Although I must have raved about Yura Yura Teikoku (ゆらゆら帝国) about a million times to a million people already, with the group’s demise barely a month ago, it is only appropriate I profess my love for this group once again in this edition of W_Selection. Yura Yura Teikoku (roughly translated as “Floating Kingdom”) was formed in 1989 with Shintaro Sakamoto (guitar and vocals) and Chiyo Kamekawa (bass) as the only original members that continued to play until their break up, with Ichiro Shibata (drums) completing the line up in 1997.

Often classified as a psychedelic rock band, Yura Yura Teikoku seemed to have experimented with much more than what some critics describe. Through out their self-releases, Captain Trip Records (Are You Ra?), and their first three releases on Midi Records (3x3x3, Me Car, and Yura Yura Teikoku III), the 60’s and 70’s rock influences was very apparent. There are countless articles comparing Sakamoto’s guitar playing to Hendrix, songs such as うそが本当に and ドックンドール instantly reminds me of Velvet Underground’s Sunday Morning or Femme Fatale, and EVIL CAR channels the spirit of Les Rallizes Denudes. As a matter of fact, on their last live album, Na,Ma.Shi.Bi.Re.Na.Ma.Me.Mai, the production seems to be directly influenced by the abrasively-loud lo-fi bootleg recordings of Les Rallizes Denudes.

The band took an interesting turn in 2003 when they released Shibire and Memai, two albums on the same day. Though their trademark sound was still evident, the loud garage-rock combination of guitar, bass and drums that domineered their previous efforts was replaced by a mechanical, minimal, and more spacious sound. Especially on songs such as 誰だっけ?, Yura Yura Teikoku seemed to explore more Neu! than Yardbirds. This new production was a breath of fresh air, and one that stayed with them through the consequent albums. Upon signing to Sony Japan, the band released Sweet Spot. Though not considered one of their strongest albums, songs such as ロボットでした and はて人間は? and ソフトに死んでいる are essential Yura Yura Teikoku listening.

Released October 2007, Hollow Me proved to be the band’s final hoorah, and a good hoorah it is. Expanding on the Memai and Shibire sound, the group incorporated dance music, one drops, and even an almost light-jazz saxophone ditty into some of the songs. あえ て抵抗しない and 美しい are probably the most notable tracks, with pulsating drums, running bass lines and Sakamoto’s electronic-like guitar riff. The album’s opener, お はようまだやろう, and closer, 空洞です, are memorable pop songs that eases you into Hollow Me, and has a bit of dramatic flare to end this final full length.
In a live performance setting, Yura Yura Teikoku is something else. All three are very skilled musicians. The band plays an extremely tight set, punctuated by psych freak-outs that could make the most avid hard music-listener’s ears bleed. I love their live interpretation of their post Shibire and Memai songs. Tracks such as 貫通’s minimal bleeps turn into a distorted guitar chug, ハラペコのガキの歌 almost trip-hoppy approach turns into an epic delay-pedal sludge-fest, and so on.

Unfortunately, on March 31, 2010, the band decided to dissolve. According to the letter posted on their website, the band felt it creatively reached its end. Rather than continue Yura Yura Teikoku uninspired, its members decided to call it quits and pursue other projects.
Something I brag about every time I write something about the band, I was fortunate enough to watch their first ever performance out of Japan, and consequently their last performance in New York as well. There are very few artists out there I religiously follow and had such an impact on my creative efforts. Thank you, Floating Kingdom.