Tomiko Van

Tomiko Van (伴 都美子, Ban Tomiko) (born January 9, 1979), is a Japanese J-Pop singer and also former member of the now disbanded band Do As Infinity, along with Ryo Owatari and Dai Nagao.

Musical career and personal life

Do As Infinity

Main article: Do As Infinity

Solo career

Tomiko gave her first steps as a solo artist while she was on D·A·I with the songs "Again", which appeared in charity album Song Nation, and later in 2003 with the song "drive me nuts", which was recorded for trance DJs project Cyber X. (Tomiko also appeared in six commercials for Japanese hair products company, LAVENUS .

After Do As Infinity disbanded in September 2005, Avex Trax, Tomiko's label, announced that the singer was about to go as a solo artist. However, before the announcement of the split-up, the official website was already found and posted by some fans on D·A·I forums, it led to an even bigger suspicion among the fans that Do As Infinity would split.

Tomiko has a Kumamoto-dialect, which she performed on the first show that was aired after the official announcement of the split-up, Domoto Kyoudai. For most of the time, she doesn't display it to the public.

In 2006 Tomiko made her debut as a solo artist with her album "FAREWELL", with an all new music style, with mainly soft ballads, and even getting into jazz tunes, a style really different from old her works with band Do As Infinity. Surprisingly for a Japanese artist, no singles were released prior to her album for promoting it and helping sales, and the album was finally released in March 2006.

On October 3, 2006, Tomiko announced that she shall make her debut role in the Japanese movie, Heat ISLAND, as a café bar manager. Apparently, it has already begun its production process. Tomiko also announced her second stage-play role in a Japanese version of a recent play in America, Brooklyn, which shall involve her singing talent as well as acting. However, she has stated that this will not put a halt on her career as a singer, her second album is already in the production and was released in March 2007. It is a cover album entitled voice ~cover you with love~.

SINGLES

Flower

• Released: June 7, 2006
• Oricon Top 200 Weekly Peak: #10
• Weeks on Chart: 6

Senkō
閃光

• Released: September 27, 2006
• Oricon Top 200 Weekly Peak: #14
• Weeks on Chart: 4

Yumeji
夢路

• Released: November 29, 2006
• Oricon Top 200 Weekly Peak: #14
• Weeks on Chart: 2

FAREWELL

• Released: March 29, 2006
• Oricon Top 200 Weekly Peak: #7
• Weeks on Chart: 10
• Oricon Daily Chart #5

Voice～cover you with love~

• Released: March 28, 2007
• Oricon Top 200 Weekly Peak: #22
• Weeks on Chart: 1+
• Oricon Daily Chart: #13

Van Tomiko - Hold Me (Live)

Romanesque Video Clip

FictionJunction YUUKA

FictionJunction YUUKA (フィクションジャンクション・ユウカ, Fikushon Jankushon Yūka, though it is usually in English) is a Japanese pop duo, part of Japanese composer Yuki Kajiura’s solo project FictionJunction, consisting of Yuuka Nanri (vocals) and Kajiura (composition, lyrics and keyboards).

The pair first met at Minami Aoyama Shōjo Kagekidan (南青山少女歌劇団, South Aoyama Female Opera Group, also called Nanshō), a stage group for teenage girls where Kajiura wrote music for some of the plays and Nanri was a performer.

Their first recording was "Akatsuki no Kuruma" (暁の車, Wheels of Dawn), an insert song in the popular mecha anime Mobile Suit Gundam SEED, though their debut single was the opening of Madlax, "Hitomi no Kakera" (瞳の欠片, Fragments of the Pupil) On , released on May 8, 2004. July 27, 2004, the ending theme to Madlax, "inside your heart", was released. In the same year, because of its popularity and the fact that it was Gundam SEED's one-year anniversary, "Akatsuki no Kuruma" was released as a single, which at its peak placed at #10 on the Oricon weekly rankings and sold over 19,481 copies on the first week.

After a hiatus of exactly a year, Honoh no Tobira, an insert song for Gundam SEED DESTINY, was released, becoming the first seiyū single to hit #1 on Oricon daily rankings.

On November 23, 2005, the duo released their debut album, Destination which placed on the Oricon weekly rankings at #9.

