''Light Ahead'' is Japanese pop musician
Iconiq's first
extended play
An extended play record, usually referred to as an EP, is a musical recording that contains more tracks than a single but fewer than an album or LP record. , released on September 15, 2010.
The extended play features three songs from ''
Change Myself
''Change Myself'' is Japanese pop musician Iconiq's debut album, released on March 10, 2010. The album was initially planned for a February 24 release, which was postponed for two weeks.
Background
Iconiq originally released music in Japan and ...
'', the lead single "
Tokyo Lady," and three previously unpublished songs.
The DVD features three music videos directed by
Diane Martel, as well as footage from Iconiq's debut Japanese concert in May, 2010. On the cover she is shown turning round with some kind of
headdress made of
animal fur
Fur is a thick growth of hair that covers the skin of mammals. It consists of a combination of oily guard hair on top and thick underfur beneath. The guard hair keeps moisture from reaching the skin; the underfur acts as an insulating blanket t ...
.
Background
The extended play is Iconiq's third physical release in Japan, after her debut album ''
Change Myself
''Change Myself'' is Japanese pop musician Iconiq's debut album, released on March 10, 2010. The album was initially planned for a February 24 release, which was postponed for two weeks.
Background
Iconiq originally released music in Japan and ...
'' in March 2010, and her first physical single "
Tokyo Lady" a month prior. ''Change Myself'' saw moderate commercial success, debuting at #3 and eventually selling over 60,000 copies.
[ (subscription only)] "Tokyo Lady" also saw some success, debuting in the top 20.
Promotion
Much of the promotion of the EP centred on "Tokyo Lady," which was her fourth song used as the
Shiseido
is a Japanese multinational cosmetic company founded in Tokyo, Japan in 1872. Its product categories consist of: skin care, makeup, body care, hair care, and fragrances. The company is one of the oldest cosmetic companies in the world and ...
''Maquillage'' range commercial song, and the third commercial to feature Iconiq personally. The song was also used in a range of commercials for
Recochoku,
Weider and Jelly products and
A-Nation 2010.
Iconiq performed at A-Nation concerts in early August, including being one of the featured musicians on the
Tetsuya Komuro
is a Japanese musician, songwriter and record producer. He is recognized as the most successful producer in Japanese music history and introduced contemporary electronic dance music to the Japanese mainstream. He was also a former owner of the ...
-written theme song for the event, "Thx a Lot".
Three music videos were produced for the songs on the EP, including the video for "Tokyo Lady." The videos were all directed by veteran American music video director
Diane Martel.
One of these songs, the title track "Light Ahead," was used in commercials for Maquillage in September.
Track listing
Chart rankings
Reported sales
Personnel
Personnel details were sourced from ''Light Aheads liner notes booklet.
Managerial
*Akira Akutsu – advisory producer
*Hidemi Arasaki – advisory producer
*Ryuhei Chiba – general producer
*Shinya Egawa –
A&R assistant
*Hideki Endo – advisory producer
*Tomomi Fujisawa – A&R
*Shinji Hayashi – general producer
*Yasuto Hoyamatsu – artist management supervisor
*Hiroshi Inagaki – executive supervisor
*Hitoshi Itagaki – artist management chief
*Nae Kodama – A&R desk
*Takuji Koga – sound director
*Takuya Konishi – artist management
*Harumasa Maeda – advisory producer
*
Masato "Max" Matsuura – executive supervisor
*Hiroaki Nishiyama – A&R supervisor
*Nobutoshi Ono – Chief A&R
*Yoshihiro Seki – executive supervisor
*Hiroshi Shibuya – production co-ordinator (#4)
*Shigekazu Takeuchi – general producer
*Masatoshi Uchida – A&R supervisor
*Akihiko Yamamoto – Chief A&R
*Kyoko Yoshioka – artist management desk
Performance credits
*
Hiro – instruments (#3)
*Iconiq –
vocals
Singing is the act of creating musical sounds with the voice. A person who sings is called a singer, artist or vocalist (in jazz and/or popular music). Singers perform music (arias, recitatives, songs, etc.) that can be sung with or without ...
,
background vocals
*T. Kura – instruments (#1, #7)
*Tomokazu "T.O.M" Matsuzawa – instruments (#5)
*U-key Zone – instruments (#4)
*UTA – instruments (#2)
*
Verbal – rap (#4)
Visuals and imagery
*Masaki Hanahara – designer
*Tadashi Harada – hair
*Satoshi Hirota – stylist
*Shiho Kikuchi – graphic designer
*Yasuyuki Nagashima – producer
*Ai Nieda – make-up
*Yuki Otani – designer
*Sonomi Sato – art director
*Satoshi Saikusa – photographer
*Nobuko Yamada – make-up
*Koji Yamamoto – creative director
*Yoshihiro Yoshida – graphic designer
Technical and production
*Tom Coyne – mastering
*D.O.I. – mixing (at Daimonion Recordings)
*Taiki Fudanotsuji – assistant engineer
*Hiro – production (#3), programming (#3)
*Kami Kaoru – vocal production (#6)
*Kgro – vocal recording (#3)
*T. Kura – production (#1, #7), vocal recording (#1)
*Tomokazu "T.O.M" Matsuzawa – production (#6)
*Michico – vocal production (#1, #7)
*Momo "Mocha" N. – vocal production (#4)
*NaNa Music – vocal production (#2)
*Kohei Nakatake – assistant engineer
*Hisashi Nawata – additional arrangement (#5)
*Tomoe Nishikawa – vocal recording (#2)
*Osamu Shirota – vocal recording (#5)
*Yohei Takita – vocal recording (#4)
*U-key Zone – production (#4), vocal production (#4)
*UTA – production (#2), programming (#2), vocal production (#2)
*Lucas Valentine – recording (#5)
*Verbal – production (#5)
*Yutaro Wada – assistant engineer
*Tatsuhiro Yoshida – vocal recording (#6—7)
Release history
References
External links
Official website
{{Authority control
2010 EPs
Avex Group EPs
Japanese-language EPs