I (Ikimonogakari album) explained

I
Type:studio
Artist:Ikimono-gakari
Border:yes
Released:July 24, 2013
Genre:Pop, rock
Label:Epic
Prev Title:Barādon
Prev Year:2012
Next Year:2014

I is the sixth studio album by Ikimono-gakari, released in Japan on July 24, 2013. It reached number one in the Oricon weekly charts for the week ending August 5 of that year making it the group's sixth consecutive number-one album. Consequently, Ikimono-gakari became the first mixed group in over seventeen years to achieve six consecutive number one albums on the Oricon weekly chart.[1] [2]

Release

The album was released in Japan on July 24, 2013 in two editions. The regular edition (ESCL-4091), had for its first pressings an Ikimono card #036 and a raffle ticket for additional prizes which included a T-shirt and a hand fan.[3] The limited edition (ESCL-4089-90) included a DVD featuring a radio interview "イッキーモンキーのiラジオ" Ikkey Monkey's iRadio, a twelve-sided panorama photo shoot of the Ikimono-gakari members and a special box packaging to display pictures of the three members.[4]

The album contains five previously released tracks; four of which are A-side singles: "Haru Uta", "Kaze ga Fuiteiru", "1 2 3 ~Koi ga Hajimaru~" and "Egao". A fifth track, "Ashita no Sora", was the B-side to "1 2 3 ~Koi ga Hajimaru~".[5]

Though to an extent a reference to the songwriters themselves, the title "I" is largely a reference to the fact that the band had intended the listeners to develop a personal connection with the album and to give the impression that the songs were being sung from the listener's perspective. "I" is also significant for being the most common letter of the alphabet in "Ikimonogakari" and (when pronounced phonetically) sounds not only like 愛 ai the Japanese for love but also 哀 ai the Japanese for sadness, a reference to the emotions the band hopes convey to the listeners.[6]

Themes

Love is a common theme throughout the album, referenced frequently in "1 2 3 ~Koi ga Hajimaru~", "Koiato", "Nannde" and "Renaishousetsu". Whereas "1 2 3 ~Koi ga Hajimaru~", in keeping with previous singles such as "Kimagure Romantic" and "Natuzora Graffiti", describes the light-hearted and optimistic first love of a teenage girl,[7] the others describe experiences of being broken hearted from various stages of adulthood, a theme which has rarely featured in recent Ikimono-gakari singles.[8] "Ascending to the Capital" is also a common theme throughout later tracks, in particular "Tōkyō" and "Nukumori" where the theme is used as a metaphor to describe the emotions experienced by Yoshioka and Yamashita respectively in leaving their home town in Kanagawa prefecture behind to pursue a recording contract in the Japanese music industry. Various tracks hold individual references to the phonetic reading of the album title "I": "Koiato" references 逢い ai, the Japanese for meeting (often a loved one and often by chance) and "Kaze Koute Hana Yureru" refers to 藍 ai the Japanese for indigo.[9]

Tie-ins

Tie-ins to media and commercial products.[4]

Tour

The release of the album was followed by a tour of Japan entitled "いきものがかりの みなさん、こんにつあー!! 2013 ~ I ~" (To all Ikimono-gakari fans, hello tour! 2013 ~I~). In August 2013, during the build up to the tour, Ikimono-gakari released four trailers on their official site which included: interviews with vocalist Kiyoe Yoshioka, leader Yoshiki Mizuno and recording engineer for the album Toshirō Kai; as well as footage from previous tours.[15] [16] [17] A total of twenty-five concerts were held, the first concert being held at Sun Dome Fukui in Fukui on September 1, 2013 and the last in Sun Arena in Mie on December 7, 2013. Concerts were also held at: Yokohama Arena (Yokohama), Sendai Sekisui-Heim Super Arena (Sendai), Osaka-jō Hall (Osaka), Fukuoka Convention Center (Fukuoka), Makomanai Ice Arena (Sapporo), Ehime Budōkan (Ehime), Hiroshima Green Arena (Hiroshima), World Memorial Hall (Kobe), Ecopa Arena (Shizuoka), Nippon Budokan (Tokyo) and Nippon Gaishi Hall (Nagoya).[18] Prior to the tour, it was expected that the tour would attract a total audience of two hundred thousand across the twenty-five concerts.[19]

Track listing

The source for romanized title tracks is Jpopasia.com[20] (Source for track information: Ikimonogakari Official Site[4]). English translations are unofficial.

Release history

Country Date Format Label
JapanJuly 24, 2013digital download[21] Epic Records Japan
CD (ESCL-4091), 2CD limited edition (ESCL-4089-90)

Charts

Chart (2013)Peak
positions
Sales
Japan Billboard Top Albums[22] 1112,082[23]
Japan Oricon Weekly Albums Chart1

