Music is often referred to as the universal language, but the meaning of song lyrics can easily be lost in translation. There must be a strong image to further represent the music and the musicians behind the instruments. Orange jumpsuits and a new wave soundtrack may just be the visual that is needed to lodge the name Polysics in the heads of modern-day American music listeners. The Japanese band is comprised of Hiro on vocals, guitar, and programming, Kayo on synthesizer and vocals, Fumi on bass, Yano on drums, and the energy of the audience.
With a wide foundation of musical influences ranging from, as Hiro offers, “not only a techno, hard rock, punk, and other music” Polysics primary influence is the new wave of the early eighties. Those bands that are most integral to the Polysics are Devo and Kraftwerk. The varied influences have “become one and then we have Polysics.” The band’s knowledge of the current music scene is fairly limited, not only by geographical and language barriers, but the lack of inspiration from modern day music. They hope to add a new dimension to music: “real new wave music that you can actually feel…evolutionized from past to present.” Not only have they brought an original and fortified new wave genre to America, but they have also “brought a lot of seaweed.”
A favorite track among the band members, aside from “every song” is “Moog is Love”, a track that brings the newly matured sound of Polysics to those listening. “If ‘Moog Is Love’ can break through, it would trigger people to know about Polysics,” Fumi interjects. The songs are started by Hiro, who comes up with a “rough idea on his guitar and computer”. After about a quarter of the song is completed, the skeleton of the song is taken to the rest of the band in the studio. The other members then put in the remaining music and sounds to the “core” that Hiro has created. The key component to the process is figuring out at which moment there is to be audience participation: when to jump, when to sing along, and various other physical personifications of the music. They “always have the audience in mind when writing [their] music.”
Music is the focal point in the lives of these four individuals. Fumi’s father was a guitarist, so the music was also around her in some form or another. When Hiro was ten, his father presented him with a guitar and “that is how [he] met music.” That guitar and a fondness for “animation songs” bred his love of music. Hiro says that “Polysics is who we are. There is never a time when we are not being Polysics.” Such dedication to the music and to their words is the dazzling facet that will not allow Polysics to be lost in the muddle of translation.