The members of Cero have just finished recording their radio show, "Night Drifter," when I meet them at the InterFM897 studios in Tokyo's Shinagawa Ward. When I walk into the studio, one of the group immediately points out my T-shirt, which has an air-brushed depiction of a beach at sunset with the word "chillwave" spray-painted across it.

Chillwave was a style of music popular on music websites at the start of the decade, and one of many micro-genres that enjoyed the fleeting attention of indie music aficionados. The group's members list off a number of blogs, bands and buzzwords from the era, but the most striking thing about our conversation is that Cero, a band that has charted on Japan's painfully mainstream Oricon album charts, is incredibly knowledgeable about niche music cultures — a rarity among Oricon's usual acts. Then again, the band used to be one of those niche takuroku (bedroom recording) acts not too long ago.

"But now that we have the budget, we're slowly shifting our style," vocalist Shohei Takagi says. "Our latest album was inspired by R&B, soul and jazz, and I even rap a bit on it."

It was a winning combination. Cero's third album, "Obscure Ride," peaked at eighth place on Oricon when it was released in May. The chart is usually dominated by Johnny's boy bands, "48" idol groups and aging rockers like Southern All Stars; Cero's placement was a bit of a feat, especially for a band compared more often to the urban chic of Shibuya-kei acts from the 1990s.

"Shibuya-kei, of course, has always been an important influence on our style," keyboardist Yu Arauchi says. "But our music isn't as sophisticated as that. Maybe because we're all from the suburbs (laughs)."

Takagi and Arauchi formed their band in 2004 and were later joined by guitarist Tsubasa Hashimoto. Cero stands for Contemporary Exotica Rock Orchestra and the group's songs focus on modern city life. This summer, the band was at the forefront of the urban-focused "city pop" push by the country's music media. However, the band's work leans more toward funk than its city-pop counterparts, and shows more appreciation for roots music: For gigs, they bring in support musicians to play steel pans and some brass. At an Oct. 2 gig at Billboard Live Tokyo, the band even welcomed internationally renowned trumpeter Takuya Kuroda onto the stage.

The show at Billboard Live, located in Roppongi's ritzy Tokyo Midtown shopping complex, seemed to be a breath of fresh air for the venue. The crowd was an atypical mix of 20-somethings and middle-aged regulars, and the tunes were a blend of contemporary rock music, experimental tinges and Kuroda's experienced jazz.

"The idea (for the collaboration) came up during the 'Night Drifter' program," says Kyoko Nagatani, chief producer at InterFM897. "We thought it was such a neat one, and decided to make it happen for that special show."

The Billboard show also served as the launch party for a revamped InterFM. From Oct. 1, the station got a new frequency, 89.7, and a new name to go with it. The move expanded the station's reach and it's now accessible throughout the 23 wards of Tokyo, as well as in some parts of Kanagawa and Chiba prefectures.

InterFM897 President Yoshiyuki Koike explains that when the station started out in 1996 as a subsidiary of Japan Times parent company Nifco, the only frequency available to it was 76.1. That meant a smaller broadcasting range, but there was no other option at the time.

"With this name change (adding the frequency to the name), hopefully people will realize that we're more accessible and the sound is clearer," he says.

The station was originally a means to provide non-Japanese speakers with public service announcements, which was especially important as the Kansai region had experienced the Great Hanshin Earthquake a year earlier.

Since new owners Kinoshita Holdings took over in 2013, however, most programs have switched over to Japanese only, though a 5:30 a.m. newscast is broadcast in English.

"Most of our DJs are fully bilingual, so in the event of an emergency announcement, it will be made both in Japanese and English," Nagatani says.

The move to a Japanese way of doing things is felt more in the music, however. It's not unusual to hear Smashing Pumpkins, Sekai no Owari and indie act Roth Bart Baron played within the same set.

"In terms of music, we don't necessarily limit ourselves," Nagatani says. "If we believe it's good, it doesn't matter if it's Japanese or Western, or if it's mainstream or not."

With its content mostly broadcast in Japanese, InterFM897 is starting to look more like competitors J-Wave and Tokyo FM. Like those companies, the station is also following a business model that includes hosting live music events, though at this point the scale of those events doesn't equal that of the others' major festivals.

"Radio is still a good way to recommend music," she says. "To further develop our concept — 'The Real Music Station' — we have a few ideas in mind. Running more live events is obviously a priority."

"While J-Wave is known for its huge annual event (J-Wave Live)," Koike says, "we are planning on running a couple of events per year. We launched a new department dedicated to events in September, to plan things in-house as much as possible."

InterFM897's first music festival, Toyosu Yaon Carnival, was held in cooperation with TV Asahi Music and Earth Garden on Oct. 31 and Nov. 1, also to celebrate the station's rebranding. Koike believes it was a good chance to introduce the station's musical tastes, with vocalist Toshi-Low of punk act Brahman and indie rockers Czecho No Republic performing at the company's booth.

In terms of "experiencing" the new station, its first satellite studio, FM897 Shibuya Studio, is set to open Nov. 19.

"The satellite studio will be the biggest addition to the station," Nagatani says. "Recording sessions and live performances will be right there for the audience to see for themselves."

Not all the shows will be broadcast from Shibuya, though Cero will continue to do its show from InterFM897's studios in Shinagawa Ward.

"We love the fact that we are able to share the music we like," Arauchi says. "Through the radio program we can do that without being too intrusive."

"We're not pressured to promote any music," Tagaki adds, "so we can play almost anything from the classics to contemporary stuff. That's why we played Kuroda's jazz, which ended up giving us the chance to share a stage with him."

Cero's latest album, "Obscure Ride," is in stores now. The band plays Liquidroom in Shibuya-ku, Tokyo, on Nov. 19 (7 p.m. start; ¥5,500 in advance; 03-5720-9999); and Nakano Sunplaza in Nakano-ku, Tokyo, on Nov. 26 (7:30 p.m.; ¥4,800 in adv.; 03-5720-9999); For more information and dates, visit www.kakubarhythm.com or www.cero-web.jp.