Seiyuu Digest #14 – D.A.T / TRD

Seiyuu Digest #14 - D.A.T

A seiyuu unit with no match. Regal, mature, electrifying and plenty of fun, D.A.T was one of the best seiyuu units of the ’10s. The group lives on under a new name, TRD.

D.A.T Best of visual

D.A.T consisted of Daisuke Ono (vocals, main rapper) and Takayuki Kondo (main vocal, sub-rapper).

The duo debuted under Marine Entertainment in 2012 and are known for their electrifying dance battles, sharp dance moves, and addictive electronic pop sound.

They would end up disbanding in 2020 and, in 2021, the duo reunited under a new name – TRD – and signed to a different music label.

Pre-debut

Before debuting as D.A.T, Daisuke Ono and Takuyuki Kondo were already known as the versatile and comedic duo behind the popular radio show “Dragon & Tiger – Yume Bouken radio” (Dragon & Tiger adventure dreams), show airing on Nippon Cultural Broadcasting every week.

The main point behind the show lies in achieving “the dream” through various situations and games in which is one of the highlights in Japanese radio. The unit formed because of this radio show – starting to score both the opening and ending themes for it and further developing a strong image and sound that went beyond simple radio show music.

As members of “Project DABA“, Kondo and Ono already had the chemistry and charisma needed to embark on this new adventure.

And that’s when we reach 2012 for their big debut.

2012

DEBUT “The VS era”

Debuting with a strong dancefloor-driven concept, D.A.T made their way in the midst of an already packed music genre – especially when it comes to seiyuu making their solo debuts – and really presented an explosive performance and song that made everyone stand in awe.

Fans weren’t exactly expecting a dance project coming from these two seiyuu – especially when we take into account that Kondo‘s voice is well suited for ballads or rock songs and would, on paper, be a weird choice for a dance project.

Turns out that Marine Entertainment – home to Black Velvet and ELEKITER ROUND 0 – was willing to try a new concept and this duo would be the best one to pull it off – for those who don’t know or don’t recall, Ono was, at that time, well known for his playful dance tracks (Delight, Ride on Funky Night, Netsuretsu Answer, etc) as a solo artist, and his choreographies were often the talk in town among fans and fellow seiyuu.

The fact that Ono was known for that, as well as how quickly he learns the moves to a choreo, only made it more natural for the label to assign them this kind of music.

The unit made its debut in 2012’s Marine Wave Super Live festival that counted with the performances by their Marine Entertainment labelmates – M.O.E, Black Velvet, and ELEKITER ROUND 0.

D.A.T

Their debut single “VS” impressed with both its strong instrumental and the extremely energetic and technical choreography that the duo performed flawlessly – although with some minor setbacks live because of the microphone assignments constantly failing to work at 100%.

Even so and with a blend of two rich mid-toned voices, Daisuke Ono and Takayuki Kondo sounded on top of their game be it rapping in “VS” or hitting the highest notes available like in “SWEET NEST”.

VS” impressed upon release, ranking at #10 on Oricon Daily Single Chart, a fantastic feat for a rookie unit.

2014

The long awaited royal comeback

We reached late 2013 and silence was broken: D.A.T were going to make their comeback in 2014, in what was quite possibly their fiercest and classiest comeback ever.

Dressed in a royal fashion and with classy looks to go along with it, D.A.T surprised everyone with their addictive “NOCTURNE -drastic dance-“. Both music and dance once again stood out and managed to impress everyone.

The beat-synced dance made their polished looks and improved sound reach new heights.

On its review I couldn’t help but notice how addictive the music and choreography were:

(…) Daisuke Ono seems to absorb the dance routines so fast and make those moves sound so fluid and smooth that, at times, we at the THTFHQ’s noticed that everyone just automatically started to follow OnoD’s moves, not caring about the music or even about Takayuki’s amazing performance (…)

@Marine Entertainment Live 2013

The duo started to establish themselves as the name to go when you need a powerful dance track with strong choreography routines and steady vocals.

Looking back in 2014, few seiyuu units were doing better than D.A.T or sounding as good as them both on CD and live. They pulled off their concept flawlessly – their unique noble, regal look – and made it work with electronic music.

At that time, they were a unique unit and one of the most exciting outfits in the seiyuu industry.

2014

The third single announcement that failed to be released timely

Dragon & Tiger – Yume Bouken” radio peaked in popularity in 2014, even with tough competition during their time slot on Friday night.

Both Daisuke Ono and Takayuki Kondo were with their schedules packed with work and the time left to complete the recordings for their 3rd single was not progressing as smoothly as they wanted.

Announced on Marine Super Wave Live 2014 (MSWL) show in 2014, the 3rd single was continuously being delayed to a later date and things dragged, much to the fans displeasure, until 2015, the year in which their long-awaited singleCHANGE THE WORLD” was released.

2015

CHANGE THE WORLD: A new sound

2015 was time to officially release the single that was already well known among fans – due to its premiere on Marine Super Wave Live or even because it was already featured as the opening for their radio show.

CHANGE THE WORLD” put the fancy clothes and addictive beats aside only to be replaced with leather jackets, slick hair, and a rock sound that pulled everyone in.

