World's First*1 Gamma Wave Sound™ Equipped 'kikippa Earphones' Collaborate! Heralbony Launches Limited Edition 'kikippa Earphones HERALBONY Model' Adorned with Art by Contracted Artists

HERALBONY Co., Ltd. (Headquarters: Morioka City, Iwate Prefecture, CEO Co-CEOs: Takaya Matsuda, Fumito Matsuda, hereinafter "Heralbony") announces the launch of the "kikippa Earphones HERALBONY Model," open-ear earphones equipped with the world's first*1 technology "Gamma Wave Sound™," jointly developed by Pixiedust Technologies Inc. (Headquarters: Chuo-ku, Tokyo, Chairman: Yoichi Ochiai, President: Taiichiro Murakami, hereinafter "PxDT") and Shionogi & Co., Ltd. (hereinafter "Shionogi"). Sales will begin on the PxDT official online store from Friday, April 3, 2026. This model will be a limited production run of 3,000 units in total (3 types of art x 1,000 units each).

*1: A technology that processes audio by applying amplitude modulation at 40Hz to partial signals included in the input audio (patent pending).

● Background of Co-creation and What We Want to Achieve

PxDT has been continuing businesses that support social issues and people, starting with technology, such as the development of kikippa, open-ear earphones equipped with "Gamma Wave Sound™" jointly developed with Shionogi Pharmaceutical.

On the other hand, Heralbony, together with artists who exhibit unique brilliance, has been questioning the state of society and culture starting from disability. Our paths converged, and this collaboration was born to propose an experience of time that allows one to return to the "self" that exists surely while changing daily, without the need for societal evaluation or roles.

What this collaboration offers is new audio technology that serves as a switch for self-reflection.

● Concept

The many colors of myself.

Yesterday, today,

Days of doubt, days of pause,

Times of laughter, times of tears.

All these days layered together form the color called "me."

kikippa is a partner for cherishing these layered colors.

So that you can be true to yourself.

So that you can enrich your days.

We, together with HERALBONY's three contracted artists whose expressions have never been confined to a single color, will open up new audio choices.

Special Site: https://kikippa-meets-heralbony.com/

● Featured Art / Artists

Artwork Title: ≪Ikutsumono Startochi Ten≫ (Many Starting Points and Destinations)

Artist: fuco: (Saga Prefecture)

During a period of idleness when she couldn't attend school, her artist mother gave her paper and a pen, saying, "Draw a circle," which marked the beginning of her creative journey. The motif of circles perfectly fit her and she became absorbed. Although she has been drawing circles for five years, in recent years she has begun to draw motifs other than circles, and continues to draw circles, triangles, and squares on large canvases day after day without boredom. While she speaks little as a form of communication, she sometimes mutters words that come to her mind repeatedly, and her works are born alongside these words.

Artwork Title: ≪Night View≫

Artist: Kaoru Iga (Tokyo)

He began his serious artistic endeavors after exhibiting at Art Brut Tachikawa in 2015. Using various materials such as paints, pastels, and colored pencils, he also creates collages and three-dimensional works using his own artworks as material. He also enjoys music and travel, having studied the cello for over 20 years and relishing the opportunity to experience new places and cultures during his travels. While not adept at conversation, he is not hesitant to join social gatherings. He was the model for HERALBONY's key visual in 2023.

Artwork Title: ≪Maze≫

Artist: Yu Takada (Ibaraki Prefecture / Jiseikai Club)

Possessing rich sensitivity and imagination, he is a multifaceted artist with talents in taiko drumming, painting, and dance. His primary motifs in painting are Disneyland and mazes. A devoted Disney fan, he creates works inspired by parades and magic carpets. The multi-layered mazes, formed by slowly connecting lines, draw viewers into a labyrinth. With his unhurried personality, time seems to flow leisurely around him, and he enjoys arranging his favorite books in his room.

● Product Overview and Early Purchase Bonus

Product Name: kikippa Earphones HERALBONY Model

Product Type: Wireless Earphones

Suggested Retail Price: ¥34,900 (tax included) *Includes charging stand and cable set

Sales Start Date: Friday, April 3, 2026 *Scheduled to be delivered in late April 2026.

