In a short period of time, the Saitama based rock band Great Adventure have caused a sizable stir. The group's sound hits in a realm somewhere between the spiraling guitar rock of the Stone Roses and the electronic drive of the Chemical Brothers. A frequent comment about the band is that they don't "sound Japanese". The band are however entirely Japanese - Yoshiaki Nomoto on drums and samplers, Yuji Ota on lead vocals, guitar, keyboards, harmonica and Theremin, and Kazuto Tarumi on...

In a short period of time, the Saitama based rock band Great Adventure have caused a sizable stir. The group's sound hits in a realm somewhere between the spiraling guitar rock of the Stone Roses and the electronic drive of the Chemical Brothers. A frequent comment about the band is that they don't "sound Japanese". The band are however entirely Japanese - Yoshiaki Nomoto on drums and samplers, Yuji Ota on lead vocals, guitar, keyboards, harmonica and Theremin, and Kazuto Tarumi on bass, vocals, keys, sampler and trumpet. Besides singing in quite passable English, the trio have a looseness in song composition and performance that is rarely found in Japanese bands. The band released their first album Great & Funky in July, 2004 on an indie label called Apple Paint Factory, run by their management company. The album was later picked up the Reservoir Records imprint of Toshiba-EMI, who re-released it in a slightly modified version. The band was not looking forward to signing away their independence entirely, and made a deal that left open the option to release future material indie if they choose to do so. The band's debut was a bit too rough-edged to score radio airplay, but was well received by music fans. The group gained many of their fans through their spirited live shows. Great Adventure really started getting notice when they landed opening slots for the popular foreign rock bands Kasabian and The Music. In August, 2005 they also played two of Japan's biggest rock festivals, Summer Sonic and Rising Sun, where they continued to make new fans. Looking to widen their horizons, the band played a show in London in September, 2005, their first overseas performance. The band's second album Rocks is due November 23, 2005, again via the Reservoir/Toshiba-EMI imprint.