Do As Infinity – Singapore Press Conference [23 Sept 2017]

Finally, Do As Infinity made their way to Singapore!

Do As Infinity is a duo band with Tomiko Van (Van-chan) as the vocalist and Ryo Owatari as the guitarist, has been a popular icon in Japanese music scene since 2000s for their various hit anime songs such as InuYasha’s ending theme song “Fukai Mori” and Fairy Tail’s opening theme song “Mysterious Magic”. Since the anime industry are quite famous in South East Asian countries, fans have been longing to watch their performance, especially to listen to their hit list live. Avid fans had seized the limited VIP tickets and until today it was announced to be sold out. The VIP tickets gave fans to have a get up-close and personal with an exclusive Meet and Greet session with a photo session and handshake opportunity on the concert day. VIPs also get to bring home a personal autographed A3 poster by Do As Infinity.

In today press conference, Van-chan and Ryo came wearing a rockstar outfit. They look casually stylish with shirts and jeans. Their mood was great as they put a neverending smile on their face. Without further a do, let’s find out what’s the interview during press-con in Singapore.

1. What took you so long to come to Singapore? What made you decide to come to Singapore now?

Ryo: We just had our live in Taiwan and we had a great time there. AVEX approached us and offered us the opportunity to make Asia Tour and we respond to that offer positively.

2. As you are being in a group for 18 years now, what is your secret to get along with each other?

Ryo: We think that keeping a good distance is our secret to get along well. I try not to be so nosy about my partner’s matters.

Van: I agree with that. Keeping a good distance is good to keep a healthy relationship. Also being respectful to each other and focusing only to the good points of my partner help alot. I’m also thankful that we have supportive crews that help us grow as the present Do As Infinity.

3. Have you visited Singapore privately and what do you look forward the most in Singapore?

Van: This is my first time in Singapore. We only have limited time here but last night we visited Merlion. I want to try various dishes in Singapore.

Ryo: This is my first time too. We tried chilli crab though and it was very delicious. Of course we want to try other delicacies in Singapore eventhough the time is very limited.

4. Tell us about your preparation of tonight’s performance.

Van: Before performing, I gathered information about the song list to play. Most fans request our popular songs from our peak period in 2000s, like the drama or anime soundtracks, so we’re going to play the songs from the period alot. But not to forget, we’re going to introduce our new songs, too.

Ryo: Yesterday & Today is our most popular song so we will definitely play that song. We will play lots of songs from our 2000s.

5. How different is the overseas experience this year compared to back in the early 2000s?

Ryo:  It’s definitely better now.

Van: I think I am more proactive now to the music scene abroad compared to 2004. In the past I always felt doubtful and confused about going abroad but now I definitely feel better. In the past I often felt inconfident and didn’t know how to manage the stage, but now, it’s better. I even tried to learn some foreign languages like Spanish and Portugese.

6. Which song is the most memorable for you and why?

Ryo: If I have to choose, it’ll be Honjitsu wa Seiten nari. It’s one of our most popular songs and it’s the song that I wrote. The song successfully conveys my feelings that time and I really can’t believe that I can still sing the song even after 14 years.

Van: There are lots of songs…. but maybe it’s Tooku Made. I don’t know why that song is so powerful for me, is it the lyrics or is it the melody, but everytime I sing that song, I always feel recharged and I feel very fortunate to be able to sing the song. It was written by Ryo-san yet this song is the song that makes me want to sing forever.

7. You had performed in the streets of Shibuya and other cities for so many times in the past, do you miss those times?

Van: Actually, performing in the streets of Shibuya and other cities are our series of promotional activities before and during our debut period. It’s quite hard to perform in the streets of Tokyo nowadays but maybe we can do it again some other time. Back then I was still a novice in this industry so I didn’t know anything about performing. Ryo-san on the other hand, is older and more experienced than me, so he gave many suggestions to me about how to perform. I have an intensive training too to become a good singer back then.

8. Can we expect Do! Creative!! To make a comeback soon?

Ryo: We actually forgot about the campaign but as we reminisce about the campaign, there were so many good things happened and we might want to do it again.

9. Can you tell us more about your new single and what kind of feelings you want to share with your fans with the songs in the new single?

Van: For the new single that will be released next week, To Know You, will be the opposite of our previous single; Alive/Iron Hornet. Our previous single has a darker music of Do As Infinity but To Know You will be a more cheerful song.This song will make people happy when listening to it. We work with Hiroyuki Sawano for the song and this song reflects my feeling when I was moving to Tokyo for the first time. I was not born in Tokyo so this song perfectly shows my feelings that time; nervous yet excited.

Photo courtesy:
avex asia pte. ltd.