In April of 98, their first major label album 3x3x3 was released, receiving nearly universal rave reviews from music magazines as well as fellow musicians, a fitting reception for a band that paid its dues in the indie scene for 8 years. After countless drummer changes in 1997 the current drummer Shibata Ichirou joined, thrusting the band into its current form. Are You Ra? is actually the most straightforward of all the Yura Yura Teikoku albums that I have heard, which is an interesting counter to the more usual example of bands getting signed to a major label and being forced to churn out pop singles, losing their uniqueness. The last album of their indie era, Are You Ra?, was released in March of 1996. In 1994, the band released their second self-titled album, followed by their first live album in 1995 titled simply Live. Due to undeniable musical talent and charisma the band carved out a niche for itself in the Tokyo indie live scene. It was also in ’92 that Yura Yura Teikoku released their first self-titled album independently. In 1992, Yura Yura Teikoku underwent a member change and became a 3 piece with a more straightforward, poppy sound. In 1990, Bassist Kamekawa Chiyo joined the band, which at the time was a quartet. The lyrics are ironic, biting, and nihilistic. Sakamoto’s other great strength are his vocals, which fit well into every style that the Teikoku plays. He shows great proficiency with a number of styles, excelling whether he’s writing pop chord progressions, cool psychedelic grooves or meandering guitar solos. From the beginning, Sakamoto was the leader of the band and clearly the creative driving force. In 1989, Sakamoto Shintarou formed Yura Yura Teikoku with the idea of creating original rock written in Japanese.