POLYSICS

A furiously kinetic blend of splintered punk rock and retro video-game noises propelled Polysics to early notice through their hyperactive concerts and signature outfits of matching orange or yellow boiler suits, horizontal-bar sunglasses, and P-badged pins. Hiroyuki Hayashi, a Japanese high-school student, launched the group in 1997 and took its name from his initial keyboard, a Korg Polysix. After absorbing televised performances by Devo and absorbing Western new-wave sounds, the aspiring frontman and guitarist abandoned his soccer squad to assemble a unit that would extend the cartoonish persona and sonic concepts of those eccentric art-punk figures. He recruited drummer Junichi Sugai and Sako, later known as Poly 2, who supplied vocoded robotic vocals while anchoring the low end on bass synthesizer. Kayo then entered as the calm counterweight, her impassive, machine-like stance at synthesizer and vocoder contrasting the remaining members’ onstage frenzy and producing an oddly unbalanced yet compelling performance chemistry.

While etching themselves into the emerging J-rock landscape, Polysics were signed by the local indie imprint Deckrec and the U.K. label Project, which issued their debut album 1st P. Shortly afterward Poly 2 exited, prompting the leaner, guitar-driven follow-up A.D.S.R.M! that October. As the trio prepared a nationwide trek, Asian Man Records delivered the American introduction Hey! Bob! My Friend!, a collection drawn from the first two Japanese releases. In April 2000, immediately after appearing at Austin’s South by Southwest festival, Polysics inked a deal with Ki/oon Records, a Sony Music Japan subsidiary, and put out the maxi-singles XCT and Each Life Each End. Following a string of club performances that summer, the band unleashed the relentlessly frenetic Neu in September 2000. For an extensive Japanese tour they added bassist Fumi, and the revised lineup tracked and issued Eno that July. Exposure on the Japan for Sale compilations, spotlighting prominent Japanese artists, stirred international interest, and nonstop live and recording activity continued until the release of the melodic For Young Electric Pop in April 2002.

The following year Sugai departed and was briefly succeeded by Ishimaru, drummer of the punk outfit Snail Ramp, just before Polysics embarked on a coast-to-coast U.S. run coinciding with Neu’s American release. The band’s profile rose globally in 2003; after Polysics performed “Kaja Kaja Goo” on the BBC2 program Adam & Joe Go Tokyo, Kaiser Chiefs frontman Ricky Wilson invited them to support his group on an upcoming U.K. tour. In 2004 the greatest-hits set Polysics or Die!!!! appeared on Tofu Records, followed by the most radio-friendly studio album Now Is the Time! in 2005. With Yano installed on drums, Polysics undertook their largest outing yet—96 dates across six countries—in support of the Chiefs.

Sustained by an indefatigable work rate, the band returned to the studio for the Japan-exclusive Karate House on Ki/oon in February 2007 and issued videos for the singles “Electric Surfin’ Go Go,” “You-You-You,” and “Catch on Everywhere.” That spring MySpace Records obtained a territorial license and prepared a Stateside reissue of Polysics or Die!!!! that incorporated the newest Karate House tracks plus a bonus DVD of clips and live footage. The expanded Polysics or Die!!!! Vista arrived on 9 October 2007, commemorating the group’s tenth anniversary. We Ate the Machine and Absolute Polysics subsequently surfaced on MySpace, and Weeeeeeeeee!!! followed on JPU in 2013.