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Sandbox 3: Netlabels (and the surprising ways that Touhou doujin music connects to them)
用户Wiki:Demobanker
So what are netlabels? Both its Wikipedia page and The Internet Archive's netlabels collection page does a fine job at explaining it. Basically, it's a record label, but ✨online✨. Specifically, netlabels distribute music primarily through free digital downloads, typically under a Creative Commons license or a similar license that allows open sharing. Early on, netlabels tended to host the music on their own servers or through the Internet Archive. From the 2010s onwards, however, Bandcamp became the main place for netlabels thanks to the website's growing popularity among independent musicians, its ability to allow people to give extra money on purchases even for free releases, as well as its generous cut for musicians compared to traditional record labels and streaming.
Unlike traditional record label models which ties artists up with contracts and owns the music's copyright, artists releasing on netlabels are not restricted by contracts and still own the copyright to their music. This means the artist is still allowed to distribute the music on their own websites, make updated editions, and even charge money if they wish. An important consequence of this is that artists can freely switch between labels, sometimes even releasing on multiple labels at once. The combined effects of free downloads and a lack of restrictions on artists create a network effect, where loose scenes are created through likeminded artists and labels. From a listener's point of view, you can easily discover a lot of great music from all over the world, and it's all thanks to the generosity of artists!
The history of Japan's netlabel scene is complex and is something I don't know enough to explain, so read this article by Japanese music journalist Patrick St. Michel for that. While the article is from 2013, the most notable Japanese netlabel today still is Maltime Records, whose unique takes on EDM and pop music has been influential on mainstream Japanese music. Following that are Lost Frog Productions and Omoide Label, both of which became popular among internet music nerd types interested in leftfield EDM in recent years. There are a lot of smaller netlabels running their own Tumblr or Bandcamp or even their own website, but if you ask me, "What's the Japanese netlabel equivalent of something like Diverse Systems or Hardcore Tano*C?", those three would be my answer. (If I were writing this in 2018, I would also mention Bunkai-Kei because of its popularity with IDM and ambient fans. However, they stopped being active in 2017 and isn't as relevant now.)
And that brings me to why I made this page. Doujin music and netlabels are both notable forms of self-published music with a collaborative aspect, and while a lot has been written about "doujin vs indie", there isn't as much writing that tries to relate these two (I came across a Japanese paper discussing this topic a few years ago, but sadly can't find it again). Surprisingly, the two areas have a lot of crossovers, and I don't mean trivial cases where someone uses a Vocaloid on a release. Maltine Records started out releasing nerdcore techno, a genre pioneered through doujin music. In the early 2010s, a loose collective of netlabels appeared that were themed around specific anime, tying to the fannish aspects of doujin music. It consisted of Tsukasa Records (themed around Lucky Star), Novier Records (Strawberry Marshmallow), toarurecords (A Certain Scientific Railgun) and ××××××××records,tokyo (Hidamari Sketch). Something else to consider is that the same piece of music can be released in both doujin and netlabel contexts. Chiptune music artist Dong, for example, released his albums 旅するコドモ and Omoide Overdose during M3 and Comiket respectively, and later re-released them through his own netlabel 16dimensional records. For another example, 響現's album Awakening was simultaneously released digitally through Lost Frog Productions and physically at M3.
The Artists
The Labels
For a label to be mentioned in this section, it should either
1. have a Touhou album or EP released on it, or
2. have at least two artists credited on the wiki (and the credit is related to Touhou) release an album or EP on it.
As I said in the intro, artists aren't bound by contracts when they release on netlabels, so they can release on as many labels as they want. I'd rather not bog this page down if a prolific artist just happens to make a Touhou album. However, I would make exceptions if I think there's an interesting link between the artist and the label.
About the label: Founded in 2014 by American artist gei and Swedish artist Riajuu, The Worst is one of the major netlabels in the internet breakcore scene from the mid to late 2010s. They specialized in more atmospheric takes on the genre like depressive breakcore, as well as a (relatively) tamer, less offensive development of lolicore as that genre became dissociated from its roots in chan culture.
Relation to Touhou music: Artists like SyndraSound, Ariflare and floppie has released original music on the label. Riajuu themselves also appear on BOSSS RUSH CORE, though they did not work on the Touhou tracks.
