Release Date: 2004-07-05
Romanized: “namae wa, mada nai.”
English: “Don’t got a name yet.”
Format: Single
Editions: Limited (1st, 2nd) / Regular
Released As: アリス九號 / アリス九號.
Physical: Out of Print
Streaming: Spotify
Associated Tour: A2 (Joint tour with Ayabie in the summer of 2004).

★ This single was the only one ever released under the name アリス九號 (the first iteration of their band name, without a dot at the end). The 1st Press version, for which only 1000 copies were made, was released on Show’s birthday. The 2nd Press version, for which only 3000 copies were made, included a third song. These were both released shortly before they signed on with PSC, their former management company. The 3rd Press version, a regular edition, was put in print just over a year later; that 3rd press did include the dot in their band name.
★ The music was produced and arranged by the members themselves.
★ For a short time between them beginning activities as a session band and them having their first interview with SHOXX prior to the release of the single, Tora was performing under the name 真 (Makoto)!
★ The design of the 2nd Press edition was attributed to Show, while the photos were taken by nori.
★ A special thank you to RUKA from fellow band NIGHTMARE was included in the booklet of the 2nd Press edition.
★ No music video was ever made for any of the songs on this single.

EDITIONS

Limited (1st Press – 2004/07/05)

CD
o1. タイムマシン
^{TIME MACHINE}
o2. メロウに沈んで
^{MERROW ni shizunde}
BOOKLET

Limited (2nd Press – 2004/08/11)

CD
o1. タイムマシン
^{TIME MACHINE}
o2. メロウに沈んで
^{MERROW ni shizunde}
03. 華一匁
^{hana ichi monme}
BOOKLET

Regular (3rd Press – 2005/11/30)

CD
o1. タイムマシン
^{TIME MACHINE}
o2. メロウに沈んで
^{MERROW ni shizunde}
03. 華一匁
^{hana ichi monme}
BOOKLET

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STREAMING

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LINER NOTES

★ タイムマシン
^{TIME MACHINE}
Composed by Tora (SHOXX 2004.08 vol 138).
The lyrics, written by Show, were subtly changed for the 2019 rearrangement.
Click [ here ] for a full deep-dive into the song, including lyric translations and more facts.

★ メロウに沈んで
^{MERROW ni shizunde}
Apparently composed by Tora (source needed).
Lyrics written by Show.
Click [ here ] for a full deep-dive into the song, including lyric translations and more facts.

★ 華一匁
^{hana ichi monme}
Composed by Saga (SHOXX 2004.08 vol 138).
The lyrics, written by Show, were subtly changed for the 2019 rearrangement.
Click [ here ] for a full deep-dive into the song, including lyric translations and more facts.

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RELATED RECORDINGS

CD Releases

15TH ANNIVERSARY BEST [kachou no shirabe]
^{– TIME MACHINE, hana ichi monme}

Concert DVD

ALICE IN WONDEЯ FILM
^{– TIME MACHINE}
BLACK JEWEL and WHITE ROSE
^{– MELLOW ni shizunde}
DISCOTHEQUE play like “A” ЯAINBOWS -enter & exit-
^{– hana ichi monme}
ALICE IN WONDEЯ LAND
^{– TIME MACHINE}
ALIVERSARY FINAL & 15TH ANNIVERSARY “THE TIME MACHINE”
^{– TIME MACHINE, hana ichi monme}
16th Anniversary Live『君ノ瞳ニ映ルハ絶景色』
^{– hana ichi monme}

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PUBLICATIONS

Print
Click on the image previews for full-size versions.

Cure 2004.10 vol 13 (CU-0410.13)


This was a Band Close Up feature, and as their first appearance in the magazine, was likely just one page to introduce readers to the band and promote the second press of “namae wa, mada nai.”. For the moment, we have only the member photos that appeared in the article, sourced from the now-defunct fansite RED WINDMILL.

Fool’s Mate 2004.10 vol 276 (FM-0410.276)
details unknown

Fool’s Mate 2004.11 vol 277 (FM-0411.277)

A one page article featuring the “EDISIDE~Tokyo Battle~” Like An Edision festival that ALICE NINE. played in at Shibuya O-EAST on August 16, 2004. They played MELLOW ni shizunde for the first time and taught the fans how to do the furitsuke (dance) for the song.

hévn 2004.08 vol 13 (HE-0408.13)

For their very first appearance in the magazine as a band, they had a group interview regarding the fact that their first single “namae wa, mada nai.” was successful enough to sell out and warrant a second print, had a short special feature where they shared memories relating to fireworks, they each answered a 20-item questionnaire, and then they each showcased two personal items. An audio comment featuring all 5 members was included on a CD as a bonus item with the magazine. You can listen to them introduce themselves below:

Partial Translation: Band Interview (English)

SHOXX 2004.08 vol 138 (SX-0408.138)

Their first appearance in the magazine featured a group interview about how they formed, along with some details regarding as-yet-unreleased (and untitled) “namae wa, mada nai.”. They still considered themselves a session band and hadn’t even added the dot to their name yet! The second image appears to be from this issue as well, according to RED WINDMILL, but I can’t confirm that.

