The Japanese blues-charged power pop band Thyme are, in fact, more of a songwriting project, being established in 2004 by singer Thyme and composer Teppei Shimizu, later officially joined by musical engineer Takafumi Hoshino, who worked with them from the beginning. The band began the live activity in 2005, releasing its debut indie single, "Seiten"/"Shiroi Hana," in October of that year as well. Another single, "Drive"/"Yasashii Uta Ga Aru Basho E" (2006), accompanied by a flurry of street and club live shows, helped them to get a deal with the major label Geneon Entertainment, which allowed Thyme to put their skills to good use in the Japanese entertainment world. In 2007 one of the band's songs was used in a nationwide TV program; another was featured in a radio show; and the third, "Forever We Can Make It!," made it to the credits of a romantic sit-com anime To Love-Ru. Another single, "Fly Away" (2008), was picked for the anime series Mahou Tsukai Ni Taisetsu Na Koto: Natsu No Sora, in addition to being featured in a TV show along with "Forever We Can Make It!" All this paved the way for Thyme's debut studio album, First 9uality, which, however, didn't reach the Oricon Top 100, despite the band getting its own radio show around the same time. Not discouraged by First 9uality's performance, Thyme released their fourth single, "Aisuru Hito," in December of 2008, the title song tied in with the full-length live action adaptation of Mahou Tsukai Ni Taisetsu Na Koto. ~ Alexey Eremenko