is a Japanese Techno/Electronic Music band from

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

, who dubs its unique style as "technicolor pogo punk". It was named after a brand of

synthesizer A synthesizer (also spelled synthesiser) is an electronic musical instrument that generates audio signals. Synthesizers typically create sounds by generating waveforms through methods including subtractive synthesis, additive synthesis ...

, the Korg Polysix. The band started in 1997, but got their big break in 1998 at a concert in

. They create high energy music, fusing conventional

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 string ...

music with synthesized and computer generated sound to create a unique mixture of punk and

synthpop Synth-pop (short for synthesizer pop; also called techno-pop; ) is a subgenre of new wave music that first became prominent in the late 1970s and features the synthesizer as the dominant musical instrument. It was prefigured in the 1960s a ...

heavily inspired by the American bands

Devo Devo (, originally ) is an American rock band from Akron, Ohio Akron () is the fifth-largest city in the U.S. state of Ohio and is the county seat of Summit County. It is located on the western edge of the Glaciated Allegheny Plateau ...

and

The Tubes The Tubes are a San Francisco-based rock band. Their eponymous 1975 debut album included the single " White Punks on Dope," while their 1983 single "She's a Beauty" was a top-10 U.S. hit and its music video was frequently played in the early ...

, as well as Japanese bands such as

P-Model P-Model (also typeset as P-MODEL and P. Model) was a Japanese electronic rock band started in 1979 by members of the defunct progressive rock band Mandrake. The band has experienced many lineup revisions over the years but frontman Susumu Hir ...

and

Yellow Magic Orchestra Yellow Magic Orchestra (YMO for short) is a Japanese electronic music band formed in Tokyo in 1978 by Haruomi Hosono (bass, keyboards, vocals), Yukihiro Takahashi (drums, lead vocals) and Ryuichi Sakamoto (keyboards, vocals). The group is cons ...

. Their song lyrics often consist of

Japanese Japanese may refer to: * Something from or related to Japan, an island country in East Asia * Japanese language, spoken mainly in Japan * Japanese people, the ethnic group that identifies with Japan through ancestry or culture ** Japanese diaspor ...

English English usually refers to: * English language * English people English may also refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * ''English'', an adjective for something of, from, or related to England ** English national id ...

, or just downright

gibberish Gibberish, also called jibber-jabber or gobbledygook, is speech that is (or appears to be) nonsense. It may include speech sounds that are not actual words, pseudowords, or language games and specialized jargon that seems nonsensical to ou ...

. The band has been noted for their extremely energetic live performances and their wild gimmicky outfits, notably their straight-bar sunglasses and trademark orange boiler suits stamped with a simple "P".

History

Polysics was formed in 1997 by Japanese high-school student Hiroyuki Hayashi. After watching some live footage of Devo and becoming inspired by new wave music of the West, Hayashi quit his soccer team and formed a band to expand on the cartoonish image and musical ideas of the zany art-punk icons he had seen on TV. He was joined by drummer Junichi Sugai and Sako (aka Poly 2). Another member named Kaneko joined within the early years of the band, but he left and was soon replaced by Kayo. Kayo's mechanical stage presence provided an asymmetrical dynamic to the frenetic antics of the other three members. The name of the band derives from the first

owned by Hayashi, the Korg Polysix. This synth appears in two of their early

music video A music video is a video of variable duration, that integrates a music song or a music album with imagery that is produced for promotional or musical artistic purposes. Modern music videos are primarily made and used as a music marketing devi ...

s. In 1999, Polysics released their first albums ''

1st P First or 1st is the ordinal form of the number one (#1). First or 1st may also refer to: * World record, specifically the first instance of a particular achievement Arts and media Music * 1$T, American rapper, singer-songwriter, DJ, and rec ...