It was fresh and well-crafted sound, and fans were actually surprised that D.A.T had changed so much between releases.

It was the first time D.A.T was approaching the rock genre in such a bold way. The track was the complete opposite to anything they had done before but it still managed to make an impression.

CHANGE THE WORLD” as a single was pure innovation for the unit.

With new colors and sound, as well as experimenting with new elements for the sake of setting their own sound apart from other seiyuu units, D.A.T was showing good signs of improvement.

“In one year the visuals changed, the approach to the unit as a whole also changed and the biggest change of them all is their music genre.” (in D.A.T “Change The World” review)

Embracing rock with stronger and faster beats, as well as diving into hip-hop territory and delivering an astonishing oldschool gangsta-rap “Hakai souzou“, D.A.T really set the bar high not only for future releases but also for their career as a unit.

At that time, everyone thought that they were unmatched in diversity and versatility. D.A.T was showing everyone (before it was cool to embrace other music genres besides pop and dance) that seiyuu units didn’t need to stick to mainstream music genres and concepts in order to deliver something that would impress their fans.

Originality and freshness were key for them.

2016

The Best of album and 1st tour

D.A.T released the Best Of album “SUITE“, released back in April that year.

The Best Of album had a goodbye vibe that was impossible not to notice.

Given how sparse their releases had been, people couldn’t help but be aware of their vibe. “SUITE” revisited all of D.A.T‘s releases up to that date, compiling them in what was a special release with three new songs (with two of them being solo songs).

Looking at the title track and after watching its music video, it’s obvious that everything came full circle with D.A.T‘s mystery love from “NOCTURNE -drastic dance-“.

That storyline ended but many unanswered questions were still left in the air.

The title track “ELEGY~cruel sky~” was penned by Takayuki Kondo and showcased a completely different vibe from what this duo had shown up until then.

Even if the vibe was different, “ELEGY~cruel sky~” quickly takes its spot as one of the best songs in their repertoire.

D.A.T‘s electronic pop sound was replaced by progressive EDM sound filled with dirty synths and dreamy synth pads.

To convey the emotions in this song, heavy synths and guitars blended to create a contrasting melody. Kondo was now taking the place as the main singer whereas Ono was in charge of singing and rapping.

2017

The hiatus

The duo took one year off after the release of “SUITE“. They attended 2017’s “Marine Super Wave Live” and “MARINE SUPER WAVE R” events, their radio show is was still airing and they wrapped up tours in 2016 and 2017.

It seemed that the duo was regrouping for a comeback, something that happened a year later.

https://youtu.be/Q8ajuZcjDnk

Still in 2017, the live DVD “Sweet Shake Suite” was released. The DVD included their powerful performances during 2016’s live tour “Sweet Shake Suite”.

2018

The long awaited comeback: TRINITY

D.A.T surprised everyone with their comeback announcement early in 2018. After wrapping a tour and other MSWL performances, the duo made a triumphant comeback in 2018 with the mini-album, “TRINITY“.

They embraced a gangster look and brought out a hard-banging EDM instrumental to impress their fans. As per usual, Takayuki Kondo was in charge of vocals and Daisuke Ono of vocals and rap, creating the perfect synergy.

TRINITYranked at #26 on Oricon Daily Album chart, a result that was impressive for a unit that was absent from the music industry for almost two years.

The duo later announced the release of a special Blu-ray including footage from their performance at MSWL 2017 plus all their music videos released to date titled “D.A.T MSWL2017&MUSIC VIDEO Archives“.

https://youtu.be/NaC_SvP2Dhg

D.A.T announced as well a new live tour, D.A.T LIVE TOUR 2018「ROYAL FLASH」to promote their recently released mini-album. The tour counts with three dates in October. Two rehearsal videos were released ahead of the tour’s kick off.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Wys3IrToOfU
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LmO0oM4S6cc

2020

Disbandment

In 2020, Marine Entertainment announced that D.A.T was going to disband. No explanation as to why the group was parting ways with the music label was given.

Little did fans know what would await them.

2021

Rebirth as TRD

TRD

In 2021, Daisuke Ono and Takayuki Kondo announced their comeback as a duo however under a different name and music label.

Putting behind them the name D.A.T, the duo embraced the name TRD (read: Trado) and kicked off their activities under PONY CANYON.

TRD "TRAD" regular edition
TRD “TRAD” regular edition

They launched a radio show and released their 1st single “TRAD” in 2021, impressing everyone with their K-pop-inspired sound and intensity.

The duo is set to hop on stage later in 2021 for their 1st live show as TRD.


Last updated on 04/08/2021

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Vanessa Silva
Vanessa Silvahttps://www.handthatfeedshq.com
The Hand That Feeds HQ founder, content creator, and music reviewer. Basically, the only person managing everything at The Hand That Feeds HQ. Stumbling upon Mamoru Miyano's "Orpheus" in 2011 was the start of this journey. If music is thought-provoking or deep, you may find her writing almost essays (not limited to, but it happens a lot with Soma Saito's music). She's the producer and host of the male seiyuu-centric podcast, SEIYUU LOUNGE (see Spotify link in this profile).

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