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2004 Ai

2004 Ai
A mid-shot of Ai against a white background, where she smiles, wearing long hair and blue tinted glasses. She is not noticeably wearing clothes, however the lower half of her body is covered by a boombox. "2004 A.I." is hand-written in front of the image in white, in a graffiti-style font.
Studio album by Ai
Released June 16, 2004 (2004-06-16)
Recorded 2004; Prime Sound Studio Form, Meguro, Tokyo; Studio Fine, Higashi-Azabu, Tokyo; Universoul, Shibuya, Tokyo; HiBrite Studio, Tokyo; On Air Azabu, Minato, Tokyo; Magnet Studio, Tokyo; Sony Music Studios, Minato, Tokyo
Genre R&B, hip hop
Length 54:38
Language Japanese
Label Universal Sigma
Producer Ai, Yuki Arai, Kaz Koike, Toshiharu Kojima, Shinki Miura, Akira Terabayashi
Ai chronology
Rhythm and Babe
(2004)		 2004 Ai
(2004)		 Flashback to Ai
(2004)
Singles from 2004 Ai
  1. "After the Rain"
    Released: March 3, 2004
  2. "EO"
    Released: May 12, 2004
  3. "Watch Out! (featuring Afra, Tucker)"
    Released: August 4, 2004

2004 Ai (stylized as 2004 A.I.) is the third studio album by Japanese R&B musician Ai, released on June 16, 2004.2004 Ai was her first top 10 album, as well as her first album to be certified by the RIAJ.

The album was her second to be released under Universal Music Japan. While she was initially signed to the DefJam Japan sub-label for Original Ai, this album was her first to be released after her switch to the Universal Sigma sub-label. Original Ai was a commercial success compared to her debut under BMG Japan, My Name Is Ai, selling 20 times her debut album's amount and peaking at number 15 on Oricon's albums chart.

Two singles were released prior to the album, "After the Rain" and "EO," both of which were top 30 hits. "EO" was her highest charting single to date, reaching number 23.

The majority of the album was produced by R&B producers 813 (DJ Yutaka and Shingo. S), 2Soul, Daisuke Imai, T. Kura and Michico. Ai had worked with 813 and Michico on Original Ai, on the songs "Summer Time" and "Girls' Talk" respectively. "Dreaming of You" was a collaboration with Danish music production duo Great Dane, i.e. Carsten Lindberg and Joachim Svare, with new Japanese lyrics written by Ai. Ai had previously worked with the pair on her single "Thank U."

Ai collaborated with several musicians on the album, most notably beat-boxer Afra and rapper Tucker on the single "Watch Out!" She also collaborated with 1970s guitarist , who arranged the song "Breathe." The collaboration occurred because Ai happened to be childhood friends with Char's son, vocalist Jesse from the rock band Rize. The pair later collaborated vocally on Char's DVD single "No Generation Gap" (2004), which was featured on Ai's album Feat. Ai. Ai also collaborated with reggae artist Boy-Ken on "Angel." Boy-Ken released an alternative version of "Angel" on his album Everythin' Is Everythin' (2004). The interlude "L'Haleine des Cordes" is a classical piece arranged by game music composer Shirō Sagisu.


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Wikipedia

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