'' and '' A.D.S.R.M!'' on the independent label DECKREC Records. Just after the release of ''1st P'' their bassist, known only as "POLY-2", left. The band dropped the "POLY-''X''" names, and reduced to a trio, with new member Fumi on Bass Support on some of the tracks from '' Neu''. In 1999,

Asian Man Records Asian may refer to: * Items from or related to the continent of Asia: ** Asian people, people in or descending from Asia ** Asian culture, the culture of the people from Asia ** Asian cuisine, food based on the style of food of the people from Asi ...

released their US debut album, ''

Hey! Bob! My Friend! ''Hey! Bob! My Friend!'' is the debut US release for the Japanese synth-rock band Polysics. The album consists of various tracks from the band's earlier Japanese-only releases ''1st P First or 1st is the ordinal form of the number one (#1). F ...

'' to rave reviews, but weak sales. The album was a compilation of tracks from their first two Japanese releases. In 2000, Polysics signed to

Ki/oon Records is a Japanese record label, a subsidiary of Sony Music Entertainment Japan. Artists Their artists include L'Arc-en-Ciel, Asian Kung-Fu Generation, Home Made Kazoku, Puffy AmiYumi, Polysics, Supercar, Pushim, Chatmonchy, Denki Groove, T ...

(a subsidiary of

Sony Music 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 oper ...

Inc.) and released their first major album ''Neu''. The album carried with it the same manic energy as their independent releases but more refined. On the 2001 album '' Eno'', Synthesizers became more prevalent in the mix, but the songs still had an intense punk-like energy. For this album, Fumi applied as a full member, returning Polysics to a

quartet In music, a quartet or quartette (, , , , ) is an ensemble of four singers or instrumental performers; or a musical composition for four voices and instruments. Classical String quartet In classical music, one of the most common combinations ...

. 2002 saw the release of the album ''

For Young Electric Pop For or FOR may refer to: English language *For, a preposition *For, a complementizer *For, a grammatical conjunction Science and technology * Fornax, a constellation * for loop, a programming language statement * Frame of reference, in phys ...

'', Polysics' attempt at a

pop Pop or POP may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Music * Pop music, a musical genre Artists * POP, a Japanese idol group now known as Gang Parade * Pop!, a UK pop group * Pop! featuring Angie Hart, an Australian band Albums * ''Pop'' (G ...

album. The manic punk energy was minimized, but the band showed it had an amazing sense of harmony and style. In 2003, ''Neu'' was released in the United States on Asian Man Records to rave reviews and great sales. However, shortly after recording the ''

Kaja Kaja Goo EP Kaja may refer to: * Kaja (name), a given name, a nickname and a surname * Kaja (singer), stage name of Vesna Milačić (born 1968), Montenegrin singer-songwriter * ''Kaja'' (newspaper), a newspaper published in Estonia between 1919 and 1935 * ...

'' drummer Junichi Sugai left the band. Ishimaru (drummer for the punk group Snail Ramp) temporarily joined as a replacement. For the 2003 album '' National P'', Polysics went to the US to tour, which was then captured on the '' PippikkippippiP In USA''

DVD The DVD (common abbreviation for Digital Video Disc or Digital Versatile Disc) is a digital optical disc data storage format. It was invented and developed in 1995 and first released on November 1, 1996, in Japan. The medium can store any kin ...

. Also during 2003, Polysics appeared on UK television for the programme Adam & Joe Go Tokyo performing "Kaja Kaja Goo". In 2004, Polysics released a greatest hits compilation titled ''

Polysics or Die!!!! ''Polysics Or Die!!!!'' is the first greatest hits album by Japanese band Polysics. It is their first release in the United Kingdom; it was later released in the U.S and Japan. The name is likely a reference to the album '' Music Industrial Wast ...

'' in

Europe Europe is a large peninsula conventionally considered a continent in its own right because of its great physical size and the weight of its history and traditions. Europe is also considered a subcontinent of Eurasia and it is located enti ...

and the United States. Yano had also replaced Sugai as the new drummer for the band in this year. Polysics toured Europe and the US for the 2005 US Release of ''Polysics or Die!!!!''. With the early 2006 release of '' Now Is the Time!'', they toured the US and the UK, supporting high-profile UK artists such as

Graham Coxon Graham Leslie Coxon (born 12 March 1969) is an English musician, singer-songwriter, multi-instrumentalist and painter who came to prominence as a founding member of the rock band Blur. As the group's lead guitarist and secondary vocalist, Cox ...

and

Kaiser Chiefs Kaiser Chiefs are an English indie rock band from Leeds who formed in 2000 as Parva, releasing one studio album, ''22'', in 2003, before renaming and establishing themselves in their current name that same year. Since their formation the band h ...

