UK Project
UK Project (stylized as UK.PROJECT) is a Japanese independent record label 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 and Zher the Zoo in Tokyo's Yoyogi. UK Project is based in Daizawa, Setagaya, Tokyo. 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, Countdown Japan and Fuji Rock Festival. Other activities. Venues. Shimokitazawa Club QUE (born October 1994) Club Que is a fixture in Tokyo's Shimokitazawa 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 district. It is a concert venue with a capacity of 280 people and is a bar after hours. 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 with current and previous UK  Project bands, as well as foreign and affiliated bands. UKFC on the Road 2011 UKFC on the Road 2012 UKFC on the Road 2013 2013 was the first year the annual tour became a music festival event held at Studio Coast in Shin Kiba, Tokyo with live performances and DJ sets. 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. 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. Highline Record. Highline Record  was an indie record store and record label located in Shimokitazawa, Tokyo. 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, Good Dog Happy Man and Nananine. Highline Record was dissolved in July 2006.