IKI is the third full-length studio album by Japanese rock band Hitorie. It was released on December 7, 2016, ten months after their second studio album, DEEPER. The album's title, stylized in English, is based on the Japanese word "çÂÂãÂÂã (Ikiru)", which means "to live", or "to breathe". It was previously named "HUMAN".
The album, much like the title, focuses on the theme of life and humanity. wowaka originally chose the title "HUMAN", but decided to title it "IKI", as it more accurately represents the essence of the album. His reasoning is that his songs have been a form of living and existing, much like breathing.
Production on the album started shortly after finishing production on their previous album, DEEPER. wowaka planned on releasing a lead single, but decided to release only the album at the end of 2016. All songs were brand new, except for Hagureno-Color, which was performed at their previous tour, one-Me Tour âÂÂDEEP/SEEKâÂÂ, and included on the performance's live album. Little Cry Baby was the last song to be written, and wowaka considers it the "heart" of the album. He wrote the song in just 12 hours. doppel features a piano played by keyboardist Ichiyo Izawa, member of Japanese rock supergroup The Hiatus.
They also announced the album's release tour, named "National one-man tour 2017 "IKI" (å ¨å½ã¯ã³ãÂÂã³ãÂÂã¢ã¼2017 "IKI")", which was performed in over 20 locations nationwide starting on January 27th 2017.