. On February 28, 2007 Polysics released their album '' Karate House'' in Japan. Following this Polysics signed for

MySpace Records MySpace Records was a record label founded in 2005 to sign artists who appeared on the social networking site Myspace. It was a wholly owned subsidiary of Myspace, operating as a joint-venture between MySpace and Interscope Records. Distributio ...

making plans to re-release Polysics or Die!!!! in the US, with the inclusion of the latest singles from Karate House and a bonus DVD of videos and live cuts.

Polysics or Die!!!! Vista is a Japanese Techno/Electronic Music band from Tokyo, who dubs its unique style as "technicolor pogo punk". It was named after a brand of synthesizer, the Korg Polysix. The band started in 1997, but got their big break in 1998 at a concert in ...

was released on October 9, 2007 for Myspace Records exclusively for the United States, to mark the band's ten-year anniversary. Hayashi did a remix of the " Teen Titans Theme" by JPop group

Puffy AmiYumi is a Japanese pop rock duo formed in Tokyo in 1995, consisting of singers Ami Onuki and Yumi Yoshimura. In the United States, they adopted the name Puffy AmiYumi to avoid legal naming conflicts with Sean Combs, who also performed under the ...

. The song "Teen Titans Theme ~POLYSICS' CR-06 MIX~" appears on their US album ''

Splurge ''Splurge'' is a Japanese-language pop album by Puffy Amiyumi that was released on June 28, 2006 in Japan. It was released in the US on July 25, 2006, after their East Coast Tour. On tracks 12 and 13, "Camel Country" and "Security Blanket", the v ...

''. On April 23, 2008, '' We Ate the Machine'' was released in Japan. It was released on September 30, 2008 in North America. In their newsletter it was announced that Kayo's last day with Polysics would be March 14, 2010, the day of their huge

Nippon Budokan The , often shortened to simply Budokan, is an indoor arena located in Chiyoda, Tokyo, Japan. It was originally built for the inaugural Olympic judo competition in the 1964 Summer Olympics. While its primary purpose is to host martial arts co ...

concert. She says that she has spent happy and quality time with the band, but she wants to live on as a woman and not a musician. Their Budokan concert, ''

BUDOKAN OR DIE!!!! 2010.3.14 The , often shortened to simply Budokan, is an indoor arena located in Chiyoda, Tokyo, Japan. It was originally built for the inaugural Olympic judo competition in the 1964 Summer Olympics. While its primary purpose is to host martial arts co ...

'', was released on July 7, 2010 on both DVD and Blu-ray. On August 8, 2010 they came back from their hiatus during the Rock in Japan Festival as a trio in brand new outfits and visors. They covered

Buck-Tick Buck-Tick (stylized as BUCK-TICK) is a Japanese rock band, formed in Fujioka, Gunma in 1983. The group has consisted of lead vocalist Atsushi Sakurai, lead guitarist Hisashi Imai, rhythm guitarist Hidehiko Hoshino, bassist Yutaka Higuchi and ...

's "Sid Vicious on the Beach" for '' Parade II -Respective Tracks of Buck-Tick-'', released on July 4, 2012. In 2018, Polysics started a side project called The Vocoders, with a presentation modeled off

Kraftwerk Kraftwerk (, "power station") is a German band formed in Düsseldorf in 1970 by Ralf Hütter and Florian Schneider. Widely considered innovators and pioneers of electronic music, Kraftwerk were among the first successful acts to popularize t ...

Influences

In Hiroyuki's words, Polysics is inspired by "the spirit of

." Obvious references to Devo have been made in Polysics videos, and songs. The band has also covered "Jerking Back And Forth", "Social Fools", " Secret Agent Man" and on their 15th anniversary album,

15th P 15 (fifteen) is the natural number following 14 and preceding 16. Mathematics 15 is: * A composite number, and the sixth semiprime; its proper divisors being , and . * A deficient number, a smooth number, a lucky number, a pernicious ...

