Ark (L'Arc-en-Ciel album)

Ark is the sixth album by L'Arc-en-Ciel, released on July 1, 1999, simultaneously with Ray. It reached number one on the Oricon chart and sold over two million copies, being certified by the RIAJ.[1]

Ark
Studio album by
ReleasedJuly 1, 1999
Genre
Length53:08
LabelKi/oon
ProducerL'Arc-en-Ciel, Hajime Okano
L'Arc-en-Ciel chronology
Heart
(1998)
Ark
(1999)
Ray
(1999)
Singles from Ark
  1. "Dive to Blue"
    Released: March 25, 1998
  2. "Forbidden Lover"
    Released: October 14, 1998
  3. "Heaven's Drive"
    Released: April 21, 1999
  4. "Pieces"
    Released: June 02, 1999
  5. "Driver's High"
    Released: August 11, 1999

Track listing

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All lyrics are written by hyde, except track 8 by tetsu

No.TitleMusicLength
1."Forbidden Lover"ken6:01
2."Heaven's Drive"hyde4:15
3."Driver's High"tetsu4:10
4."Cradle"yukihiro4:56
5."Dive to Blue"tetsu5:33
6."Larva" (instrumental)yukihiro3:55
7."Butterfly's Sleep"ken5:10
8."Perfect Blue"tetsu3:48
9."Shinjitsu to Gensou to" (真実と幻想と)ken5:22
10."What is Love"tetsu4:13
11."Pieces (Ark Mix)"tetsu5:45

Personnel

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  • hydevocals
  • kenguitar, keyboards on tracks 1, 4, 5, 9 and 10, tambourine on tracks 2, 5 and 10, "Hong Kong handclaps" on track 5
  • tetsubass guitar, backing vocals, keyboards on tracks 5, 8 and 11, metal percussion and "Hong Kong handclaps" on track 5
  • yukihirodrums, keyboards and turn table on track 4, "Hong Kong handclaps" on track 5
  • Hajime Okano – keyboards on tracks 1, 2, 3, 4, 8, 9, 10 and 11, chromaharp on track 10
  • Hitoshi Saitou – keyboards on all but track 9, piano on track 9
  • Yukarie – tenor saxophone on track 2
  • Smily – baritone saxophone on track 2
  • Akatsuki Tada – trumpet on track 2
  • Naoki Hirata – trumpet on track 2
  • Eishi Yoshizawa – organ and keyboards on track 3
  • Chieko Kanehara – strings on track 7
  • Keiko Abe – strings on track 11

Charts

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Certifications

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Region Certification Certified units/sales
Japan (RIAJ)[4] 2× Million 2,000,000^

^ Shipments figures based on certification alone.

References

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  1. ^ "RIAJ CERTIFIED MILLION SELLER ALBUMS". ocn.ne.jp. Archived from the original on August 5, 2012. Retrieved February 13, 2015.
  2. ^ "ark | L'Arc~en~Ciel". ORICON NEWS. Retrieved 2024-05-21.
  3. ^ "『ark』15th Anniversary Expanded Edition | L'Arc~en~Ciel". ORICON NEWS. Retrieved 2024-05-21.
  4. ^ "Japanese album certifications – L'Arc~en~Ciel – ark" (in Japanese). Recording Industry Association of Japan. Select 1999年7月 on the drop-down menu