Formed after watching Devo footage

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