, Devo front man,

Mark Mothersbaugh Mark Allen Mothersbaugh (; born May 18, 1950) is an American composer, singer, and multi-instrumentalist. He came to prominence in the late 1970s as co-founder, lead singer and keyboardist of the new wave band Devo, whose " Whip It" was a top 2 ...

joined the band to perform a new version of "Mecha-Mania Boy". Polysics have also creatively repurposed Devo and other new wave/punk material in their own original songs; for instance, in the song "Each Life Each End" from the album "Neu" they borrow the opening riff from the Devo song "Girl U Want" (along with a sample from "Love Missile F1-11" by

Sigue Sigue Sputnik Sigue Sigue Sputnik were a British new wave band formed in 1982 by former Generation X bassist Tony James. The band have had three UK top-40 hit singles, including " Love Missile F1-11" and "21st Century Boy". The band's music, image and insp ...

), and the lyrics are playfully paraphrased from Devo's "The Day My Baby Gave Me A Surprise" and "Red Eye Express." The tributes even extend to the album art; in a miniposter included with the album "National P", the members of Polysics are shown seated around a picnic blanket, about to eat cakes shaped like Devo's famous red Energy Dome headgear. In addition, the giant robot mascot from the cover of their "Lo-Bits" EP sports a battle helmet that resembles the same iconic dome. While Polysics claim Devo as their most prevalent influence, other bands and artists that have influenced their music, are occasionally referenced in their album or song titles, and whose music has sometime been repurposed in similar ways include

Neu! Neu! (; German for "New!"; styled in block capitals) were a West German krautrock band formed in Düsseldorf in 1971 by Klaus Dinger and Michael Rother following their departure from Kraftwerk. The group's albums were produced by Conny Pl ...

Brian Eno Brian Peter George St John le Baptiste de la Salle Eno (; born Brian Peter George Eno, 15 May 1948) is a British musician, composer, record producer and visual artist best known for his contributions to ambient music and work in rock, pop an ...

, XTC,

(who they have opened for),

Talking Heads Talking Heads were an American rock band formed in 1975 in New York City and active until 1991.Talkin ...

, Sparks,

The B-52's The B-52's, also styled as The B-52s, are an American new wave band formed in Athens, Georgia, in 1976. The original lineup consisted of Fred Schneider (vocals, percussion), Kate Pierson (vocals, keyboards, synth bass), Cindy Wilson (vocals, ...

King Crimson King Crimson are a progressive rock band formed in 1968 in London, England. The band draws inspiration from a wide variety of music, incorporating elements of classical, jazz, folk, heavy metal, gamelan, industrial, electronic, experime ...

Denki Groove is a Japanese music group founded in 1989. It consists of Takkyu Ishino and Pierre Taki. History Denki Groove was founded in 1989 by Takkyu Ishino and Pierre Taki, both of whom are natives of Shizuoka, Shizuoka Prefecture. The group's major ...

Nirvana ( , , ; sa, निर्वाण} ''nirvāṇa'' ; Pali: ''nibbāna''; Prakrit: ''ṇivvāṇa''; literally, "blown out", as in an oil lamp Richard Gombrich, ''Theravada Buddhism: A Social History from Ancient Benāres to Modern Colombo. ...

, Man or Astroman, Spoozys, and

David Bowie David Robert Jones (8 January 194710 January 2016), known professionally as David Bowie ( ), was an English singer-songwriter and actor. A leading figure in the music industry, he is regarded as one of the most influential musicians of the ...

Hikashu Hikashu (ヒカシュー) are a Japanese rock band led by pseudo-Kabuki vocalist, Makigami Koichi, known for their highly experimental music. They are often referred to by their alternative English moniker, Hikasu. The group's most recent album, ...

and

Plastics Plastics are a wide range of synthetic or semi-synthetic materials that use polymers as a main ingredient. Their plasticity makes it possible for plastics to be moulded, extruded or pressed into solid objects of various shapes. This adaptab ...

. Polysics have covered songs by

Styx In Greek mythology, Styx (; grc, Στύξ ) is a river that forms the boundary between Earth (Gaia) and the Underworld. The rivers Acheron, Cocytus, Lethe, Phlegethon, and Styx all converge at the centre of the underworld on a great marsh, ...