Release Quantity: Limited production of 3,000 units (1,000 units x 3 art types)

Early Purchase Bonus: For purchases made in April 2026, receive a limited edition pouch featuring HERALBONY art (made of neoprene, estimated retail price: ¥5,500 (tax included) at general release).

*The early purchase bonus neoprene pouch will be shipped separately from the earphones and is expected to be delivered in May.

*Early purchase bonuses are only applicable to orders placed through the PxDT official online store. Orders from Amazon sales channels are not eligible.

*You will receive a pouch featuring the same art as the earphones you ordered.

● Features of Kikippa Earphones

＜Earphones Equipped with World's First Gamma Wave Sound™＞

The "Gamma Wave," a brainwave around 40Hz, is reported to be related to memory and concentration and to weaken with age*2. Kikippa earphones are the world's first*1 open-ear earphones that can easily stimulate the brain by modulating music and programs at the same frequency as this brainwave. Simply incorporating "kikippa earphones" into your daily life allows for easy brain stimulation anytime, such as while studying, doing chores, or exercising. Furthermore, when the Gamma Wave Sound mode is turned off, they can be used as normal earphones.

*2: Trends in Neurosciences 30, 317-324 (2007)., Clinical Neurophysiology 116, 2719-2733 (2005).

＜Open Ear Design Suitable for "Listening While Doing"＞

Adopts an open-ear style that seamlessly connects with daily life. Because they do not block the ears, you can naturally catch ambient sounds and conversations even while wearing the earphones, allowing you to comfortably enjoy "listening while doing" in various daily scenes such as during commutes or housework.

＜Equipped with Advanced Acoustic Technology, Immersive and Pleasant High-Quality Sound＞

Features a hybrid structure diaphragm combining a custom-designed large 16mm driver with different materials. It reproduces clear sound from rich bass to extended treble, realizing a realistic sound experience.

＜Comfortable Fit＞

The original flex-ear support mechanism balances secure fit and comfort. Its shape conforms to the line behind the ear, preventing slippage even during movement and providing strong support for the wearer.

＜Easy Wireless Charging＞

No need to connect a charging cable every time. Simply place them down after use for effortless and smart charging.

● Collaboration with ROUTINE RECORDS

This collaboration also involves "ROUTINE RECORDS," a music project we promote. ROUTINE RECORDS focuses on the "sounds" that individuals with intellectual disabilities repeat in their daily lives and delivers them to society as music. By carefully listening to the daily repetitive actions that may not be immediately understood but are essential rhythms for them, and sublimating them into music, we connect everyday lives without barriers between people with intellectual disabilities and us, who rarely have contact with them.

For this collaboration, music composer haruka nakamura created original music using sounds from the repetitive stereotypic behaviors and musical activities of the three featured artists. The music delivers the daily soundscape of the three artists as they interact with the outside world, each living at their own rhythm. Please enjoy a moment of reflection on the time and lives each person has lived, beyond the sounds.

● Song Overview

A Walk in Dialogue

haruka nakamura meets ROUTINE RECORDS by HERALBONY - PROJECT 2026

Music by haruka nakamura

Music Production / Kyoko Yamaguchi (one cushion ,inc)

Artists / fuco:, kaoru iga, yu takada

＜haruka nakamura's Comment＞

Music is written as "enjoying sound," but after continuing my music activities for a long time, recently, when I'm confined to my room and busy with daily production, I sometimes find myself in a state different from simply enjoying sound. This time, I was in charge of the music for the tie-up project between kikippa earphones and Heralbony. For this project, I first watched the documentary videos filmed of the three wonderful artists. It was a dense record, about three hours in total. In the videos, whether by chance or not, all three were playing musical instruments in their time outside of creative activities. Piano, cello, and taiko drums.

When playing these instruments, they all showed expressions different from when they were engaged in creative work, and it seemed like they were enjoying the sound from the bottom of their hearts. The video conveyed an aura as if they were playing the instruments with their souls. fuco: appeared to be in extreme concentration during her creative work, but when playing the piano, which she learned by ear, she smiled cheerfully while playing without looking at the sheet music or the keys.

