Yura Yura Teikoku - 3x3x3

Yura Yura Teikoku are a recent discovery for me. The band began as a 4-piece in 1989 (one guitar-player left early in their career), earning a cult following in the Kōenji music scene (the supposed birth-place of punk in Japan) with their spastic performances. Spearheaded by singer/guitarist Sakamoto Shintaro, who would shave off his eyebrows and wear his waist-length hair parted down the center like traditional Japanese ghost-caricatures, the band earned a name in the underground as a bombastic psych-freakout with essential live performances.

The band continued to gain popularity in Japan, so much so that word of the band has remained almost none-existent outside Japan; Yura Yura Teikoku played their first gig-abroad in 2005, in New York.

I've been on a mad hunt for their material, specifically their indie releases prior to this post, or before their first "official" and acclaimed debut in 1998, '3x3x3'. The band has retained their spastic qualities, only more integrated into a surf-sounding dynamic, constantly pushing the boundries on later releases of experimental pop...which to be honest, in the few others I've heard, has been hit-or-miss.

Yura Yura Teikoku (translated as "Unbalanced/Floating Empire") started from scratch with their live show, which still seems their most revered quality. If anyone has/can find their work like 'Are You Ra?', which (apparently) is more representitive of their live sound, I'd def appreciate it.

All that said, their major-label debut, '3x3x3' is good stuff. Sakamoto Shintaro seems skilled enough on guitar to switch styles at will, and the songs reflect it. The bass-player finds some tight grooves, and the drummer, while not technically amazing, is a large part of the band's eclectic sound.

If you're interested in hunting down more of their recent work, their album 'Sweet Spot' is pretty interesting, too. And I couldn't talk-up their live show without a vid, so here's a badass show around 2001...now just imagine ten years prior with undoubtedly more freak-out.

3x3x3
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mind the graves