About the label: Lost Frog Productions is Japan's oldest netlabel. It was founded by Haruo Ishihara in 1992 as a physical label and switched to a netlabel during the 2000s. While their output in the 2000s and 2010s focused on experimental electronic and rock music, in 2019 the label switched to an anime aesthetic and started focusing on the post-The Worst label internet breakcore scene. This passing of the torch was indicated by The Worst co-founder Riajuu releasing a best-of compilation as one of the first releases in this new direction. However, Lost Frog's biggest impact on underground Japanese music would start in 2022, when it started releasing music in the Dariacore (a.k.a. hyperflip) genre, a type of frantic EDM-mashup created by American experimental pop/hip hop artist Jane Remover. At this time, the genre's pioneering artists were exploring other music styles, so Ishihara's championing of Dariacore inspired a new wave of artists to push things even further. Unfortuantely I haven't really checked out the genre much so I can't really explain in detail the label's importance, but luckily music journalist Kieran Press-Reynolds (who's one of the few music writers I check out, btw) published this article which does a way better job explaining than I could.
Relation to Touhou music: bukabukabukai and dev (a.k.a. 808sndmindbreak) has released music on the label. In addition, many arrangers on CXR Record's albums have participated in Lost Frog's compilations.
- UGU (Discogs reference)
About the label: UGU was a Japanese label run by experimental otaku musician No.305 between 2006 and 2012. The label was instrumental in the spread of lolicore (then called anicore) through the internet. Beyond that, the label also released music in other genres, including noise and experimental rock.
Relation to Touhou music: UFO County has released 徒花, 賞翫 and 酩宴 on the label. No.305 also released 東方参零伍 on the label, which consists of field recordings of them playing Touhou 6. I think I'd get banned if I add it on the wiki lmao
About the label: Tsundere Violence is a label founded by multi-alias American artist Himeko Katagiri in 2012. The label was notable for being the biggest supporter of the lolicore genre, though it has also released in other abrasive hardcore EDM genres, as well as noise, hardcore punk, field recordings, vaporwave, IDM, dark ambient and other experimental genres. The label has an edgy aesthetic, so only check it out if you're into that sort of thing.
Incidentally, Himeko Katagiri has said on Twitter that they were inspired by UGU.
Relation to Touhou music: Himeko Katagiri is credited on this wiki as Seifuku Sound, their alias for soundtracks.
About the label: Specializes in chiptune and chiptune-related music.
Relation to Touhou music: Kommisar released Reimu Plays LSDJ and Cosmic Phantasm on the label.
About the label: Founded in Portugal in 2000 and still running today, they release in a variety of genres, including leftfield electronic music, post-rock, indie, and industrial.
Relation to Touhou music: Portuguese EDM musician Azureflux has a few original releases on the label (yeah the exception is because the artist and label are both Portuguese).
About the label: Based in Japan and mostly covers leftfield electronic music and a few rock releases.
Relation to Touhou music: sgg's 極彩色迷彩 was initially released on this label.
About the label: Based in Japan and specializes in underground EDM genres.
Relation to Touhou music: 2 hu hijack EP was released on this label.
Labels Recorded on the Wiki
Hardcore EDM label founded by Polish artist クレトン/Kreton, who has worked with other Touhou arrangers and arragement circles on the wiki like Shingo Dj and Distorted Music.
Run by sgg from Red Bullet Sequence. While the label website is down, a partial discography is still available through the Internet Archive.
Made up of members of 名工大作曲サークル, a doujin circle run by students at Nagoya Institute of Technology, Zero Divide Records is both a netlabel and a doujin circle. While they call themselves a netlabel on their website and releases free digital compilations, they also release CD compilations at M3.
Headed by Studio-Stardustglass' Yutaka Kouzaki, 星屑コンテナ is another example of something that's both a netlabel and a doujin circle. They often host compilations which are either released as CDs at doujin events or as digital files through either their website or Booth.
Notes
I based this page's structure on this RYM list about Spanish IDM and leftfield electronic music by kaos, as I think looking through this from both the artist's perspective and label's perspective is better than just going for one or the other.
Template:
- [link_to_label Label Name] ([discogs_link_for_reference Discogs reference])
About the label:
Relation to Touhou music: