Soto Hiroshi responded to the advertisement and band leader Kazi was initially skeptical that this 30-year-old salary man would fit in with the band whose members were barely in their mid-20s. Soto also had different musical tastes than the rest of the band and this brought some hesitation with the band. But after meeting with Soto, they extended the invitation for him to join the band which he accepted in January 1997. Throughout the year, they performed and rehearsed in the studio, crafting such songs as "Sad Song" (which would later become "shinbigan to Paradox"'s tamashii no hana), Room, Blue Velvet, Cherry Pie, and midori no sabaku to name a few.