Cult Japanese band Zutomayo has collaborated with Orion to create a special-edition Boombox. Enter the SCR-B9(Z), a traditionally styled portable music centre designed to evoke powerful memories of 1980s audio while also being able to cope with modern-day formats.
Zutomayo’s hyperkinetic rock and J-pop is given added piquancy by the group’s mysterious make-up. Founded in 2018, the name is a shortening of the phrase Zutto Mayonaka de ii Noni ('It would be nice if it was midnight all the time’). To date, they’ve released five albums and contributed to a number of soundtracks, with their own videos featuring animation. Led by vocalist ACA-Ne, the other members of the band deliberately keep out of the limelight.
The collaboration with Orion adds a suitably striking colour scheme to differentiate it from the originally all-black SCR-B9, with a textured cream and industrial green finish along with band logo and graphics.
This is a true multimedia station, with cassette deck, CD-player and AM/FM radio, along with Bluetooth speaker capabilities, USB and microSD input for playing mp3s and even a karaoke function thanks to the two microphone inputs, complete with electronic echo effect.
Just like Boomboxes from the classic age, the SCR-B9(Z) allows you to dub from CD to cassette. The band cite the tactile nature of cassettes and CDs, the warm sound and texture of the audio and the overall aesthetic of the big machine as their reason for launching the collaboration, describing it as an ‘all-in-one [player that] connects the past and the future.’
The aesthetic is certainly retro, with an LCD display, knobs and sliders for volume and function, mechanical transport buttons for the cassette deck and two traditional VU meters. ‘It feels like something inherited from someone,’ the band write, ‘It's like a memo of life, connecting the textures of human nature across time and space.’
Stereo output comes from 13.5cm bass speakers and 3cm tweeters, with a bass enhancement function. The CD player will also play mp3 format files.
Another useful function is the ability to record mp3 format from cassettes to the flash drive or microSD card, allowing you to digitise old cassette recordings. The Boombox follows on from Zutomayo’s recent release of a strictly limited-edition pair of Yamaha headphones, the HPH-MT8Z.
Pre-orders are open now and first deliveries should be in spring 2026.
Boombox SCR-B9(Z) by Zutomayo and Orion, ¥42,000 + tax
Zutomayo.net, @Zutomayo, Zutomayomart.net, @Zutomayo_mart
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