース→現在廃盤）。 今年flauと契約、６月に初の全国流通盤となるセカンドアルバム『when you arrive there』をリリース。
バンドはYo La Tengoが昨年のベストに入れるなど、欧米のサイケデリック／ドローンの流れとは一線を画す純粋培養されたミニマル・シューゲイザーサウンドとして、高い評価を獲得、 makiによる古着をリメイクしたアートワークプロジェクトFLANGERなど、アート／映像との親和性も高く、様々なイベント／プロジェクトに参加している。

photo by Ryo Mitamura

NEWS

May 10th, 2019

Travel360 by Air Asia feat FLAU
＃crystal＃ikebana＃flau＃review