Far East Movement

Far East Movement

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.
Far*East Movement
Also known as FM
Origin Los Angeles, California,
United States
Genres Electro hop
Years active 2003present
Labels Cherrytree, Interscope
Associated acts Stereotypes
The Cataracs
Dev
Ryan Tedder
Website fareastmovement.com
Members
Kev Nish
Prohgress
J-Splif
DJ Virman

Far*East Movement (abbreviated FM) is an electro/hop quartet based in Los Angeles, California, created in 2003. Members Kev Nish (Chinese/Japanese American), Prohgress (Korean American), J-Splif (Korean American), and DJ Virman (Filipino American) represent different generations of Japanese, Korean, Chinese, and Filipino ancestry within the Asian American community.[1] They put together the first multicultural live music event in Koreatown, Los Angeles to benefit a drug rehabilitation center in the community called "Movementality".[2] FM's first claim to fame was their song "Round Round" featured in the Hollywood blockbuster, The Fast and the Furious: Tokyo Drift, and its subsequent soundtrack, video game and DVD. Since "Round Round", theyve been featured on various network shows including CSI: Miami, CSI: NY, HBOs hit show Entourage, Gossip Girl, and Finishing the Game (a featured film at Sundance 2007).[3] They were invited to perform on Power 106's Powerhouse 2009, one of the biggest Hip-Hop concerts on the west coast, performing with the line-up including Jay-Z, Kid Cudi, Sean Paul, New Boyz, Pitbull, Lil Jon, LMFAO, Ya Boy, Flo Rida, and The Black Eyed Peas. Their single "Like a G6" hit number one on the Billboard Hot 100 Chart and on iTunes as well in late October, 2010[4].

Musical career

2003-2007: Folk Music

The original members of Far*East Movement, Kevin Nishimura (Kev Nish), James Roh (Prohgress) and Jae Choung (J-Splif), grew up in Koreatown, Los Angeles, California. They were close companions in high school and shared a passion for music together. The trio promoted their music online and began performing at local clubs and events in Los Angeles; soon, they began their musical career with the name "Emcee's Anonymous" by 2001. However, they later changed it to Far East Movement or FM, originating from a song that they produced with the same name. In 2003, they organized together an event called "Movementality" in Koreatown, LA, featuring ten different performances with all the proceeds sent to a local youth drug rehabilitation center.

Their first album called Folk Music was released in early 2006.[5] The single "Round Round" was featured in the film, The Fast and the Furious: Tokyo Drift, appearing both on the self-titled soundtrack The Fast and the Furious: Tokyo Drift and video game. This critical breakout was the catalyst that cemented their decision to pursue music as a full-time career.[6] They proceeded to perform on two world tours (including USA, South America, Canada, and Asia), and they signed distribution deals in Japan and Korea with Avex Network and JF Productions for their album. Their songs continued to be shown in the media and TV networks including VH1, MTV and E!. In 2007, they were featured in the Sundance Film Festival film called Finishing the Game, making the song "Satisfaction" for the film. They also released the single "You've Got A Friend" featuring Lil Rob and Baby Bash, which became their first song on major national radio.

They were also credited as the producers for Jin's entire fourth album called ABC that was released on February 2007.

2008-2009: DJ Virman and Animal

LA's radio station Power 106 DJ, DJ Virman, came to the group as their official DJ. They released another single titled "Lowridin" that received heavy airplay in 2008. Soon after, they planned on showcasing a second album, releasing Animal later on in the same year. Animal featured three hit singles that frequently won national radio play: Youve Got A Friend, Lowridin, and the successful Girls On The Dance Floor. "Girls on the Dance Floor" reached 27th on the Billboard chart for the Latin Rhythm Airplay, which marked their debut on the Billboard's charts.[7]

There were several collaborations on the Animal Album, including The Stereotypes, Lil Rob, Baby Bash, Bruno Mars, Wiz Khalifa, Bionik, 24/8, IZ, DB Tonik, and Jah Free.[8] Their songs from the Animal album were featured in major film and television on multiple occasions. FM's single "Girls on the Dance Floor" has been played on MTV's America's Best Dance Crew on the Season 4 Finale during a performance with Artistry In Motion, Vogue Evolution and We Are Heroes. It was also featured on Get Him to the Greek, FOX's So You Think You Can Dance and on the 7th episode of CSI: Miami Season 8. In addition, "Dance Like Michael Jackson" was aired on ABC Family's Lincoln Heights on November 10, 2009 and on the Gossip Girl episode, "Dan de Fleurette". "I Party" was highlighted on FOX's TV series Lie To Me and "Fetish" was on Spike TV's Guy's Choice Awards 2009. "Girls on the Dance Floor" has attained over 5 million hits on Myspace while attracting over 1 million views on Youtube.