Suzi Quatro Susan Kay Quatro (born June 3, 1950) is an American singer, bass guitarist, songwriter, and actress. In the 1970s, she scored a string of hit singles that found greater success in Europe and Australia than in her homeland, reaching No. 1 in th ...

, Plastics,

The Ramones The Ramones were an American punk rock band that formed in the New York City neighborhood of Forest Hills, Queens, in 1974. They are often cited as the first true punk rock group. Despite achieving a limited commercial appeal in the United ...

The Knack The Knack was an American rock band based in Los Angeles that rose to fame with its first single, " My Sharona", an international number-one hit in 1979. History Founding (1977–1978) Singer Doug Fieger was a native of Oak Park, Michigan, ...

Soft Cell Soft Cell are an English synthpop duo who came to prominence in the early 1980s. The duo consists of vocalist Marc Almond and instrumentalist David Ball. The band are primarily known for their 1981 hit version of " Tainted Love" and their pla ...

Thin Lizzy Thin Lizzy are an Irish hard rock band formed in Dublin in 1969. Their music reflects a wide range of influences, including blues, soul music, psychedelic rock and traditional Irish folk music, but is generally classified as hard rock or s ...

and Frank Sinatra and have been known to play Yes during their sound checks.

Members

;Current members * Hiroyuki Hayashi – Guitars, Vocals, Vocoder, Programming (1997–present) *Fumi – Bass Guitar, Vocals, Synthesizers (2001–present; support - 1999-2001) *Masashi Yano – Drums, Vocals (2004–present) ;Past members *Junichi Sugai – Drums (1998-2003) *Sako Eisuke (aka Poly-2) – synthesizer, Vocoder, Concert toast throwing performance(1997-1999) *Kaneko ShingoAkiko, Mima. Absolute POLYSICS BOOK. regular ed. USEN, 2010. p. 190. Print. – Synthesizer (1997) *Kayo – Synthesizer, Vocals, Vocoder (1998-2010) *Ryo Nakamura - Guitars, Vocals, Synthesizers (2017–2020) ;Touring musicians *Ishimaru – Drums (2003-2004)

Discography

Albums

* ''1st P'' - 1999 * ''A.D.S.R.M!'' - 1999 * ''Neu'' - 2000 * ''Eno'' - 2001 * ''For Young Electric Pop'' - 2002 * ''National P'' - 2003 * '' Now Is the Time!'' - 2005 * '' Karate House'' - 2007 * '' We Ate the Machine'' - 2008 * '' Absolute Polysics'' - 2009 * ''Oh! No! It's Heavy Polysick!!!'' - 2011 * ''15th P'' - 2012 * ''Weeeeeeeeee!!!'' - 2012 * ''Action!(album)'' - 2014 * ''What's This???'' - 2016 * ''That's Fantastic!'' - 2017 * ''In the Sync'' - 2019

Compilation albums

* ''

'' - 2000 * ''

'' - 2004 * ''Polysics or Die!!!! Vista'' - 2007 * ''Bestoisu!!!!'' - 2010

Live albums

* ''Live in Japan / 6-D'' - 2000 * ''Replay!'' - 2017

Video releases

* ''Live at Newwave'' - 1999 * ''B.G.V.'' - 2000 * ''DVDVPVDVLIVE!!'' - 2003 * ''PippikkippippiP in USA'' - 2004 * ''Now Is the live!'' - 2006 * ''Clips or Die!!!!'' - 2007 * ''We Ate the Show!!'' - 2008 * ''Budokan or Die!!!! 2010.3.14'' - 2010

Singles

* "Plus Chicker" - 1999 * "Modern" - 1999 * "XCT" - 2000 * "Each Life Each End" - 2000 * "New Wave Jacket" - 2001 * "Baby Bias" - 2005 * "Coelacanth Is Android" - 2005 * "Electric Surfin' Go Go" - 2006 * "You-You-You" - 2006 * "Catch On Everywhere" - 2007 * "Rocket" - 2007 * "Pretty Good" - 2008 * "Shout Aloud! / Beat Flash" - 2009 * "Young Oh Oh!" - 2009 * "Lucky Star" - 2012 * "Everybody Say No" - 2012 * "Part of Me" - 2019 * "Kami-Saba" - 2019 * "Piko" - 2019

