Do As Infinity (ドゥ・アズ・インフィニティ Du Azu Infiniti) was a popular Japanese band which debuted on September 29, 1999 with the release of their first single, Tangerine Dream. Their name is sometimes abbreviated as D.A.I., revealing that Do As Infinity was named after the band's guitarist and composer, Dai Nagao.
With the release of their A-side compilation album Do the A side, Do As Infinity disbanded on September 29, 2005, after a career which spanned six years, six albums, twenty singles, seven compilation albums and eight live DVDs.
Main members
- "Van" — Tomiko Van (伴 都美子) (lyrics, vocals)
- "Ryo" — Ryo Owatari (大渡 亮) (lyrics, guitar, backup vocals)
- "Dai" — Dai Nagao (長尾 大) (composition, guitar)
Tomiko Van (伴 都美子) vocalist of Do As InfinityOther members (GREAT TOUR BAND)
- Naoki Hayashibe (guitar)
- Jun Matsumoto (drums)
- Kazco Hamano (chorus)
- Michitaro Shimamoto (bass guitar) (former member, went on to play for Otsuka Ai and other artists)
- Jun Takase (keyboard)
- Yoshiyasu Hayashi (bass guitar)
- It is important to note that these aren't the only band members that DAI has gone through during their career, however, the musicians listed above are the more notable ones because of their work for DAI.
Albums
| Title | Release date | Ranking | Copies sold |
|---|---|---|---|
| Break of Dawn | March 23, 2000 | #3 | 320,000 |
| New World | February 21, 2001 | #1 | 354,000 |
| Deep Forest | September 19, 2001 | #1 | 609,000 |
| True Song | December 26, 2002 | #5 | 272,000 |
| Gates of Heaven | November 27, 2003 | #3 | 294,000 |
| Need Your Love | February 16, 2005 | #3 | 137,000 |
Original Album Sales: 1,986,000 copies
Total Album Sales: 3,158,000 copies
- Note: Each album starts with the final letter of its previous album (besides Break of Dawn).
Album Front Covers
「GATES OF HEAVEN」
Do As Infinity
「TRUE SONG」
Do As Infinity
「DEEP FOREST」
Do As Infinity
「NEW WORLD」
Do As Infinity
「BREAK OF DAWN」
Do As Infinity
Singles
| Title | Release date | Ranking |
|---|---|---|
| Tangerine Dream | September 29, 1999 | #58 |
| Heart | December 8, 1999 | #56 |
| Oasis | January 26, 2000 | #25 |
| Yesterday & Today | February 23, 2000 | #10 |
| rumble fish | August 2, 2000 | #16 |
| We are. | November 29, 2000 | #3 |
| Desire | January 24, 2001 | #8 |
| Tooku Made | April 25, 2001 | #12 |
| Week! | May 30, 2001 | #8 |
| Fukai Mori | June 27, 2001 | #5 |
| Boukensha Tachi | September 5, 2001 | #7 |
| Hi no Ataru Sakamichi | February 27, 2002 | #5 |
| under the sun/under the moon | July 31, 2002 | #5 |
| Shinjitsu no Uta | October 30, 2002 | #5 |
| Mahou no Kotoba ~Would you marry me?~ | June 11, 2003 | #4 |
| Honjitsu wa Seiten Nari | September 25, 2003 | #4 |
| Hiiragi | November 6, 2003 | #7 |
| Rakuen | December 15, 2004 | #2 |
| For the Future | January 19, 2005 | #6 |
| TAO | July 27, 2005 | #11 |
- Note: The first 4 singles (included in Break of Dawn album) all had names of famous rock bands.
TAO Single Cover
Compilations
- Do The Best (March 20, 2002) — 831,000
- Do The Best + DVD (March 31, 2004) — 12,000
- Do The B-side (September 23, 2004) — 49,000
- Do the A side (September 28, 2005) — 140,000
- Do The A-side + DVD (September 28, 2005) — 140,000
- Do As Infinity Do The Best "Great Supporters Selection" (March 15, 2006)
- MINUS V (instrumental collection) (March 15, 2006)
Live
- Do As Infinity LIVE TOUR 2001 ~DEEP FOREST~ (March 20, 2002)
- Do the Live (March 12, 2003) — 32,000
- LIVE IN JAPAN (March 31, 2004) — 17,000
- Do As Infinity LIVE YEAR 2004 (March 3, 2005)
- Do As Infinity LIVE IN JAPAN II (September 28, 2005)
- Do As Infinity -Final- (March 15, 2006)
- Do As Infinity -premier- (September 20, 2006)
- Do As Infinity 3rd ANNIVERSARY SPECIAL LIVE (September 20, 2006)
- Do As Infinity -Premier- (September 20, 2006)
Box set
Others
- again / TOMIKO VAN from Do As Infinity (from the Songnation album)
- Drive me nuts / Cyber X feat. Tomiko Van — #27
- El Dorado / atami (Guest Vo. tomiko Van, Guest EG.ryo Owatari) (from the Doppler album)
- COME ON NOW! / NORTHERN BRIGHTS (Participation on Chorus by Owatari)
- I miss you? / Do As Infinity for BLACK STONES (from the album LOVE for NANA ~Only 1 Tribute)
Trivia
- Before Tangerine Dream was released, DAI and their fellow workers were giving out copies of their recordings for free to passers by (Dai was very good at giving recordings to girls waiting at the traffic lights!).
- At their 100th concert, held at Shibuya AX for free, the members of DAI recognized that the fans were the same bunch that bothered to listen to them (in section 2.)
- Desire was once named M-42, which was used in their street performances.
- The cover of "Rumble Fish" was taken in Taiwan, and the trip provided the inspiration for Shinjitsu no Uta.
- Shinjitsu no Uta became famous in China in July 2002 and also translated into Mandarin.
- A couple who met while listening to DAI's earlier street performances invited the members of the band to their wedding.
- Ryo turned up for the auditions in a red tracksuit with a Fender Jazzmaster 62' Reissue and his effects pedals. He was asked to perform a small segment, but instead played three songs.
- Both Ryo and Tomiko had parts in the 4th InuYasha movie.
- Do As Infinity and Every Little Thing are the only two bands that have done 3 theme songs for Japanese anime InuYasha
- Do As Infinity performed in Dallas and New York in the summer of 2004, footages can be found in the DVD, LIVE YEAR 2004.
- Do As Infinity had a little known back-up band (you can see 2 members of the band in the music video "Mahou no Kotoba ~Would you marry me?~"). They're called the GREAT TOUR BAND.
Do As Infinity Related Links
- Do As Infinity official website
- Tomiko Van official website
credit : Wikipedia
