The Label

Over a span of 9 years, KITCHEN. LABEL has established itself as a vital outpost for artists who explore the ground between various strains of ambient, neo-classical and the avant-garde, matched with a carefully honed and distinctive aesthetic. The independent record label was founded by Singapore-born Ricks Ang in 2008, and has since grown and extended its base to Japan where it has received wide recognition for its artistic output and thoughtfully designed albums.

The label’s artists share an obsession with sensuous and fleeting phenomena in their music, weaving painterly sound collages into texture-focused arrangements. Despite its domesticated namesake and penchant for delicate gestures and impassive interiors, KITCHEN. LABEL (named after Banana Yoshimoto’s novel “Kitchen”) is a thoroughly metropolitan phenomenon that documents momentary flickers of melancholic beauty in unlikely environments.

2016 to 2017 saw an array of label artist haruka nakamura’s sold-out concerts together with his piano ensemble line-up at St Mary’s Cathedral in Tokyo and Memorial Cathedral of World Peace in Hiroshima. These were 2 of his most prestigious shows across a span of 21 tour dates across Japan and Asia, held after the success of best-selling albums “twilight” and “Ongaku No Aru Fuukei”. KITCHEN. LABEL is also home to Singapore’s most acclaimed artists ASPIDISTRAFLY and sonicbrat, as well as European composers Hior Chronik and Zinovia Arvanitidi.

2018 marks the label’s 10th anniversary and continues to offer listeners across the world new sounds and new musical forms through the KITCHEN. LABEL catalogue.

“A roving eye in search of the beauty of everyday life, KITCHEN. LABEL artists mimic the play of dappled sunlight through leaves, or even a certain strain of “lost” Japan memorialized in Tanizaki’s “In Praise of Shadows,” reinterpreted for modern life.” – ArtAsiaPacific

KITCHEN. LABEL is distributed to over 40 cities and can be found in record stores, select art bookstores and boutiques in Japan and around the world. Our full label catalogue is also available to subscribers to streaming services including Apple Music, Amazon, Spotify, Deezer and Tidal.

The Label

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