Aio Punch

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Aio Punch is an extended play by Japanese singer-songwriter Ai Otsuka, released on March 26, 2014, through Avex Trax. It came after her love-song compilation Love Is Best and after a long period without a new real-name album. During that time, she released Love It under the stage name Love and was the vocalist of the band Rabbit, whose only album came out in December 2012. To celebrate Ai Otsuka’s tenth anniversary in music, Avex released Love Is Born 10th Anniversary 2013 on March 19, 2014, as a DVD/Blu-ray, the second installment in the celebration.

Aio Punch is a self-cover mini album with six tracks featuring new vocals and different arrangements. The songs are described as reborn with a mature charm and a stylish atmosphere. Four tracks have strong jazz influences, while two tracks, rearranged by Noboru Abe from Studio Apartment, lean electronic. This was Abe’s first collaboration with Otsuka; he would later work on two of her studio albums, Love Tricky (2015) and Love Honey (2017). All the tracks include subtitles referencing drinks, both alcoholic and non-alcoholic.

One month before the EP’s release, a collection titled Aio Punch Original Ver. Collection +4 was released on iTunes, including the original versions of the songs plus four bonus tracks. The EP was preceded by the digital single "Sakuranbo -Cocktail-", a re-arranged version of Otsuka’s second single, released December 4, 2013, which she also performed live at Toyota Wish presents Kurohaku Uta Gassen on YouTube. All tracks on Aio Punch are written by Ai Otsuka.