EPs

* ''Lo-Bits'' - 2002 * ''Kaja Kaja Goo'' - 2003 * ''New Wave Jacket / My Sharona'' - 2004 * ''I My Me Mine / Jhout'' - 2006 * ''eee-P!!!'' - 2010 * ''Mega Over Drive'' - 2013 * ''HEN 愛 LET'S GO!'' - 2015 * ''HEN 愛 LET'S GO! 2'' - 2015

Soundtracks

*Polysics performed the theme song for the American

Jetix Jetix (stylized as JETIX) was a children's entertainment brand owned by The Walt Disney Company. The brand was for a slate of action/adventure-related programming blocks and television channels. Jetix programming mainly originated from the ...

television show ''

Super Robot Monkey Team Hyperforce Go! (commonly known by its acronym, ''SRMTHFG'', or simply, ''Super Robot Monkey Team'') is an anime-influenced television series created by Ciro Nieli, one of the directors of ''Teen Titans'', and produced by Jetix Animation Concepts with animati ...

''. *Polysics' song "You-You-You" is used as one of the opening themes for the anime ''

Keroro Gunso ''Sgt. Frog'', known in Japan as , is a Japanese manga series written and illustrated by Mine Yoshizaki. It was launched in ''Monthly Shōnen Ace'' in April 1999. The story follows the attempts of a platoon of frog-like alien invaders to c ...

''. *A track from their album ''Now is the Time!'', "Tei! Tei! Tei!", was included in ''

FIFA 07 ''FIFA 07'' (also known as ''FIFA Football 07'' and ''FIFA 07 Soccer'') is a football simulation video game developed by EA Canada and published by Electronic Arts under the EA Sports label. It was the last game in the ''FIFA'' series to be re ...

'' the soundtrack by

EA Sports EA Sports is a division of Electronic Arts that develops and publishes sports video games. Formerly a marketing gimmick of Electronic Arts, in which they tried to imitate real-life sports networks by calling themselves the "EA Sports Network ...

. *

Anime Network Anime Network is an American video on demand (VOD) network dedicated to anime owned by AMC Networks. History The network was launched in North America in late 2002 and is marketed to multi system operators (MSOs) as both a free and subscript ...

used Polysics' track "Each Life Each End" for the Girl Power programming block. *The ending theme to the Moyashimon anime is Polysics' "Rocket". *The opening and ending theme to the Cells at Work! Code Black anime, "Hashire" and "Ue wo Muite Hakobou" respectively.

Legacy

In 2020, Jonathan McNamara of ''

The Japan Times ''The Japan Times'' is Japan's largest and oldest English-language daily newspaper. It is published by , a subsidiary of News2u Holdings, Inc.. It is headquartered in the in Kioicho, Chiyoda, Tokyo. History ''The Japan Times'' was launched b ...

'' listed ''For Young Electric Pop'' (2002) as one of the 10 Japanese albums worthy of inclusion on ''

Rolling Stone ''Rolling Stone'' is an American monthly magazine that focuses on music, politics, and popular culture. It was founded in San Francisco, California, in 1967 by Jann Wenner, and the music critic Ralph J. Gleason. It was first known for its co ...

s 2020 list of the

500 greatest albums of all time * Rolling Stone's 500 Greatest Albums of All Time * NME's The 500 Greatest Albums of All Time "The 500 Greatest Albums of All Time" is a 2013 special issue of British magazine '' NME'', available digitally or in newsstands on October 23. The li ...

, describing it as "a top-tier Polysics record and an accessible introduction to a band unequaled in their ability to leave you grinning from ear to ear."

References

External links

Polysics official website
*
Polysics Official BlogNowOnTour Polysics InterviewPolysics Interview on Music TowersPolysics Official Tour PhotographyPolysics' Top 10 of 2008
{{Authority control Ki/oon Music artists Japanese electronic rock musical groups Japanese new wave musical groups Japanese punk rock groups Japanese post-punk music groups Musical groups established in 1997 1997 establishments in Japan