Japanese Music – Do As Infinity

Do As Infinity

Do As Infinity (Japanese: ドゥー・アズ・インフィニティ or Chinese: 大無限樂團) is a popular Japanese band who released their first single, “Tangerine Dream”, on September 29, 1999. Their name is sometimes abbreviated as D.A.I., and is named for the band’s guitarist Dai Nagao.

Members

Main members:

Tomiko Van (lyrics, vocals)
Ryo Owatari (guitar, backup vocals)
Dai Nagao (composition, guitar)

Other members:

Naoki Hayashibe (guitar)
Jun Matsumoto (drums)
Hamano Kazko (chorus)
Michitaro (bass)
Takase Jun (keyboard)

History (compiled and edited from various sources)

Before there was Do As Infinity, there was only Nagao Dai. In his early days as a musician, Dai was a composer for an amateur band. One thing leads to another, and that band disbanded. Keeping his dream alive, Dai kept on composing songs and he sent them to more than 50 record companies in Japan.

Everything changed when Dai found AVEX, who hired him as a composer. He was immediately given a task to compose songs for Ayumi Hamasaki and Hitomi. But he never forgot his one dream: to have his own band.

AVEX gave him a chance to make his dream come true. Auditions were held, and he chose Van Tomiko as lead singer, and Ryo Owatari as guitarist. On September 29th, 1999, the trio released their first single Tangerine Dream, and held a live concert at the Shibuya.they held performances almost daily at a number of locations, ranging from Shibuya’s Hachiko (the most famous place in all of Japan for street performers), to Yokohama Station, even traveling to Fukuoka and other cities.

Their performances were well received. DAI’s infectious sound might have sounded vaguely familiar to passers-by, and with good reason. Composer and founder of the group (as well as the inspiration for the intriguing band name) Nagao Dai had already written many songs for several artists, most notably divas hitomi and Hamasaki Ayumi. However, there’s no question that the songs he writes for Do As Infinity have their own unique flavor. This is due to the contributions of the other core members of the band, guitarist Owatari Ryo and vocalist Van (Van-chan) Tomiko. Ryo gives the band its swagger. With a little bit of funk and a whole lot of rock, he makes Nagao’s melodies come to life. Van-chan gives the melodies a voice. She sings with a combination of power and emotion, captivating the audience.

Van-chan, Ryo, and Nagao would have plenty of audiences to captivate. The remainder of 1999 was spent performing both on the street and at in-store concerts at CD stores across the country. They also took part in choice events nationwide, including a festival in Van-chan’s native Kumamoto prefecture. Their legendary streak of street concerts ended at one hundred, with a free concert for their fans, held at Shibuya Kokaido. The December release of their second single, Heart, didn’t slow them down one bit. They continued to do public appearances all the way up to the year-end avex MILENNIUM COUNT DOWN 1999-2000 held on New Year’s Eve in Roppongi’s Velfarre club.

The band began the new year in the same way they ended the last ﾐ by performing. They continued to appear on radio shows and at CD store events, turning more and more fans on to the sound of Do As Infinity. Their third single, Oasis, was released at the end of January and was chosen as the official TV commercial song for Kanebo Cosmetics’ Testimo line of products. Do As Infinity was slowly making its way into the limelight, but it was their next single that would give them the recognition they deserved.

Yesterday & Today was chosen as the theme song for ‘Nisennen no Koi’, A touching ballad in and of itself, its sales were boosted thanks to its exposure in the popular drama. Starring perennial fan favorite Nakayama Miho and new heart-throb Kaneshiro Takeshi (Kamisama Mou Sukoshi Dake), and given the elite timeslot of ‘Getsu Kyuu’ (Mondays at 9pm, the timeslot for some of the most successful dramas ever), almost everyone in the country was tuning in to Do As Infinity. The B-side of the single, Raven, was also being used as the ending song to the movie Uzumaki, giving the band even more exposure.

The band’s hard work paid off. Their first album, Break of Dawn, was released that March, only a month after Yesterday & Today, debuting at an amazing number three on the Oricon rankings chart. Do As Infinity had officially arrived, but they had no intentions of stopping there. As always, they continued to make public appearances and do numerous live performances all over Japan. The band released their fifth single in August of that year, another maxi-single with two hit songs ﾐ the fan favorite, rumble fish, was used as the theme song for the hit movie Kamen Gakuen. Meanwhile, the accompanying song, Summer Days, was used as a theme song for Fuji TV’s OL polis, and would become a staple song at all DAI live concerts. At the end of November the band would release We are. — a song with a Christmas theme, thus ensuring its annual replay for years to come. DAI would end the year and the century with another countdown live held at the Velfarre club in Roppongi.

2001 was a whirlwind year for the band. With an album and six singles under their belts, the trio was well on their way to becoming seasoned veterans in the business, but they still had not appeared on national television. That changed with the release of their first single in the new millennium, Desire. The single was performed on the hit TV show Music Station, but with a catch. For some reason, Van-chan represented the band by herself, but nevertheless the song and the band got national exposure. The televised performance brought Do As Infinity to an even wider audience, and helped to make their new album, New World, debut at an amazing number one on the Oricon album ranking charts.

With Desire’s release in January, and New World in February, the band deserved a break. But they would think nothing of it. The following month they would release their first promotional video collection on DVD, simply entitled 9, and would go on tour throughout the month of May. They closed out the month of May with the release of their ninth single, Week! The following month would see the release of Fukai Mori, which was chosen as the theme song for the hit anime series Inuyasha. The song was a huge hit, and would soon become the band’s signature song. The remainder of the year was spent in preparation for yet another live concert tour, which would begin in November, not long after the release of their 11th single, Boukenshatachi, and their third album, Deep Forest — which inevitably debuted at number one on the charts.

The new year started with Van-chan appearing on the avex charity album VARIOUS ARTISTS FEATURING songnation, and the release of the band’s 12th hit single, Hi no Ataru Sakamichi, the following month. Then the band went global. After releasing a best album, Do the Best, in March, the band traveled to Taiwan and Hong Kong in April for a special campaign. Their following overseas was almost as huge as in their own country, drawing an amazing 500 fans to their in-store event held at the HMV CD store in Hong Kong. The band took a short break upon returning to Japan, but released their 13th single in July, the double A-sided under the sun/under the moon. In August the band participated in avex’s a-nation tour, performing in eight venues all over Japan.

Do As Infinity’s 14th single, Shinjitsu no Uta, was released in October, and sparked the beginning of a new project for the band. Despite their success, they wanted to show their fans that they had not forgotten them. They advertised on their website for fans to send them short stories using the band’s previous releases as themes and using the word shinjitsu (truth) somewhere in the story. Entitled Your Truth, these stories are now available in book form. The band closed out the year with another live tour, understatedly titled Do As Infinity greatest year 02 ~ALL STANDING~, and the year-end release of their fourth album, True Song.

The band has come a long way since their days of performing in front of commuters on the street. At the time of this writing, the band is in the midst of yet another live concert tour, showcasing their soon-to-be-released 15th single, Mahou no Kotoba ~Would You Marry Me?~. Do As Infinity has achieved superstar status in the four years since their debut, and will no doubt continue to be successful in the years to come.

Along with video collections and recorded live concerts, Do As Infinity is still going strong. Although Nagao Dai isn’t as active as he was in the beginning (he doesn’t participate in promotional events anymore, such as video clips or photo shoots) he is still the main composer and the brain behind the band. He does, though, appear in concerts from time to time.

Sources: