the dream

Rufus Lin is a Canadian music producer, who has released jazz and piano music under his own name, and electronic dance music under the name DJ Beat Red. Here he talks about his dream for Edge of the Road Records.

One of the things I have learned from many years in the music industry is that genre and other conventional wisdom simply straitjacket you. They exist simply to make it easier for people to sell and talk about your music. They are not a physical law of the universe.

That is what I have learned, sometimes painfully!, after working at various places over more than three decades, as a music journalist, composer, arranger, orchestral and choral conductor, jazz singer/ pianist and record producer. And that is the approach I continue to take with Edge of the Road. Some of our artists have a Gospel feel to them, others a JPOP or anime feel, some have an urban, hip-hop vibe, and yet others have a jazz or new country music flavor. 

Most of them are a completely unrecognizable new species, with faint traces of the conventional genres out of which they have evolved. We look at whatever suits their voice and singing style best.

My dream is to take this curious mix of unconventional yet high listenable music, and to have young singers from Japan sing these songs.

As English is not their native tongue, these young Japanese artists have to work extra hard to produce songs that an English-speaking audience can enjoy. That is the challenge. That is the driver behind their art.

That is the basis of their singing style, musical expression and general aesthetic, because they grew up and, in most cases, continue to live in modern Japanese society. All this means that you will hear, on this label, music impossible to encounter anywhere else!

We hope you will enjoy these songs, and support our artists. Thank you.

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