Polysics - The Devo-lution Is Complete

Hugely popular in Japan, they're now being launched, with their eighth album for a major label (Kyun Rekodo – Sony), in Europe too: "beyond their own seas," kaigai (as they call, around these parts, any land that isn't Japan) in the countries of the gaijin (the "outsiders," the "non-Japanese").

Polysics are the very "radio" (in terms of attitude: radio-friendly, mass-oriented, as they themselves explain) and not very "active" scraps of this glittering television world, made up of cell phones, youth wasted at a meeting spot under the dog statue in Shibuya, sequins and old-school gara (see the new Visual world and its papier-mache characters: from Miyavi to Kagrra), the humanization of the inhuman, TV ads for nuclear power plants, Ishida Tetsuya and Yamaguchi Akira (no, perhaps even more so the wildly overhyped Murakami Takashi). Neither more nor less, the very same stuff. And that's why, at least initially, they were compared, more in imagination and image – let's admit, in this second case, a ridiculous and therefore negligible comparison – than in sound, conceptually, to Devo. If this theory were convincing and genuine, as Polysics candidly try to convince us of, album after album, we might well be facing an interesting mutation of the prophesied Devo-lution of the famous Akron combo.

So let's move into the more strictly aesthetic side of their music, and look together with Hayashi (the band's leader, whom we reached by email) at the development/devolution of this major project from today's Japan, one of the new sacred cows of the Japanese star-system.

Your latest album "We Ate The Machine" came out in Japan a few months ago, and now a fairly demanding tour of yours (thirteen dates, including London, Porto and Rome) has reached Europe as well. What kind of response are you expecting from a non-Japanese audience? Is the West ready to welcome you?

That a lot of people will think, "a sound like this has never been heard before!" That's what I secretly hope will happen. Who knows... I won't deny having that ambition.

Let's talk about your latest record, "We Ate The Machine": it sounds even more melodic than your previous efforts, and its songwriting is much more "linear" compared to some of your other classic tracks from the past. Has something changed in the meantime in the way you make music?

Yeah, exactly, that's right. This time we tried to shift our approach to songwriting a little. Up until now, whatever I originally came up with on my own would then get worked out together with the rest of the band, but at some point I started thinking we needed to try to shake up the order of that process a bit. After almost ten years, I thought, "why not try it a more direct, more alive way?" And if so, why not try working as a duo right from the start, with Fumi (on bass), straight away? I realized that the tracks Fumi worked on had an imprinting in the melodic lines and rhythms that mine were missing... I'd been mulling this over for a while, so we tried out this new way of working with Fumi, something completely new for us.

The result: the shaping of a much more direct sound, with an attitude that's unmistakably much more "pop"... I'm genuinely thrilled about it. It's a truly important step for us.

Kayo (keyboardist and female vocalist) debuted in 2004 with a solo mini-album, "Mitsuami Heroine" ("The Heroine with the Beautiful Braids"), which is fundamentally different in sound and compositional approach from Polysics' avant-pop; did that have an impact on the development of the band as it is now, or are side-projects simply a way for Polysics to escape from Polysics itself? Do any of the rest of you have solo records planned in the near future as well?

"Mitsuami Heroine", ah yes... I like to keep thinking of that as something completely separate from Polysics. It would have been impossible to develop that kind of song-form under our name... for her, for Kayo, it was like making a dream come true... and we're fine with that. As for the rest of Polysics, though: we're completely swamped... for now, I find it hard to imagine parallel projects or solo work.

Let's talk about Polysics: there's no point denying your "patron saints", Devo. Clearly not just in form, but in substance too. Why Devo?

Up to a certain point, rock was all pretty much the same: long hair, earrings, skulls, devils and so on... or at least that's my impression. It was hard for us to see ourselves in that world everyone called "rock". Outside of it there was other stuff, plenty of it interesting too, but always among more strictly pop-oriented projects, if you know what I mean.

But Devo... something completely different.

At first glance, from a rock aesthetic standpoint, they seemed pretty unconvincing: short hair, dorky faces, and a bespectacled singer with apparently zero appeal.

Of course the totally "out" aesthetic impact of those five guys has nothing to do with the more strictly musical side of things—or rather, not only that... I remember very clearly the moment I first saw those strange guys, dressed in matching yellow jumpsuits, moving like robots out of control on stage, drenched in sweat, their faces utterly lost in performing "Uncontrollable Urge"... I stammered, "they... this... this is 'rock'".

"What the hell are they doing" I also said to myself, such a completely messed-up rhythm, "do they even know what they're doing?!" When I finally understood that what they had was pure, unfiltered madness, a shiver ran down my spine, and I thought that I wanted to try it too, with my own band—no, with "the" band—our own jumpsuits, standing on our own stage just like them... moving, right?!

We were influenced, and still are, by the way they came up with an art form halfway between technology and humanity. Before them, that didn't exist in punk!

