Do As Infinity is a Japanese pop and rock band that formed in 1999 with three members: vocalist Tomiko Van, guitarist Ryo Owatari, and guitarist and composer Dai Nagao. The band's name is sometimes abbreviated as DAI, alluding to the fact that Do As Infinity was named after Nagao. Signed to Avex Trax, the band released their debut single "Tangerine Dream" on September 29, 1999, followed by three more singles between 1999 and 2000, which appeared on their debut album Break of Dawn (2000). In December 2000, Nagao decided to devote all his time to composing the music and no longer appeared at live events. Five more studio albums were released between 2001 with New World and 2005 with Need Your Love.
Break of Dawn is the debut album by Do As Infinity, released in 2000. The cover of this album is the only one by the group where Dai Nagao is included in along with the other two members. The song "Raven" was used as the ending theme for the Japanese horror film Uzumaki.
True Song is Do As Infinity's fourth album. It was released on December 26, 2002 under the Avex Records label. The last song on this album, "Ai no Uta", has become a fan favorite and also a staple song to the end of all the Do As Infinity concerts after this album released. Another staple song for their concerts was "One or Eight", which they usually do band member introductions in the middle of. "Kūsō Ryodan", according to Saiko Kawamura written in the Do the A-side booklet, is the song resembling Do As Infinity spirit. He stated that "...we are the fantasy brigade..." in the last sentence of the booklet which he penned.
Gates of Heaven is an album by Do As Infinity. It was released in 2003. "Azayaka na Hana" is one of the first songs Ryo Owatari wrote before auditioning for Do as Infinity, it was written for his former band, Peek-A-Boo! He also recorded a new version of the song with his new band Missile Innovation in their self-titled mini-album. The Asia version of the album included a Mandarin version of Shinjitsu no Uta as a bonus track.
Do the B-side is the eighth album from the popular Japanese band Do As Infinity. A limited edition of this album was released with an original T-shirt celebrating the fifth anniversary of the band. Footage of the concert is found in the Do As Infinity Live Year 2004 DVD. This B-side compilation album was released on September 23, 2004, under the AVEX Records label.
Memorial Address is the debut mini-album by Japanese singer Ayumi Hamasaki. Avex Trax released the album on December 17, 2003, in both physical and digital formats; it was her first album to be released in CD+DVD format in addition to the regular CD-only format, due to her increased interest in music video direction. The mini-album contains eight songs and features a number of collaborators, including Tetsuya Yukumi, Bounceback, CMJK, and Dai Nagao, among others, with Hamasaki serving as co-composer and songwriter. Memorial Address's musical influences include dance music, electronic, R&B, rock, and alternative metal.
Ami Suzuki is a Japanese recording artist, DJ, and actress from Zama, Kanagawa, Japan. Having been discovered at the talent TV show Asayan, she was one of the most popular female teen idols in the late 1990s. However, in 2000, Suzuki faced legal problems with her management company resulting in a controversial blacklisting from the entertainment industry. Suzuki attempted to resurrect her career under her own steam with two indie singles before signing to Avex Trax in 2005. She released "Delightful", a dance song that reached No. 3 on the Japanese Oricon charts with a style similar to electronic club music, significantly different from her pop idol days. Since her appearance in the 2006 film Rainbow Song, Suzuki has gradually made a name for herself in the acting field, starring in various movies, television series, and musicals.
Do the A-side is a compilation album from popular Japanese band Do As Infinity, following their announcement to split. It was released on September 28, 2005 and includes every single that they have made. This is the only CD album released from Do As Infinity which does not include any of the band's pictures besides their past CD single covers. There are two versions of this album, one with 2 CDs and a DVD as well as one only containing two CDs. The title of the album is similar to that of the group's 2004 compilation, Do the B-side, which comprises most of the B-side tracks from first seventeen maxi singles they have released.
"Surreal" is a song by Japanese recording artist Ayumi Hamasaki, taken from her third studio album Duty (2000). It was written by Hamasaki and produced by Max Matsuura. The song is a rock with elements of alternative rock. "Surreal" describes Hamasaki's madness and sense of confusion, while the themes of "Surreal" are based on Hamasaki's concept of loneliness, chaos, confusion, and the burden of her responsibilities, aimed mostly toward her public image as a recording artist. It was released as the fourth single from the album on 27 September 2000 by Avex Trax and Avex Taiwan.
"To Be" is a song by Japanese recording artist Ayumi Hamasaki. It served as the third single from Hamasaki's second studio album Loveppears (1999). The track was released by Avex Trax in Japan and Taiwan on May 12, 1999, and through Avex Entertainment Inc. worldwide in September 2008. It was Hamasaki's final single to be distributed as a Mini-CD, a format that debuted at the start of her career in April 1998. "To Be" was written by Hamasaki herself, while production was handled by long-time collaborator Max Matsuura. Musically, it is a J-Pop that was written in third person perspective, much like the content from the parent album.