On May 10, 2006, FictionJunction YUUKA released their fifth single after approximately eight months. That year, they also recorded a song, "aikoi", for the Tsubasa Chronicle anime series, which was not released as a single but instead included in the anime's fourth original soundtrack. In November of that same year, they released the opening theme for Sunrise's Bakumatsu Kikansetsu Irohanihoheto, "Kōya Ruten" (荒野流転, Wilderness Vicissitudes).

FictionJunction YUUKA held their first live concert entitled Premium Live 2007 on February 8 and February 15 of 2007. A new album, circus was announced for release later this year, and two new songs, set to be released on the new album, "Rokugatsu wa Kimi no Eien" (6月は君の永遠, "Rokugatsu wa Kimi no Eien") and "Piano" (ピアノ, "Piano") were sung at the concert (the first on February 8 and the second on February 15). As Kajiura is handling the music for upcoming anime El Cazador de la Bruja, their 7th single, "romanesque", will become the ending theme of the anime above. El Cazador de la Bruja is produced by Bee Train, which FictionJunction YUUKA has also done songs for previously.

SINGLES

Hitomi no Kakera (瞳の欠片, Fragments of the Pupil)

• Released: May 8, 2004
• Opening song and insert song for the anime Madlax.

inside your heart

• Released: July 27, 2004
• Ending song and insert song for the anime Madlax.

Akatsuki no Kuruma (暁の車, Wheels of Dawn)

• Released: September 22, 2004
• Insert song for the anime Gundam SEED, which was at first released in SUIT CD vol. 4 Miguel Ayman × Nicol Amarfi, but because of the single's popularity and the fact that it September 2004 was Gundam SEED's one-year anniversary, it was later released as a single.

Honoh no Tobira (焔の扉, Door of Flame)

• Released: September 22, 2005
• Insert song for the anime Gundam SEED DESTINY.
• First seiyū single in Oricon history to become #1 on the daily rankings.

Silly-Go-Round

• Released: May 10, 2006
• Opening song for the anime .hack//Roots.

Kōya Ruten (荒野流転, Wilderness Vicissitudes)

• Released: November 22, 2006
• Opening song for the anime Bakumatsu Kikansetsu Irohanihoheto.

romanesque

• Released: April 18, 2007
• Ending song for the anime El Cazador de la Bruja.

ALBUMS

Destination

• Released: November 23, 2005

	circus Release: 2007

FictionJunction

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

FictionJunction is Japanese composer Yuki Kajiura’s solo project. It is not a pseudonym that Kajiura uses when she composes soundtracks. To date, all such collaborations have consisted of a (female) vocalist, with Kajiura on the keyboard or the piano. Most FictionJunction songs have been featured in an anime series (usually as insert songs), most notably Gundam Seed and Tsubasa Chronicle. Victor Entertainment is FJ’s record label.

Collaborations

FictionJunction ASUKA

Vocalist: Asuka Kato (加藤あすか, Kato Asuka)

They performed “everlasting song”, an insert song from anime series Elemental Gelade. Originally sung in English, “everlasting song” was also recorded in Japanese and was released as a single (everlasting song, 2005), along with various instrumental versions.

FictionJunction KAORI

Vocalist: Kaori Oda (織田かおり, Oda Kaori)

The duo performed two insert songs used in Tsubasa Chronicle, “tsubasa” (first season) and “dream scape” (second season).

FictionJunction KEIKO

Vocalist: Keiko Kubota (窪田啓子, Kubota Keiko)

They recorded only one song, “To the Windy City” (風の街へ, Kaze no Machi e), which was used as an insert song in episodes 19 (partially) and 21 of Tsubasa Chronicle (first season).

FictionJunction WAKANA

Vocalist: ?

They have peformed a song named where the lights are (光の行方, where the lights are) for the original soundtrack of Fist of the North Star True Saviour Legend.

FictionJunction YUUKA

Vocalist: Yuuka Nanri (南里 侑香, Nanri Yūka)

FictionJunction YUUKA was Kajiura’s first and longest collaboration under the FictionJunction name. They were originally called "FictionJunction featuring YUUKA", but later the "featuring" part was dropped as it made the name long. The duo have recorded six singles, one album, and one non-album track (“aikoi”, from episode 41 of Tsubasa Chronicle’s second season) to date.