Why this all-consuming love for Devo? What fascinates you about their music and their vision of art? The generation gap between you and them is fairly wide: have you ever managed, for example, to see them live? What kind of experience was that for you?

Let's start, as we said before, with their image: a perfect balance between a more physical, human essence and a robotic, artificial side… let me give you a few examples. Every detail of how they present themselves, from their album covers to their performances, right down to their overall aesthetic sense, proves and always remains, flawlessly and simply, unique… prove me wrong! Their live shows? Perfect. The way they rework their songs live (not to mention the covers!), the way they're stage animals in absolutely any situation.

After thirty years they came back to play live, with the same "repertoire" and the same circus, and what had they lost? Not an ounce of their charisma! When they came back to Japan for their 2003 tour I saw them in concert… and I understood exactly what I was telling you before: exceptional. It was in those moments that I strengthened this sort of faith of mine even further, and fuelled the desire to push my project as far as my strength would allow.

And now that you've achieved a certain level of recognition, have you ever managed to meet them in person?

I've had the chance to meet Devo many times. Some of them have come to our shows in America quite often, and we've become friends. Then, this summer, Polysics opened for Devo's one-off Japanese date. On that occasion, my dream of playing alongside them came true.

Besides Devo, which other artist has influenced you in particular? I don't just mean in music, but the arts in general…

I can mention someone we consider truly great, and not only us: Okamoto Tarō; ask anyone about him and they'll tell you the same things with the same enthusiasm… I believe he's an artist of enormous importance, not just for us…

Where do Polysics want to get to?

To make a chart single that sends us flying and crashing straight into the hits, completely shifting the sensibilities of the average listener of the so-called "rock" genre.

You've also played outside Japan, and your latest tour took in Europe as well. Where did you find an atmosphere that was more, or less, prepared for your arrival, both in terms of how you were received and in relation to Japanese music as a whole?

Definitely in America and Germany.

Where they also pressed and distributed our records. (laughs)

More generally, what kind of response have you had from non-Japanese audiences? How did it go in Italy?

I'd say well, always. Especially in France, wherever we happened to play.

In Italy… hmm… I think it went well. But I had the impression that people still didn't have a clear idea of what we actually are… Let me explain better: in Rome, in particular, I had the impression that they took us for just another band from the visual scene… that made me a bit sad, honestly, because I feel we don't belong to any scene at all, and I hope I managed to get that across to people. In Europe it seems to me there's, especially in the music world, a strong inclination toward originality and uniqueness. Whoever has seen us live will probably understand what I mean… as for those who haven't been to one of our shows yet, all I can do is hope that sooner or later they get the chance to come and see us… absolutely!

What's currently the album or song that best represents you?

Definitely "Now Is The Time" (from the self-titled 2005-2006 album) and "We Ate The Machine" (from the album released this year). "Now Is The Time" is the first album we made with our current lineup. It's the record with which we more solidly defined our sound, our character as a band... and also because its promotion marked our first leap outward, beyond Japan. One of the main milestones, and points of no return, in our journey.

What do you think of music in Japan today? Are there any reference points, any interesting names, and how do you see the situation in the rest of the world, by comparison?

In my humble opinion, if we compare the current Japanese rock scene to that of ten years ago, we find a notable increase in interesting projects. However, there's too little originality from one project to the next. As for who and what remains of the names that were around ten years ago, I really wouldn't know what to tell you... don't you think it might be the same story outside Japan?

I heard you formed Polysics back in high school, in 1997. Is that true? Can you tell us about that period? How did the project come about, and what ideas did you have at the start? Have Polysics changed much since then?

Of course it's true! Back then I always had the same idea in mind, the one I mentioned earlier, that is, putting together a band, very techno and very pop, in which the guitar's sound, blasted at uncontrolled volumes, would interact with everything else... Non-negotiable traits, which would become the group's imprint from the very beginning, no ifs or buts. And so I also thought that in this context the live sound of a drum kit, a real drum kit, would round everything out, and that this choice could become one of my group's distinguishing features. It's been that way from the start, and I don't think much about us has changed since then.

Many consider you the leading band of Tokyo's so-called new-new wave scene, a sort of successor to bands like Friction or certain projects on labels like Pass Records back in the day. What do you make of this definition? Do you recognize yourselves in it? What is this scene, in your view, and what does it really mean? What other projects would belong to this same reality alongside you?

Mmm... I remember Friction well... Polysics, without really thinking about anything or answering to whatever duty toward whatever scene, as you describe it, make music by having fun and directing what they feel and create straight at their listener, whether occasional or not. It would certainly be nice to understand who these listeners are that we've managed to reach. If a (non-)scene of this kind exists, then we belong to it... otherwise... I really don't think I'm anyone's colleague.

(With the collaboration of Kosuke Harada)

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