POLYSICS’ Hayashi Reveals His Top 10 Albums of 2013

With the new year well under way, we decided to catch up with Hayashi, frontman of the mighty POLYSICS, to see what were his top ten records of the year gone. It’s worth noting that in 2013 POLYSICS released a special European edition of their album Weeeeeeeeee!!!, containing exclusive bonus tracks. The CD and MP3 is out now from JPU Records.

1. !!! – THR!!!ER

“From the first sound of the album I almost said ‘Cool!’ so much the sound and the groove exited me. I will definitely listen to it next year as well.”
Listen on Spotify
Buy from Amazon

2. DAFT PUNK – RANDOM ACCESS MEMORIES

“The basic is 70’s disco sound or AOR but the audio treatment of the vocoder is of current time. You don’t know to which era the album belongs, which makes it a great album.”
Listen on Spotify
Buy from Amazon

3. STRANGE TALK – CAST AWAY

“POLYSICS joined the same compilation album as their song ‘Climbing Walls’. I loved the synthesiser arrangement and repeatedly listened to that song so I was happy to have their full album at last!”
Buy from Amazon

4. FACTORY FLOOR – FACTORY FLOOR

“When most of the dance music has a tendency to use heavy sound, they are one of the few to use minimal beats and arrangements. A very fresh sound. I would love to see their live.”
Listen on Spotify
Buy from Amazon

5. SEXY SUSHI – VOUS N’ALLEZ PAS REPARTIR LES MAINS VIDES?

“We played together in a France. Their live performance reminded me of a contemporary Psychic TV. They have a dark electro sound close to the style of ATATAK and cute vocals.”
Listen on Spotify / Buy from Amazon

6. KANYE WEST – YEEZUS

“I bought it immediately after hearing it in a record shop. The distorted rhythm and synthesiser was so impressive it felt industrial. The very simple design of the jacket is also very cool.”
Listen on Spotify
Buy from Amazon

7. GARY NUMAN – SPLINTER

“The beat and noise is so intense, it reminded me of Nine Inch Nails. The fact a veteran artist can make new challenges in the making of such an album is something great!”
Listen on Spotify
Buy from Amazon

8. MIRACLE – MERCURY

“A message was in the record shop: ‘if you like 80’s you will like this!’ grabbed my intention and I bought the album. It was 80’s dark synthesiser music that I love. Thank you to anyone who wrote the message!”
Buy from Amazon

9. PRETTY & NICE – US YOU ALL WE

“Complex drum fills right after rock guitar with pop melodies. The songs go to unexpected directions which is very thrilling! That kind of music must be fun to listen and play.”
Listen on Spotify
Buy from Amazon

10. AND SO I WATCH YOU FROM AFAR – ALL HAIL BRIGHT FUTURES

“Techno, Alternative, Punk, Tropical(!) etc, an instrument band mixing up many exciting elements. The live performance must be fun. Their arrangement is explosive!”
Listen on Spotify
Buy from Amazon

We’ve also made a Spotify playlist of the POLYSICS’ top ten. Click here to have a listen!
Anyway, now we’ll leave you with the video to Lucky Star, from POLYSICS’ Weeeeeeeeee!!! album.

Japan Underground and JPU Records’ Artists Nominated for NEO Awards 2013

Don’t click these.. it’s just a picture.

Woo ha! We’re very happy to announce that Japan Underground has been nominated for an award in NEO Magazine for the second year in a row! Last year we were lucky enough to walk away with the award for Best Specialist Company 2012 for our efforts promoting Japanese rock, punk and alternative music  in the UK. Our sister company JPU Records also had one of their artists, the GazettE, voted Best Music Act of 2012 too.

Now, 12 months on we’re in the finalist list once more! Plus! We’re joined by no more than five of JPU Records’ artists! Yep, the likes of the GazettE, SPYAIR, BOOM BOOM SATELLITES, POLYSICS and the mighty Ling tosite sigure are up for ‘Best Musical Act 2013’ alongside VAMPS, Crossfaith, FACT and more! Who wins is entirely in your hands.

We’ve had an extremely busy year, from organising sold-outs shows in London for FACT and N’SHUKUGAWA BOYS, to releasing some of the biggest Japanese albums of the year through JPU Records. We just want to thank you for reading this, supporting us, and continuing to buy music and attend shows. Cheers everyone!

Voting ends 18:00 GMT on Friday 13 December, and winners will be announced in NEO Magazine #120, out 23 January 2014!

Make your vote count!

“POLYSICS WORLD TOUR OR DIE!!! 2013 Weeeeeeeeee are in Europe!!!” Tour Begins

Japan’s notorious boiler suited techno-new-wave hooligans POLYSICS are about to wreak havoc in Europe once again with their kinetically charged ‘POLYSICS WORLD TOUR OR DIE!!! 2013 Weeeeeeeeee are in Europe!!!’ tour kicking off in France tomorrow.

POLYSICS’ schedule will see the trio bringing their eccentric, energetic live show to 12 venues across five European cities, pushing their total European gig count so far past the 100-mark. It will also include a performance in the UK, taking place at The Underworld on 25 September. POLYSICS’ previous UK-based shows include supporting The Kaiser Chiefs, Graham Coxon and playing main stage at the O2 Wireless Festival in Hyde Park, as well as several headlining tours.

The tour celebrates the release of POLYSICS’ latest album Weeeeeeeeee!!!, out now across the UK and Europe through JPU Records and includes their high-energy singles Everybody Say No and Lucky Star.

