Far East Movement | |
---|---|
Far East Movement at the 2011 MuchMusic Video Awards. From left to right: J-Splif, Kev Nish, Prohgress, DJ Virman.
|
|
Background information | |
Origin | Los Angeles, California, United States |
Genres | |
Years active | 2003–present |
Labels |
|
Associated acts | |
Website | fareastmovement |
Members |
|
Past members |
|
Far East Movement (abbreviated FM) is an American hip hop and electronic music group based in Los Angeles. The group formed in 2003 and consists of Kev Nish (Kevin Nishimura), Prohgress (James Roh) and DJ Virman (Virman Coquia). Their single "Like a G6", featuring pop-rap duo The Cataracs and singer Dev hit number one on both the Billboard Hot 100 chart and on the iTunes chart in late October 2010, making them the first Asian-American group to earn a number one hit on the Billboard Hot 100 chart. Among their other chart toppers are: "Rocketeer" featuring Ryan Tedder of One Republic (peaked at #7 on Billboard), "Turn Up the Love" (#2 on the UK Charts), and their 2012 remix to the song "Get Up (Rattle)" by the Bingo Players, also hit #1 on the UK Charts.
The group's latest album, "Identity," is the first release under their own record label Transparent Music. "Identity" focuses on bridging Eastern artists with FM's Western dance music roots. The album received a positive review in Billboard Magazine; the single "Freal Luv" with Marshmello featuring Tinashe and Chanyeol from the chart topping K-pop group EXO, received 21 million plays on YouTube. Far East Movement has also branched out with a number of collaborations on labels Ministry of Sound, Dim Mak, and Ultra.
In 2016, Far East Movement's company, Transparent Agency, manages ten artists of various genres, including includes rapper Dumbfoundead and producer/ DJ Yultron. The artists have garnered millions of social media plays, sold out national tours, and have released tracks through labels OWSLA, Spinnin’, Armada, and Universal. FM also has a joint label, BredNButter, with Trap City, a large dance music channel with more than seven million subscribers. BredNButter's many releases have amassed millions of plays in total in a little over a year of existence. Far East Movement are in the process of recording their next full-length release.
The three original members of Far East Movement, Kevin Nishimura (Kev Nish), James Roh (Prohgress), and Jae Choung (J-Splif), grew up in the Downtown Los Angeles area. 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 "Emcees 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 organised an event called "Movementality" in Koreatown, Los Angeles, featuring ten different performances with all the proceeds sent to a local youth drug rehabilitation center.