In 2009, they were one of the prominent acts in L.A.'s Powerhouse 106 concert with well-known artists such as Jay-Z, Kid Cudi, Sean Paul, New Boyz, Pitbull, Lil Jon, LMFAO, Ya Boy, Flo Rida, and The Black Eyed Peas. Popular streetwear company, Orisue, had teamed up with Far East Movement and helped shoot a music video for "Lowridin". In May 2009, Far East Movement joined the well-known hip hop group from Korea, Epik High, on their "Map the Soul" tour throughout the U.S. Then they held their first headlining concert at the Roxy Theater in Hollywood by July 2009, which resulted in a sold-out show. Together with Wong Fu Productions, FM has established another three sold-out "International Secret Agents" concerts titled as "ISA", hosted in San Francisco LA, and New York in order to promote Asian American artists in the media with performances by Quest Crew, Poreotics, Jay Park and others.

FM's new mixtape named Party Animal was released on the first date of the Party Rock Tour (featuring FM, LMFAO, Shwayze, Paradiso Girls, Space Cowboy and more). Their two singles, "Girls on the Dance Floor" and "2 is Better w/ Ya Boy", have been garnering successful radio airplay. They later announced that they are working on a new album with Grammy nominated producers, The Stereotypes, who had produced their hit track, "Girls on the Dance Floor".

2010present: Cherrytree/Interscope Records and Free Wired

In February 2010, Far East Movement signed a major record deal with Cherrytree Records, a subsidiary of Interscope Records.[9] They are currently managed by Ted Chung of Stampede Management, who is also the President of Doggystyle Records.

Progressing further along in the same year, the group supported Robyn and Kelis on their double headlining tour along with Dan Black, in addition to being announced as the opening act of Lady Gaga's tour on the Japanese leg of The Monster Ball Tour.[10] Furthermore, their previous hit track, "Girls on the Dancefloor" & "Fetish", was featured in Piranha 3D, yet it was not slotted into the film's soundtrack.

Their 2010 "ISA" shows in LA and New York were held on September 5 and August 28 respectively. They performed their songs alongside acts by AJ Rafael, Jay Park, Wong Fu Productions, Poreotics and Quest Crew (both winners from America's Best Dance Crew), David Choi, Jennifer Chung, David Garibaldi, Lydia Paek (of Quest Crew), and more. Both of the shows were hosted by Lydia Paek, Kevin Wu and Ryan Higa.

From September 13 until mid-October, the group was one of the opening acts for the Up In The Air Tour with Mike Posner, which spans across various cities in North America.[10]

Free Wired is the title of their first major debut album from Cherrytree/Interscope Records and was released on October 12, 2010. The album was made available in both the U.S. and Canada. Their tracks include popular artists such as Keri Hilson, Lil Jon, Snoop Dogg (their song co-written by Bruno Mars), Mohombi, Colette Carr, Natalia Kills, and Ryan Tedder from OneRepublic.[11] Their first single to be released for airplay is called "Rocketeer", which will exclusively feature Ryan Tedder.[12][13]

In the October 30th, 2010 edition of Billboard Magazine, their single featuring The Cataracs and Dev titled "Like a G6" peaked at number one on the Billboard Hot 100 as well as iTunes.[14] At the release of Free Wired at Hard Rock Cafe in New York City on October 12, 2010, it was announced that Far East Movement's "Like a G6" went platinum, selling over 1 million singles.