"Boys & Girls" is a song recorded by Japanese recording artist Ayumi Hamasaki, serving as the fourth single for her second studio album, Loveppears (1999). It was released by Avex Trax in Japan and Hong Kong on July 14, 1999, and through Avex USA in North America in early 2001, while being re-distributed in 2003. "Boys & Girls" marks Hamasaki's first single to be made available for purchase as a maxi single with additional remixes. The track was written by the singer herself, while production was handled by long-time collaborator Max Matsuura. Musically, the song is a dance recording, a genre that heavily influences Loveppears. The single's lyrical content is written in third-person perspective.
A is an extended play (EP) by Japanese recording artist Ayumi Hamasaki. It was released by Avex Trax in Japan and Hong Kong on August 11, 1999, in 10 different editions, and through Avex Entertainment Inc. worldwide in September 2008. It additionally served as a single from her second studio album Loveppears (1999), and is her first single marketed as an EP. The 12-track EP contains four new original songs: "Monochrome", "Too Late", "Trauma", and "End Roll", and eight remixes. All songs were written by Hamasaki, while production was handled by long-time collaborator Max Matsuura.
"Fly High" is a song recorded by Japanese recording artist Ayumi Hamasaki. It was released by Avex Trax in Japan on February 9, 2000, and through Avex Entertainment Inc. worldwide in September 2008. The recording served as Hamasaki's third and final limited edition single from her second studio album, Loveppears (1999), limiting physical units to 300,000 copies. The track was written by the singer herself, while production was handled by long-time collaborator Max Matsuura. Two versions of "Fly High" were made available for consumption—a radio edit composed by HΛL, and the album version produced by Dai Nagao. Lyrically, the song was written in third person perspective.
"Far Away" is a song recorded by Japanese recording artist Ayumi Hamasaki for her third studio album, Duty (2000). It was written by Hamasaki, while production was handled by Max Matsuura. It premiered on May 17, 2000, as the second single from the album. The song is part of a trilogy from Duty; the other two singles being "Vogue" and "Seasons".
"Seasons" is a song by Japanese recording artist Ayumi Hamasaki for her third studio album, Duty (2000). It was written by Hamasaki, while production was handled by Avex Trax chairman Max Matsuura. It premiered on June 7, 2000, as the third single from the album. The song is the final part of a trilogy from Duty; the other two singles from the trilogy being "Vogue" and "Far Away".
"Mahou no Kotoba " is the fifteenth single by Do As Infinity, released in 2003. Two versions of the single were released, a limited CD+DVD edition and a normal CD edition, each version with a different cover. It was used as the theme song for the 2003 Japanese drama Chocolat. Due to the extremely high popularity and marriage based theme of the A-side track "Mahou no Kotoba ", the song became one of the most requested wedding songs in Japan.
The discography of Do As Infinity, a J-pop and rock band formed in Aoyama, Tokyo, Japan, consists of 13 studio albums, 5 live albums, 10 compilation albums, 31 singles, 19 video releases, and 39 music videos. Composer Dai Nagao of Avex Trax hosted auditions for a band in 1999, eventually choosing Tomiko Van as lead vocalist and Ryo Owatari as guitarist. The trio released their first single "Tangerine Dream" in 1999 and released three more singles between 1999 and 2000 which appeared on their debut album Break of Dawn (2000). Break of Dawn did well commercially, peaking at No. 3 on the Japanese Oricon albums chart. In December 2000, Nagao decided to devote all his time to composing the music and no longer appeared at live events. Do As Infinity's next two studio albums released in 2001, New World and Deep Forest, both peaked at No. 1 on Oricon. The band released their first greatest hits compilation album Do the Best in 2002, which also charted at No. 1. Do As Infinity's next three studio albums charted in the top 5 of Oricon: True Song (2002) at No. 5, Gates of Heaven (2003) at No. 3, and Need Your Love (2005) also at No. 3.
Eternal Flame is Do As Infinity's seventh studio album, released on September 30, 2009. The band had disbanded in September 2005, but reformed three years later in September 2008. This is the first new album the band released after reforming, and is the first album by the band not to have Dai Nagao on the staff, though his song "Tangerine Dream" was remixed as a bonus track. The album contains twelve music tracks plus one bonus track for the limited edition first print release of Eternal Flame. Two of the tracks were originally featured on Do As Infinity's 21st single "∞1" (2009). Three of the songs were featured on Japanese television: "Saigo no Game", "Meramera", and "Piece Of Your Heart". Two different editions of the album were released, CD and CD+DVD.
Eight is the eighth studio album by Japanese band Do As Infinity, released on January 19, 2011. Of the twelve music tracks on the album, four were previously released on three of Do As Infinity's singles. Two different editions of the album were released: a regular CD version and a CD+DVD limited edition. The DVD contained music videos for three songs and a short documentary.
"Chikai" is the 25th single by Japanese band Do As Infinity, released on July 27, 2011. This is the first single released after the album Eight, and it was released in two formats. The CD-only version contains the title track plus three live versions of songs featured on Eight. These live versions were sung at the concert "Do As Infinity Live Tour 2011: Eight", recorded at Osaka Namba Hatch on May 15, 2011. The main song, "Chikai", was announced to be used as theme song for a PlayStation Portable game named Sengoku Basara Chronicle Heroes, distributed by Capcom. The CD+DVD version comes with a music video for "Chikai" and an original video of Sengoku Basara.