I also play the piano without sheet music and used to play guitar by ear, so I felt a deep resonance. Iga often hums songs, and her improvisational singing seemed like a way of conveying her feelings through song. I like whales, and Iga's songs reminded me of them communicating with distant companions through "songs." This felt like the fundamental form of song. When playing the cello, she played gently, embracing the sound. Takada gives a very serene impression during creative work, but when beating the taiko drums, he enthusiastically played dynamic rhythms while participating in an ensemble.

When I was asked to create music for this project, the request was to use sounds from their creative processes. Before watching the videos, I had considered sampling the sound of brushstrokes or various ambient sounds from their creative process and constructing them as rhythms or melodies. However, after seeing them play music, I decided that instead of treating the sounds of their creation as instruments, it would be better to create a single piece of music where their performances and my piano play interact and walk alongside each other.

First, I recorded an improvisational piano performance based on my immediate feelings after watching the videos. Then, I interwove the sounds of their performances with the piano, as if having a dialogue. Iga's singing, her cello, fuco:'s piano, Takada's taiko drums... These sounds blended naturally without the need for various effects, which was surprising. The sounds of fuco: drawing her pictures sounded like rhythms as they were, so I wove them in without much editing. Since everyone's sounds blended so naturally, I decided to add variation by subtly editing my piano's resonance in one part in the middle.

Finally, I inserted words spoken by the quiet Takada in the long documentary footage, which were barely picked up by the microphone, at the beginning and end of the song.

Music emerges from the ordinary scenes of daily life. I hope this work becomes something like walking together on a daily stroll, conversing intermittently. haruka nakamura

＜STAFF＞

Business Producer: Koji Kameyama

Creative Director/Planner: Remi Abe

Project Director: Mona Suzuki

Copywriter: Yoshiyuki Takeda

Photographer/Graphic Designer: Akira Terauchi

Video Production: C3Film

Photographer: Yoshihiro Ozaki (DARUMA)

Jacket Designer: MIKATA Masanao Kato

● About Pixiedust Technologies Inc.

Pixiedust Technologies envisions the advent of "Digital Nature," which transcends binary oppositions such as language, phenomena, and analog vs. digital through the fusion of computer science and unique wave control technology that freely manipulates sound and light, thereby constructing an environment where computers and non-computers are inseparable. We currently focus on two main areas for product deployment: the "Healthcare & Diversity" domain, which applies wave control technology for intervention and assistance with mechanobiology and vision, hearing, and touch; and the "Workspace & Digital Transformation" domain, which applies it to solve issues in areas such as metamaterials (technology that creates properties through structure rather than material) and offices/construction sites. As computers rapidly evolve, the evolution of our biological bodies (hardware) is extremely slow, and this gap is widening. Pixiedust Technologies effectively mediates between these two, continuously creating better value for life.

Company Name: Pixiedust Technologies Inc.

Location: 2-2-1 Yaesu, Chuo-ku, Tokyo

Representatives: Yoichi Ochiai, Taiichiro Murakami

Corporate Site: https://pixiedusttech.com/

Online Store: https://pxdt-store.com/

● About HERALBONY Co., Ltd.

As a creative company with the mission "Unleash Extraordinary," we aim to create new culture starting from transforming the image of disability and welfare. We manage over 2,000 art pieces drawn by artists with disabilities as IP licenses and build a sustainable business model by paying fair royalties. We operate our own brand "HERALBONY," collaborate with companies, provide planning and production services through creativity, offer employee training programs, and host the international art award "HERALBONY Art Prize," developing diverse businesses centered around art. In July 2024, we established "HERALBONY EUROPE" in Paris, France, as our first overseas subsidiary.

Company Name: HERALBONY Co., Ltd. / HERALBONY Co.,Ltd.

Location: 2-38 Kaiunbashi-dori, Morioka City, Iwate Prefecture, 020-0026 (Headquarters), Gin-Tomi Building 3F Reception, 2-5-16 Ginza, Chuo-ku, Tokyo, 104-0061 (Tokyo Office)

Representatives: Takaya Matsuda, Fumito Matsuda

Corporate Site: https://www.heralbony.jp

Online Store: https://store.heralbony.jp/

Gamma Wave Sound™, kikippa, and related logos are trademarks or registered trademarks of Pixiedust Technologies Inc.

- Company names, logos, system names, product names, brand names, etc., mentioned are the trademarks or registered trademarks of their respective companies.

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