was a three-piece Japanese rock band from

Tokyo Tokyo (; ja, 東京, , ), officially the Tokyo Metropolis ( ja, 東京都, label=none, ), is the capital and largest city of Japan. Formerly known as Edo, its metropolitan area () is the most populous in the world, with an estimated 37.468 ...

, formed in 1989. Part of the city's

underground music Underground music is music with practices perceived as outside, or somehow opposed to, mainstream popular music culture. Underground music is intimately tied to popular music culture as a whole, so there are important tensions within underground ...

scene centered in

Kōenji is a district of Tokyo in the Suginami ward, west of Shinjuku. The district's name originates from the old temples in the area. Kōenji is primarily a residential community with easy access to the Shinjuku and Tokyo stations. It was largely un ...

, their music has an eclectic sound usually described as

psychedelic rock Psychedelic rock is a rock music Music genre, genre that is inspired, influenced, or representative of psychedelia, psychedelic culture, which is centered on perception-altering hallucinogenic drugs. The music incorporated new electronic sound ...

. After 21 years playing together, Yura Yura Teikoku amicably broke up in 2010.

History

Yura Yura Teikoku was formed in 1989 with drummer Atsushi Yoshida and vocalist/guitarist

Shintaro Sakamoto Shintaro Sakamoto (born September 9, 1967) is a Japanese musician, singer/songwriter, and producer. He was a founding member and the frontman for the underground Japanese psychedelic rock band Yura Yura Teikoku. After the band's breakup in 2010, ...

as leader, bassist Chiyo Kamekawa and a succession of other members. Drummer Ichiro Shibata joined in 1997 to form the current lineup, and the trio soon signed with Midi Records. The band released five studio albums, one live recording album and two greatest hits albums on Midi. In 2005, Yura Yura Teikoku signed with

Sony Japan , often abbreviated as SMEJ or simply SME, and also known as Sony Music Japan for short (stylized as ''SonyMusic''), is a Japanese music arm for Sony. Founded in 1968 as CBS/Sony, SMEJ is directly owned by Sony Group Corporation and is opera ...

and released their ninth studio album, "Sweet Spot", and a remix 12-inch,"Soft Death / Frankie Teardrop" (

Suicide Suicide is the act of intentionally causing one's own death. Mental disorders (including depression, bipolar disorder, schizophrenia, personality disorders, anxiety disorders), physical disorders (such as chronic fatigue syndrome), and s ...

cover). "Soft Death" was embraced by the dance community, and "Sweet Spot" was elected one of the best albums of the year in various media in Japan and overseas. The band also released a live album of material from their Midi years titled "na.ma.shi.bi.re.na.ma.me.ma.i" on

New York New York most commonly refers to: * New York City, the most populous city in the United States, located in the state of New York * New York (state), a state in the northeastern United States New York may also refer to: Film and television * '' ...

-based Mesh-Key Records. In October of the same year, Mesh-Key Records organized two shows for the band in New York (their first shows ever outside Japan), and was welcomed with rave reviews by the local media. New and old fans alike packed into the venues to see the band's one-of-a-kind performance. In June, 2006, the CD single "Into The Next Night" and remix 12-inch "Into The Next Night / You Can't Fight Fate" were released. In July, Mesh-Key Records released the 12-inch "Soft Death / It Was A Robot" and brought the band back for a second batch of New York shows, which were even more packed than the first. The "Soft Death" 12-inch has been championed by such deejays as Rub'N Tug and DJ Harvey. Chiyo Kamekawa and Ichiro Shibata

In 2006, the band headlined at various major festivals in Japan and Taiwan. In May 2007, Mesh-Key Records released the US version of "Sweet Spot". In the same year, Yura Yura Teikoku went on their first Australian tour. In July 2007, they released the single "Beautiful" and in fall 2007 they released their first studio album in two and a half years, "Hollow Me". Songs from the album were prominently featured in

Sion Sono Sion may refer to * an alternative transliteration of Zion People * Sion (name) or Siôn, a Welsh and other given name and surname, including a list of people and fictional characters with the name * Shion or Sion, a Japanese given name Plac ...

's 2008 movie ''

Love Exposure is a 2008 Japanese comedy-drama film written and directed by Sion Sono. The film gained a considerable amount of notoriety in film festivals around the world for its four-hour runtime and themes including love, family, lust, religion and the crim ...

''. DFA Records combined "Beautiful" and "Hollow Me" for a full-length CD release in November 2009. As of March 31, 2010, according to the band's official website, after 21 years playing together the band has amicably broken up citing a loss of excitement. Each member plans to continue playing music in other projects in the future. Shintaro Sakamoto started his own record label, "zelone records", and released his first solo single, "In A Phantom Mood", on October 7, 2011. He has since released two acclaimed solo albums. Vocalist Shintaro Sakamoto, who designs all the band's artwork, published his first illustration/artwork anthology, "Shintaro Sakamoto Artworks 1994-2006" (Shogakukan) in July 2007. Bassist Chiyo Kamekawa has been a member of The Stars, led by producer You Ishihara (ex-White Heaven) since 1999. They have released three studio albums.

Members

* –

vocals Singing is the act of creating musical sounds with the voice. A person who sings is called a singer, artist or vocalist (in jazz and/or popular music). Singers perform music (arias, recitatives, songs, etc.) that can be sung with or without ...

guitar The guitar is a fretted musical instrument that typically has six strings. It is usually held flat against the player's body and played by strumming or plucking the strings with the dominant hand, while simultaneously pressing selected stri ...

* –

bass guitar The bass guitar, electric bass or simply bass (), is the lowest-pitched member of the string family. It is a plucked string instrument similar in appearance and construction to an electric or an acoustic guitar, but with a longer neck and ...

* –

drums A drum kit (also called a drum set, trap set, or simply drums) is a collection of drums, cymbals, and other Percussion instrument, auxiliary percussion instruments set up to be played by one person. The player (drummer) typically holds a pair o ...

Discography

Albums

* (1992) — Yura Yura Teikoku * (1994) — Yura Yura Teikoku II * (1995) — Live * (1996) — Are You Ra? * (1998) — 3x3x3 * (1999) — Me no Car * (2001) — III * (2003) — Yura Yura Teikoku no Shibire * (2003) — Yura Yura Teikoku no Memai * (2003) — na.ma.shi.bi.re.na.ma.me.ma.i * (2005) — Sweet Spot * (2007) — Hollow Me

Singles

* (1998) — Hakkoutai * (1999) — Zukku Ni Rock * (2006) — Into The Next Night * (2010) — Dekinai

EP

* (1998) — Hakkoutai / Itazurakozou * (1999) — Taiyou No Shiroi Kona * (2006) — Soft Death / It Was A Robot * (2007) — Beautiful

External links

Official Website (Japanese/English)

{{DEFAULTSORT:Yura Yura Teikoku Japanese rock music groups Musical groups from Tokyo