Plus-Tech Squeeze Box are a

Japan Japan ( ja, 日本, or , and formally , ''Nihonkoku'') is an island country in East Asia. It is situated in the northwest Pacific Ocean, and is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan, while extending from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north ...

ese

electronic music Electronic music is a genre of music that employs electronic musical instruments, digital instruments, or circuitry-based music technology in its creation. It includes both music made using electronic and electromechanical means ( electroac ...

shibuya-kei is a microgenre of pop music or a general aesthetic that flourished in Japan in the mid-to late 1990s. The music genre is distinguished by a "cut-and-paste" approach that was inspired by the kitsch, fusion, and artifice from certain music style ...

duo formed by Tomonori Hayashibe and Takeshi Wakiya. The frenetic sound of their first album '' FAKEVOX'' (2000) is driven by rudimentary synthesized sounds and heavily manipulated samples from a variety of sources, including

jazz Jazz is a music genre that originated in the African-American communities of New Orleans, Louisiana in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, with its roots in blues and ragtime. Since the 1920s Jazz Age, it has been recognized as a major ...

big band A big band or jazz orchestra is a type of musical ensemble of jazz music that usually consists of ten or more musicians with four sections: saxophones, trumpets, trombones, and a rhythm section. Big bands originated during the early 1910s an ...

, light music,

MOR Mor or MOR may refer to: Names and titles * Mór (given name), a list of people named Mór or Mor * Mor (surname), a list of people named Mor or Mór * Mor (honorific), or Mar, in Syriac Radio and television * Middle of the road (music) genre * ...

, and

funk Funk is a music genre that originated in African American communities in the mid-1960s when musicians created a rhythmic, danceable new form of music through a mixture of various music genres that were popular among African Americans in the m ...

recordings ranging from the late-50s to the mid-70s. Junko Kamada provides vocals throughout the album. Their second album, ''CARTOOOM!'', was released in 2004. Junko Kamada is conspicuously absent, having parted ways with the band. Instead, sampled vocals and a variety of guest singers are used. They created a side project with the vocalist Tomomi Matsuda called Tropico Q in 2010. The group did covers of classic rock songs.

Notable appearances

They have been featured in

Coca-Cola Coca-Cola, or Coke, is a carbonated soft drink manufactured by the Coca-Cola Company. Originally marketed as a temperance drink and intended as a patent medicine, it was invented in the late 19th century by John Stith Pemberton in Atlanta ...

and

Powerade Powerade is a sports drink created, manufactured and marketed by The Coca-Cola Company. Its primary competitor is Gatorade, owned by PepsiCo. History In 1988, Powerade became the official sports drink of the Olympics, alongside Aquarius, anot ...

commercials in the United Kingdom, using the song "early RISER". They also appeared on

BBC Three BBC Three is a British free-to-air public broadcast television channel owned and operated by the BBC. It was first launched on 9 February 2003 with programmes targeting 16 to 34-year-olds, covering all genres including animation, comedy, curre ...

's ''

Adam and Joe Go Tokyo ''Adam and Joe Go Tokyo'' was a series of eight episodes created for BBC Three (also airing in full on BBC One at a later timeslot as promotion for the new channel). It starred Adam Buxton and Joe Cornish of '' The Adam and Joe Show'' and air ...

'' and for '' The SpongeBob SquarePants Movie – Music from the Movie and More...''. One of their songs, including ''Baby P'' was featured on '' Pop'n Music 14 FEVER''. They also wrote and recorded the theme tune for ''

Pucca ''Pucca'' (; ko, 뿌까 ) is a South Korean media franchise from the South Korean company VOOZ Character System. The main and titular character, Pucca, is the niece of three Korean men who run a Chinese-style restaurant. The restaurant, known as ...

'', which is similar to that of "early RISER". Their song "TEST ROOM" was featured in ''

Dance Dance Revolution Universe ''Dance Dance Revolution Universe'' (also known as Dancing Stage Universe in Europe) is a music video game. It was released as a part of Dance Dance Revolution franchise by Konami for the Xbox 360. The game was unveiled on May 9, 2006 at the El ...

'' in 2007.

Discography

*'' FAKEVOX'' (2000) *''CARTOOOM!'' (2004)

External links

Official PSB website

their label's website, STUBBIE RECORDS

Official HearJapan Page

Side Project Tropico Q
Japanese rock music groups Shibuya-kei musicians Musical groups from Shibuya {{Japan-band-stub