When Cibo Matto went into the recording studio to record their first major release, "Viva! La Woman", they pulled in all their markers. They relied on the network of friends they had made, to back them up in the studio. The guest list at the sessions included Bernie Worrell of "Parliament" and "Funkadelic" fame, Rick Lee of "Skeleton Key", Dougie Bowne of the Lounge Lizards, members of the Jon Spencer Blues Explosion, and several other noteworthy musicians also were included in the recording sessions.

Cibo Matto brought in two top recording producers, Mitchell Froom and Tchad Blake, to assist them on their project. Mitchell and Blake had already attained a bit of notoriety in the recording industry. Mitchell is a famous producer that has done work for Paul McCartney, Tom Waits, Suzanne Vega, Elvis Costello and Los Lobos, among others. Meanwhile, Tchad had some more minor success with his production of a album for a band called Soul Coughing in 1994.The production team of Mitchell Froom and Tchad Blake masterful guided Cibo Matto and the backing musicians through the course of the sessions. Yuka and Miho made all the artistic choices on the album's production, but they also realized the importance of listening to new ideas and approaches that the producers brought to the table.

The hard work that Yuka and Miho had put in over the years came together in the release of the CD, "Viva! La Woman", in early 1996. With the distribution resources of Warner Brothers behind them, Cibo Matto found a great deal of new success and popularity. Material from the album found radio airplay on the FM and College airwaves in America. A small tour of Europe also helped to establish the band's foothold abroad. And of course they had also found a following in their homeland of Japan.

Via! La Woman is composed of an eclectic musical collection that ranges from a cover of Sammy Davis Jr.'s "The Candy Man" to the stormy bleating rap explosions of Cibo Matto's "Birthday Cake". The production includes funky grooves, techno tape loops, guitar riffs, and a complete assortment of musical dialogues. Cibo Matto demonstrated their ability to weld their off course sense of humor with the art of creating catchy tunes and off beat lyrics. Sometimes the music of Cibo Matto is spacey and ethereal, while other times it is spastic and manic.

Food is the theme of this album and the songs titles included such like as "White Pepper Ice Cream", "Beef Jerky", and "Artichoke". The successful release of "Viva! La Woman" launched Cibo Matto into the public eye.