Notes and References

  1. Web site: いきものがかり新作が6作連続首位 男女混成グループ17年ぶり. New Ikimonogakari album becomes sixth consecutive number one album: seventeen years since the last mixed group. www.oricon.co.jp . July 30, 2013 . 2013-07-30.
  2. Web site: いきものがかり アルバム6作連続オリコン首位!男女混成グループ17年ぶりの快挙!. Ikimonogakri sixth consecutive number 1 on Oricon chart. A triumph – first time for a mixed group to do so in 17 years!. music man. July 30, 2013. 2013-09-05.
  3. Web site: Commemoration for the Sale of the New Album "I"! A Raffle Upon Purchasing a CD at the Counter. ikimonogakari.com . 2013-07-12 . 2013-07-30.
  4. Web site: I . ikimonogakari.com . 2013-07-30 . https://web.archive.org/web/20170814145752/http://ikimonogakari.com/discography/album/escl-4089/ . 2017-08-14 . dead .
  5. Web site: 1 2 3 ~恋がはじまる~ 1 2 3 ~Koi ga Hajimaru~ . ikimonogakari.com . 2013-06-05 . 2013-07-30 . 2013-07-23 . https://web.archive.org/web/20130723041611/http://ikimonogakari.com/discography/single/escl-4044/ . dead .
  6. Web site: いきものがかり、新作『I』内容&ジャケ写開 Ikimonogakari Reveal the Contents and Cover of Their New Album "I". Oricon . 2013-06-14 . 2013-07-30.
  7. Web site: 10代女性のリアルタイムの恋を描いた曲を作りたかった Describing the real-time love of a teenage girl. www.oricon.co.jp . 2013-06-05 . 2013-08-01.
  8. イッキーモンキーのiラジオ Ikkey Monkey's iRadio . 2013 . Epic Records Japan . Japanese .
  9. Web site: アルバム『I』1万5000字インタビュー Album "I" – an interview of 15,000 letters . ikimonogakari.com . 2013-08-01 . https://web.archive.org/web/20150406005301/http://ikimonogakari.com/i_interview/ . 2015-04-06 . dead .
  10. Web site: NHK五輪放送 いきものがかりの「風が吹いている」をテーマ曲に. Ikimono-gakari's "Kaze ga Fuiteiru" becomes NHK Olympic Theme song. Sports Nippon. 2012-06-07 . 2013-09-05.
  11. Web site: https://archive.today/20240525183606/https://www.webcitation.org/65lMvActM?url=http://conan-movie.jp/blog/index.php%3FUID=1329868800 . May 25, 2024 . http://conan-movie.jp/blog/index.php?UID=1329868800 . ja:いきものがかりの「ハルウタ」が主題歌に決定!! . Theme Song determined to be "Haru Uta" by Ikimono-gakari!! . February 2, 2012 . Conan-movie.jp . Japanese . February 26, 2012 . dead .
  12. Web site: いきものがかり、シングル「ハルウタ」4/25発売決定. Ikimono-gakari's single "Haruuta", sale date confirmed as April 25. music man. 2012-03-15. 2013-09-05.
  13. Web site: http://www.pokemon-movie.jp/song/ . ja:神速のゲノセクト ミュウツー覚醒主題歌 . Theme Song to ExtremeSpeed Genesect: Mewtwo Awakens . 2013 . pokemon-movie.jp . Japanese . August 1, 2013 . https://archive.today/20130801221835/http://www.pokemon-movie.jp/song/ . August 1, 2013 . dead .
  14. Web site: いきものがかり、新曲が映画ポケモン主題歌 CD初のポケモントレッタ付き. Ikimono-gakari new track is the theme song to the Pokemon movie. First CD to contain a "Pokemon Tretta". Oricon . 2013-04-15 . 2013-09-05.
  15. Web site: いきものがかり ツアー予告映像#3はリーダー水野良樹インタビュー、吉岡聖恵『Lips』表紙に. Ikimono-gakari tour trailer #3 contains an interview with Leader Yoshiki Mizuno. Kiyoe Yoshioka on the cover of "Lips". musicman-net. August 23, 2013. August 31, 2013. Japanese.
  16. Web site: http://www.billboard-japan.com/d_news/detail/14461. ja:いきものがかり 秋ツアーのトレーラー映像第2弾公開中. Ikimono-gakari release second trailer for autumn tour. billboard. August 16, 2013. August 31, 2013. Japanese.
  17. Web site: http://okmusic.jp/#!/news/24345. ja:いきものがかり、ツアー予告編トレーラー映像第4弾が解禁!. Ikimono-gakari – fourth tour trailer is released. OK Music. August 31, 2013. September 1, 2013. Japanese.
  18. Web site: http://www.oricon.co.jp/prof/artist/372616/schedule/2013/9/. ja:いきものがかりの2013年9月のカレンダー. Ikimono-gakari September Calendar. Oricon. August 31, 2013. Japanese.
  19. Web site: http://www.billboard-japan.com/d_news/detail/14791. ja:いきものがかり 20万人動員の全国ツアースタート. Ikimono-gakari start their nationwide tour expected to be seen by two hundred thousand. Billboard. September 2, 2013. September 5, 2013. Japanese.
  20. Web site: Ikimonogakari – band – jpop . Jpopasia.com . 2013-07-24 . 2013-07-30.
  21. Web site: iTunes – I – いきものがかり . iTunes . 2013-07-24 . 2013-07-30.
  22. Top Albums – JAPAN Charts – Billboard JAPAN . August 5, 2013 . Billboard. 2013-08-02 . Japanese.
  23. Web site: 2013年07月22日~2013年07月28日のCDアルバム週間ランキング(2013年08月05日付)CD album ranking for week July 22, 2013 - July 28, 2013, dated August 5. www.oricon.co.jp . 2013-07-31 . 2013-07-31.