"Tao" is Do As Infinity

Do As Infinity

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 D.A.I., alluding to the fact that Do As Infinity was named after Dai Nagao...

's twentieth single

Single (music)

In music, a single or record single is a type of release, typically a recording of fewer tracks than an LP or a CD. This can be released for sale to the public in a variety of different formats. In most cases, the single is a song that is released separately from an album, but it can still appear...

, released on July 27, 2005. "Tao"'s lyrics describe the parting of two friends. B-side "Aurora" literally means the dawn in Italian; the lyrics of the song are almost like the end of the story in Break of Dawn, which was the band's first song on their first album. "Tao" was used as Tales of Legendia

Tales of Legendia

, is a role-playing game that was developed and published by Namco for the PlayStation 2 video game console. It was released in Japan on August 25, 2005 and in the United States on February 7, 2006. Tales of Legendia's characteristic genre name is . It is the seventh mothership title in the Tales...

s Japanese opening song. This was the last single released before the band disbanded in September 2005, but Do As Infinity reformed three years later, and put out their twenty-first single "∞1" in June 2009.

Song history

According to the Do the A-side booklet, "Tao" was originally to be included on their final album, Need Your Love, but was not included because Nagao

Dai Nagao

is a Japanese composer, musician and producer. He was a member and composer of the popular musical group Do As Infinity from its founding until it disbanded in September 2005, although they have since reformed....

 felt that it did not fit the album's theme. It was recorded two years before the actual release of the single. Reportedly, Tomiko Van

Tomiko Van

, is a Japanese J-pop singer and occasional actress, as well as a member of the band Do As Infinity , along with Ryo Owatari and Dai Nagao, that has resumed activities after their 2005 split.- Beginnings as solo artist :...

 cried many times before the song was completely recorded.

Promotional video

The promotional video for "Tao" was filmed in Hokkaidō

Hokkaido

, formerly known as Ezo, Yezo, Yeso, or Yesso, is Japan's second largest island; it is also the largest and northernmost of Japan's 47 prefectural-level subdivisions. The Tsugaru Strait separates Hokkaido from Honshu, although the two islands are connected by the underwater railway Seikan Tunnel...

, the scene of Van riding on her Harley Davidson was shot next to a potato farm according to the Do The A-side booklet. Van is seen lipping the words (good-bye in Japanese

Japanese language

is a language spoken by over 130 million people in Japan and in Japanese emigrant communities. It is a member of the Japonic language family, which has a number of proposed relationships with other languages, none of which has gained wide acceptance among historical linguists .Japanese is an...

) and waving good-bye after the main video ends.

Chart positions

Chart (2005)	Peak position	Sales	Time in chart
Japan Oricon Oricon , established in 1999, is the holding company at the head of a Japanese corporate group that supplies statistics and information on music and the music industry in Japan. It started as , which was founded by Sōkō Koike in November 1967 and became known for its music charts. Oricon Inc...	11	37,900	10 weeks

External links

• "Tao" at Avex Network
• "Tao" at Oricon
  Oricon
  , established in 1999, is the holding company at the head of a Japanese corporate group that supplies statistics and information on music and the music industry in Japan. It started as , which was founded by Sōkō Koike in November 1967 and became known for its music charts. Oricon Inc...