GAH!!! HUGE ANNOUNCEMENT OMG!!!!

Hi everyone! Okay, so I haven't updated this site for a while, oops... I promise to try my best!! I've got a lot of plans for archival AND HUGE NEWS!!! FAKEVOX IS COMING TO VINYL!!!!! Gah i've dreamed of hearing this masterpiece in analog,,, i can't wait to have it in my hands heheheheheheh See this link for purchase link to the tweet (does not direct to X) link to the tweet (directs to x, in case of cancelx being taken down. )

Welcome to the Plus-Tech Squeeze Box (PSB) Shrine!

Hello! This is a passion project by michikira. This page contains most of the information that is out there about PSB, their origins, and their appearances in media. It's also a comprehensive archive of all the footage and images linked to PSB. The site is still under construction, so some things might be broken and some of the writing might be CRINGE! Bear with me!

What's Plus-Tech Squeeze Box (PSB)?

PSB (pronounced Plus "tick" Squeezebox) is a Japanese alternative rock/EDM duo consisting of Tomonori Hayashibe and Takeshi Wakiya (as well as Junko Kamada before she left) that started around 1997. It's hard to describe their music, but most people will describe it as Shibuya Kei or Picopop due to the era of its inception.

PSB is known for their chaotic, often maximalist style of music that shows through even in their calmest songs. Their energy ranges from the rapid fire barrage that is Starship.6 to the melancholy tones of Clover. Despite how different each of their songs are, they each have the cut-and-paste charm that shibuya kei was known for.

Appearances in Media

PSB had a quiet but distinct presence in TV. Some examples include: Pucca (intro song), The Spongebob Squarepants Movie, and some commercials such as This Powerade One. (Click here for a full list of media appearances!) Many people comment on how nostalgic or familiar their music sounds. I think some of that has to do with how they spin generic commercial music into something original. It's a bit amusing to me since their style became a part of what they were parodying, haha.

Their Debut Album: FAKEVOX

FAKEVOX was likely developed between the group's conception until 2000 when the album officially released. Thanks to this tweet, we know for sure that A Day in the Radio and Test Room (tracks 03 and 04) existed in 1998. According to the tweet, a casette containing the two tracks was released to highline records, a store dedicated to indie music.(See image below; a cassette sits on top of the EARLY RISER vinyl.) This was two years before the official release of FAKEVOX.

If I could describe FAKEVOX in two words, it would be nostalgic novelty. The songs are chaotic in their own right, but they also have a distinctly familiar atmospheres that come from the samples that were used. The vocals are done by Junko Kamada, who left the band before PSB released their second album for unspecified reasons. The tracks and Kamada's vocals go together like... milk tea and soft serve ice cream? (it's SUCH a good combination, i swear. MILK TEA brought back VIVID memories of eating these ((rip first kitchen you may have merged with wendys but i'll always love you for who you were before)). But I digress, FAKEVOX is an album that can't be fully experienced at first listen.

The radio-gone-haywire sound was was like nothing I had heard before, but at the same time, each song was a very concentrated beam of nostalgia. Perhaps some of that comes from me growing up in Heisei era Japan spending most of my time with my absolute nerd of a dad. (And having ADHD. I love this album for how it sounds like if you took my brain and converted it to an audio file.) FAKEVOX isn't for everybody, but for the few that do appreciate it, it's like a window that lets you see your own brain and its thoughts in its messy disorganized glory.