Some Music Videos

YUI:

My Generation


Che.R.Ry


Rolling Star


It's Happy Line


I Remember You


Life


How Crazy


Feel My Soul


Crossroad


Goodbye Days


Tomorrow's Way


Ready To Love


Savage Genius:

Hikari no Yukue


Forever (Live Version)


Inori no Uta (Live Version)

YUI

Yui (official: YUI) is a Japanese musician, born March 26, 1987 in Fukuoka, Japan. She is signed to Sony Music Records Japan.

Yui began writing poems in ninth grade. At the age of sixteen, by recommendation of her mother, she began studying songs, songwriting and guitar-playing at a private music school in her hometown Fukuoka. Aspiring to become a professional, she carried her guitar around and sang at local places such as the seashore of Shingu, and in the middle of the rice fields of Kaminofu. Even though she often feels uncomfortable when talking to people, she still enjoys communicating with her audiences at street performances in the Tenjin district of Fukuoka.

Her professional career began way back in March 2004, when she sang three songs at an audition hosted by Sony Music Japan, despite the audition rule that a participant could only sing two songs. All of the judges gave her the highest score possible, which caused a fierce scramble among record labels to sign her. She first sang "Why Me" (a song later included in her major label debut single), followed by "It's Happy Line" and "I Know". "It's Happy Line" was her debut indie single with "I Know" as the b-side.

Upon leaving her hometown, Fukuoka for Tokyo, Yui wrote the song "Feel My Soul". She was planning its release on an indie label as a tribute to her hometown, when the song caught the ears of Fuji TV producer Mr. Yamaguchi, who just happened to see the demo video clip. He claimed that Yui's voice haunted him so much that he went out of his way to visit the recording studio all by himself. He even made his channel's prime time drama an extraordinary tie-in with Yui's debut track.

On February 23, Yui released her first major debut single, "Feel My Soul", that had a tie-in with a Japanese Drama named Fukigen na Gene. All music within Fukigen na Gene was mainly based on Yui's songs such as 'Feel My Soul' and 'It's Happy Line'. With the drama tie-in "Feel My Soul"it managed to sell over 100,000 copies. Yui's next three singles, "Tomorrow's Way", "Life", and "Tokyo", did not chart as high as Feel My Soul did and were only moderately successful in comparison. After the release of four singles, Yui released her debut album From Me to You, which is another moderate success with sales of more than 200,000 copies.

Many months later, Yui starred in a movie released on June 17, 2006, titled Taiyou No Uta-Midnight Sun, which was screened at the 2006 Cannes Film Festival. Yui's 5th single, "Good-bye Days", was written for Taiyou No Uta ("Midnight Sun") and is by far her highest selling single, at 200,000 copies sold. "I Remember You", her next single, did fairly well, boosted by "Good-bye Days"' popularity. Soon after, Yui's 7th single "Rolling Star" was chosen by the anime series Bleach to be the 5th opening theme song; her third single, "Life", had previously been chosen as the 5th ending theme song. "Che.R.Ry", her 8th single, was used as a song for the KDDI au Listen Mobile Service CM. Her second album, Can't Buy My Love, fared well on the Oricon charts, staying for two weeks at #1 and shattering her entire previous album's record sales in one week. So far, Can't Buy My Love has manged to sell over 500,000 copies. Due to the success of Can't Buy My Love, Yui's previous album charted once again to add another 9k or so to the Oricon counting.

She released her 9th single, "My Generation / Understand", on 13 June 2007. This was the very first time that Yui released a double A-side single. My Generation is the theme song for the drama "Seito Shokun!", and Understand is the theme song for the movie "Sidecar ni Inu."

Albums

#	Information	Used Name	Sales
1st / Debut Album	From Me to You Released: February 22, 2006 Oricon Top 200 Weekly Peak: 4 From Singles: "It's Happy Line", "Feel My Soul", "Tomorrow's Way", "Life", "Tokyo" RIAJ Certification: Platinum	Yui	241,017
2nd	Can't Buy My Love Released: April 4, 2007 Oricon Top 200 Weekly Peak: 1 (2 weeks at #1) G-Music Taiwan Charts Top 20 Weekly Peak: 8 From Singles: "Good-bye Days", "I Remember You", "Rolling Star", "Che.R.Ry" RIAJ Certification: 2x Platinum	Yui	585,407