Discography

Studio albums

Year Album details Chart Positions
US US
Rap
CAN
2010 Free Wired
  • 1st studio album
  • Released: 12 October 2010
  • Label: Cherrytree Records, Interscope Records
24 4 16

Albums

Year Title Chart positions

US US
Rap
CAN
2005 Audio-Bio
2006 Folk Music
2008 Animal
2010 Free Wired 24 4 16

EPs

Year Title

2006 For the Folks N' Family EP

Mixtapes

  • 2007 — Flavoured Animal Droppings
  • 2009 — Party Animal Mixtape

Singles

Year Single Peak chart positions
US
[15]
US Pop
[16]
US Rap
[17]
AUS
[18]
CAN
[19]
NZ
[20]
2006 "You've Got a Friend" (featuring Baby Bash and Lil Rob)
2007 "Lowridin`" (& Knight Rider Remix featuring Wiz Khalifa and Bionik)
2009 "Fetish"
"2 is Better" (featuring Lil Eddie and Ya Boy)
"Girls On the Dancefloor" (featuring Stereotypes)
"Get With You" (Stereos featuring Far East Movement)
2010 "Like a G6" (featuring The Cataracs and Dev) 1 5 3 3 3 1
"Go Ape" (featuring Lil Jon and Colette Carr)
"Rocketeer" (featuring Ryan Tedder)
"" denotes releases that did not chart or not released to that country

Music videos

Year Video Director Links
2006 "Round Round" Arowana Films http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Spi-WqDr0Lc
2008 "Dance Like Michael Jackson" Wong Fu Productions http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dCtEvOdOZvg
2009 "Fetish" Iron Brothers Entertainment http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=25e1Qc17wlY
2010 "Like a G6" (with Dev, & The Cataracs)— Matt Alonzo[21] http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=w4s6H4ku6ZY
"Rocketeer" (featuring Ryan Tedder)— Marc Klasfeld http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RcmKbTR--iA

References

  1. Hip-hop crew Far East Movement at the King Cat Saturday. The Seattle Times. Retrieved on 2010-09-26.
  2. Far East Movement: the interview (FM). Jizo Entertainment. Retrieved on 2009-05-22.
  3. Far East Movement. AZN Lifestyles. Retrieved on 2009-05-22.
  4. http://www.billboard.com/charts/hot-100#/charts/hot-100?chartDate=2010-10-30
  5. CD Baby: Far East Movement: Folk Music. CD Baby. Retrieved on 2009-05-22.
  6. L.A. Times Far East Movement Interview and Article, LA Times, 2009-12-25. URL accessed on 2010-08-13.
  7. Top Music Charts. Billboard. Retrieved on 2009-07-13.
  8. Far east movement animal album. dopeusa. Retrieved on 2009-05-22.
  9. Far East Movement Officially Signs With Cherrytree Records (Interscope)!. MTV World & MTV Networks. Retrieved on 2010-02-05.
  10. 10.0 10.1 Far East Movement going on tour with Lady Gaga in Japan. Far East Movement. Retrieved on 2010-03-20.
  11. Far East Movement Interview with Hitlab. Far East Movement. Retrieved on 2010-09-06.
  12. Far East Movement Interview Complex Magazine. Complex Magazine. Retrieved on 2010-09-06.
  13. Far East Movement Blog Ryan Tedder. Far East Movement. Retrieved on 2010-09-06.
  14. http://www.billboard.com/charts/hot-100#/charts/hot-100?chartDate=2010-10-30
  15. Far East Movement Album & Song Chart History - Hot 100. Billboard. Nielsen Company. Retrieved on November 5, 2010.
  16. Far East Movement Album & Song Chart History - Pop Songs. Billboard. Nielsen Company. Retrieved on November 5, 2010.
  17. Far East Movement Album & Song Chart History - Rap Songs. Billboard. Nielsen Company. Retrieved on November 5, 2010.
  18. australian-charts.com - Australian charts portal. australian-charts.com. Retrieved on November 5, 2010.
  19. Far East Movement Album & Song Chart History - Canadian Hot 100. Billboard. Nielsen Company. Retrieved on November 5, 2010.
  20. charts.org.nz - New Zealand charts portal. charts.org.nz. Retrieved on November 5, 2010.
  21. Like A G6 Behind the Scenes.

External links

This page was last modified 10.11.2010 17:13:02

This article uses material from the article Far East Movement from the free encyclopedia Wikipedia and it is licensed under the GNU Free Documentation License.