Full Translation: “alicenine” (English)

SHOXX 2004.10 vol 140 (SX-0410.140)

As far as I can tell from the small image, this was a group interview regarding the second press of “namae wa, mada nai.”.

Digital

Visunavi
2004.05.07 Pleased to Meet You – Including a Message from the Band (English Translation)
2004.06.11 First Music Release and A2 Tour Announcement
2004.07.15 The Second Press Will Include a New Song

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PROMOTION

Click on the image previews for full-size versions.

A flyer providing the URL for their very first official webpage and promoting dates for all their upcoming lives as a session band (including a listing for their very first performance at ikebukuro CYBER!). Look closely, and you’ll notice that Tora isn’t on the flyer… sort of. When they first started up as a session band, and only for a short time, Tora was going by the name 真 (Makoto). In addition, they wrote an aside announcing their intent to release music. Interestingly, they wrote all the dates in Japanese characters instead of using roman/arabic numerals in the usual way. On the subject of a music release, the flyer reads:
Somehow, shortly, we plan to release music.
See official page for details.



A flyer promoting tour dates and the second press of their single, “namae wa, mada nai.”. Their original OHP and email address is still listed, as they had likely not yet signed on with PSC (a management company).



Those who purchased a copy of the single through the music store Like An Edison received the following postcard as a gift.

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ASSOCIATED LIVES & TOURS

Before releasing their first single, ALICE NINE had formed as a 5-person session band, starting off by announcing a series of 5 live shows they would play as a unit: two in May 2004, and an additional three in June of the same year. This wasn’t technically a tour, just a series of lives. However, they were enough of a success that it led to them recording and releasing “namae wa, mada nai.”, and the rest, as they say, is history.

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Coupling Tour “A2”
^{July 17 2004 – August 24 2004}

They embarked on a six-stop, summer taiban (joint) tour with fellow band AYABIE shortly after releasing their inaugural single, “namae wa, mada nai.” and the tour ended on the day we now know as Aliversary, or their bandiversary — the day that they signed on with PS Company, adding a dot to their name shortly thereafter. They called the tour A2 because, well… both their band names start with an A. It doesn’t get more on the nose than that!

07.17　Urawa NARCISSUS
08.12　Shibuya O-WEST
08.14　Saitama Kaikan
08.15　Meguro rockmaykan
08.20　Sendai HOOK
08.24　Shibuya O-Crest

AYABIE went through some lineup changes in the years that followed, but the members (past and present) in both bands maintain strong friendships with each other to this day (one member is now in MIGIMIMI SLEEP TIGHT). I’m not aware of whether they distributed any flyers for the tour as promotion, and it doesn’t seem like any publications at the time wrote any blurbs about their tour, but they did take a great series of photos together, most (or all) of which, you can view below:

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Like An Edison “EDISIDE~Tokyo Battle~” Festival
^{August 16, 2004}

According to Fool’s Mate vol 277, this festival was apparently when they played MERROW ni shizunde live for the first time.

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OHP

When this was originally released, ALICE NINE. was an entirely independent band, their original homepage being sound.jp/alicenine. That site is still active, though only as a page forwarding the viewer to their new homepage.


As of 9/1, alice nine has become affiliated with PS COMPANY.
As such, our public page has relocated.
http://www.pscompany.co.jp/alicenine/

Their PS Company homepage is no longer active, of course.

Nevertheless, a few photo relics remain of their original black-and-red, without-a-dot home. There was almost certainly several pages and accompanying text for that first site in the beginning, but by the time I found it and tried to get information from it, all that remained were the profile photos of each member. Here are those original photos of our favourite budding visual kei musicians for a dose of nostalgia and/or your viewing pleasure. Click on each image for an enlarged version.

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Anything Missing?

If you know of anything relating to this release that hasn’t been covered here, please feel free to leave a comment.

Discussion and fannish enthusiasm is more than welcome too!