Singles

#	Information	Name used	Sales
Indie Single	"It's Happy Line" Released: December 24, 2004 Oricon Top 20 Weekly Peak: n/a RIAJ Certification: N/A	Yui	2,000
1st / Debut Single	"Feel My Soul" Released: February 23, 2005 Oricon Top 20 Weekly Peak: 8 From Album: From Me to You RIAJ Certification: Gold	Yui	107,930
2nd	"Tomorrow's Way" Released: June 22, 2005 Oricon Top 20 Weekly Peak: 15 From Album: From Me to You RIAJ Certification: N/A	Yui	32,291
3rd	"Life" Released: November 9, 2005 Oricon Top 20 Weekly Peak: 9 From Album: From Me to You RIAJ Certification: N/A	Yui	44,708
4th	"Tokyo" Released: January 18, 2006 Oricon Top 20 Weekly Peak: 15 From Album: From Me to You RIAJ Certification: N/A	Yui	20,123
5th	"Good-bye Days" Released: June 14, 2006 Oricon Top 20 Weekly Peak: 3 From Album: Can't Buy My Love RIAJ Certification: Gold	Yui for Amane Kaoru	241,873
6th	"I Remember You" Released: September 20, 2006 Oricon Top 20 Weekly Peak: 2 From Album: Can't Buy My Love RIAJ Certification: Gold	Yui	70,421
7th	"Rolling Star" Released: January 17, 2007 Oricon Top 20 Weekly Peak: 4 From Album: Can't Buy My Love RIAJ Certification: Gold	Yui	169,277
8th	"Che.R.Ry" Released: March 7, 2007 Oricon Top 20 Weekly Peak: 2 From Album: Can't Buy My Love RIAJ Certification: Gold	Yui	165,707
9th	"My Generation / Understand" Released: June 13, 2007 Oricon Top 20 Weekly Peak: 1 From Album: N/A RIAJ Certification: N/A	Yui	79,277

Listen to her:
Life (Right-Click Here To Download)
Feel My Soul (Right-Click Here To Download)
Tomorrow's way (Right-Click Here To Download)
Tokyo (Right-Click Here To Download)
It's Happy Line (Right-Click Here To Download)
Goodbye Days (Right-Click Here To Download)
I Remember You (Right-Click Here To Download)
Rolling Star (Right-Click Here To Download)
Che.R.Ry (Right-Click Here To Download)
My Generation (Right-Click Here To Download)
Understand (Right-Click Here To Download)

Savage Genius

Savage Genius is a J-Music group; AA the songwriter and vocalist, and takumi the composer, guitarist and producer. They started their careers working in the live music scene in Kobe, before forming a song-writing unit. Later they entered the AXIA Artist Audition and received the AXIA award and subsequently made their recording debut with Warner Music Japan, releasing two singles (February 27, 2002 Orange; June 12, 2002 Koigokoro (恋心, Koigokoro "A Heart in Love")).

In November 2003 they joined the image album, ‘NANA’, of popular comic Ai Yazawa with “NANA’s song is my song”. savage genius then moved to Victor Entertainment. Their music could be described as positive pop with a melancholic Japanese pop feeling.

In October 2004 they released the maxi single “Omoi wo Kanadete” (coupled with “Itsuka Tokeru Namida”) which is opening and ending theme to the TV anime ‘Uta –Kata’.

In May 2005, they released the maxi single “Forever…” theme tune for the TV anime ‘Elemental Gelade’ (Oricon chart position 16) and in July “Take a chance”, the main theme song for the PS2 game, ‘Gundam True Odyssey - Ushinawareshi G no Densetsu’.

In May 2007 they have just released the opening theme of ‘EL CAZADOR De La Bruja', titled "Hikari no Yukue".

Savage Genius has been constantly recording and releasing new songs. In April 2006 another single was released “Inori no Uta”, the ending theme to the TV anime ‘Simoun’ and July saw the release of their first album “Kaze no Kessho” and their participation in the Animelo Summer Live 2006 at Nippon Budokan. On December 20th 2006, they released “Aizome – Futakomori”, a self cover version of the ending theme to the TV anime ‘Jigoku Shojo-Futakomori’.

Listen to them:
Inori no Uta (Right-Click Here To Download)
Forever ~Live Version~ (Right-Click Here To Download)
Hikari no Yukue (Right-Click Here To Download)
Aizome ~ Futakomori (Right-Click Here To Download)