POLYSICS Tour Schedule:
13 September: La Fourmi, Limoges, 87000. (FRANCE)
14 September: Salle Du Millenium, Haguenau, 67500. (FRANCE)
16 September: Paradiso, Amsterdam, 1017 SG. (HOLLAND)
17 September: Scopitone Festival, Nantes, 44200. (FRANCE)
19 September: Marsatac Festival, Nimes, 30000. (FRANCE)
20 September: La Route Du Son, Billere, 64140. (FRANCE)
21 September: Le Florida, Agen Cedex, 47005 (FRANCE)
23 September: Divan Du Monde, Paris, 75018 (FRANCE)
24 September: Mad Cafe, Liege, 4000. (BELGIUM)
25 September: The Underworld, London, NW1 0NE. (UK)
27 September: Club Transbo, Lyon, 69100. (FRANCE)
28 September: Ebullition, Bulle, 1630. (SWITZERLAND)

Tour Organiser: RAGE TOUR.
http://www.ragetour.com/

 

POLYSICS Line-up:
Hayashi (Hiro) – Guitar, vocals, synthesizer, programming.
Fumi – Bass, synthesizer, vocals.
Yano – Drums, voice.

POLYSICS Online:
http://www.polysics.com/en/index.php
https://www.facebook.com/pages/POLYSICS/260419960659129
https://twitter.com/POLYSICS_TOISU
http://www.youtube.com/user/polysicsVEVO/videos

JPU Records online:
http://www.jpurecords.com
https://www.facebook.com/JPUrecords
https://twitter.com/JPUrecords

POLYSICS to Release Weeeeeeeeee!!! Across UK and Europe via JPU Records

Japan’s notorious boiler suited techno-new-wave hooligans POLYSICS return with Weeeeeeeeee!!!, their latest high-energy album, scheduled to shatter the eardrums of the UK and Europe from 10 June courtesy of JPU Records.

Following in the footsteps of their 15th anniversary release – which featured collaborations with a number of music legends, including the band’s personal hero, Mark Mothersbaugh of DEVO – Weeeeeeeeee!!! sees the acclaimed outfit return with a mighty 17 tracks packed with fractured punk rock, vintage video game sound effects and the refreshing and quirky charm that only POLYSICS can muster.

To celebrate the release of the album, the physical version will come bundled with three exclusive bonus tracks not available digitally or on the original Japanese version. The band has also launched their official overseas Youtube channel http://www.youtube.com/polysicsvevo ahead of album’s release, which includes the full videos to Weeeeeeeeee!!!’s catchy singles ‘Everybody Say No’ and ‘Lucky Star’, as well as the famous video to classic track ‘I My Me Mine’ – the first time the video has been officially available in this region.

TRACKLIST
01. Sparkling Water
02. Lucky Star (Music Video)
03. Distortion
04. Steam Pack
05. Ice, Tights, Mike
06. Why
07. Quiet Smith
08. Kitchen Ban Ban
09. Lightning Express
10. Raptus
11. High Kcal
12. Everybody Say No (Music Video)
13. Round The World
14. Weeeeeeeeee!!!
15. No Control (CD bonus track)
16. Watson 2012 (CD bonus track)
17. KI.KA.I.DA! 2012 (CD bonus track)

Buy from: Amazon UK (CD) (MP3), Amazon DE (CD) (MP3), Amazon FR (CD) (MP3), Amazon ES (MP3)
Buy direct from JPU Records.

ABOUT POLYSICS
POLYSICS burst into the British psyche when cult TV series Adam and Joe Go Tokyo introduced their music ten years ago. From there the group went on to inspire a generation, becoming one of the most established Japanese acts in the UK and even influencing the likes of a young Ricky Wilson, who would later invite POLYSICS to tour with his band, The Kaiser Chiefs.

To date, POLYICS have played a total of 99 shows in the United Kingdom – including main stage at the O2 Wireless Festival in Hyde Park. In their homeland of Japan they’ve played every major rock festival and recently conducted a headline show at the legendary Nippon Budokan (14,000 capacity). The group was also one of the very last bands to record a session for John Peel.

MEMBERS
Hayashi (Hiro) – Guitar, vocals, synthesizer, programmer
Fumi – Bass, synthesizer, vocals
Yano – Drums, vocals

LINKS
Homepage (English): http://www.polysics.com/en/
Youtube Channel: http://www.youtube.com/polysicsvevo
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/pages/POLYSICS/260419960659129
Twitter: https://twitter.com/POLYSICS_TOISU

POLYSICS Celebrate 15th Anniversary With New Album

Orange-coated synthpop maniacs POLYSICS celebrate 15 years in the business with their aptly titled album 15th P. The album, out now digitally in the UK from Amazon.co.uk, iTunes UK and other sources, features nine tracks, four of which are collaborations with other artists. These collabs include a track with Eriko Hashimoto from girl duo CHATMONCHY, another with Mayumi Kojima of GO! GO!7188, and a very special one with Mark Mothersbaugh from POLYSIC’s biggest source of inspiration; Devo!

Part of POLYSICS’ back catalogue is also currently available digitally from Amazon.co.uk and iTunes UK.

Here’s a video of POLYSICS’ frontman Hiroyuki Hayashi throwing some shapes with the Kaiser Chiefs live on stage at the Wireless Festival in Hyde Park, London.