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  • Together WMF interviews: The Japanese Popstars

  • The Japanese Popstars

  • 2011-10-31

  • With the first Together Winter Music Festival touching down at Alexandra Palace in London at the end of November, we continue to find out more about the top acts with our second interview: this time with The Japanese Popstars. The Irish electro trio certainly aren’t Japanese but their pounding sound has won them an army of fans across the globe so they fit the “stars” part of their name at least! We found out what they’ve been up to this year and why they’re looking forward to the first Together WMF.

    How are you guys doing today?
    Fine. Thank you for asking.

    How was your summer?
    Very very busy. We have basically been playing anywhere that will take us!

    How did you come up with your name?
    The name stems from our appearance on the Japanese Popstars TV show. Sort of like X Factor. We were contestants who entered, came third in the finals and the name stuck. We then moved to Ireland and started playing in various countries with this sweet new moniker. We originally were called ‘Boy Activ8’.

    You are currently touring the US, how is it going?
    Yeah, it’s been great. We have a few days off in Toronto now to chill and work on some live show stuff but the tour has kept us on our toes playing a new city each night and hopefully making some new fans along the way.

    You worked with Robert Smith from The Cure on your track ‘Take Forever’. This must be a huge honour for you? How did it come about?
    We simply emailed him asking if he would be up for singing with us! This was about two years ago now and we heard nothing for six months. We had given up on the idea and then we received a response saying that the email had filtered into his junk mail and Robert apologised for the late response but he’d love to work with us! We were over the moon!!

    And how was collaborating with Chicago house legend Green Velvet?
    He is such a great guy! We had played a few shows in different parts of the world with him and we wanted to try to do something with him but didn’t have the courage to ask. We were then on a billing with him back home and decided that it would be perfect to ask him on our home soil. As we walked up to him to ask Curtis said that we should work together, he had the same idea!

    Having remixed lots of artists, what do you think makes a great remix?
    There is no formula. Being able to do something with the artists parts really helps and of course lots of talent.

    You featured on the Essential Mix in June, how did you go about recording the mix?
    We did it whilst sitting beside the pool in Ibiza. I think it had to be handed in to Radio One that week we played the IMS, so we sat in the sun by the pool putting it together. The perfect setting.

    You have had a huge 2011, what has been a personal highlight?
    I always think our homecoming shows can be amazing. We played an Irish festival called Electric Picnic in September that was epic. It was a very wet Sunday evening and our stage time was 5pm. We really thought it was going to be quiet as the rain kept everyone in their tents for most of the day. About five minutes before we went on there were literally about 100 people in the tent. As we walked onstage to play then we had a real eye opener of ,8000 people standing waiting for us to play! It was insane. Definately a highlight for me.

    Your plans for 2012?
    We finish off the releases on Controlling Your Allegiance and move to some club orientated EPs that we have been busy working on. Some more remixes and we have some tours coming up in places like Europe, Brazil, and Australia for the beginning of next year.

    You played a lot of festivals this year, do you enjoy playing on bills that are very diverse or do you prefer line-ups where the artists playing have more in common?
    Definately prefer line-ups with more in common. A lot of the festivals we played this year had dubstep line-ups. You can only listen to that Tetris dubstep track a few times in one day.

    What can the fans expect from your set at the Together Winter Music Festival?
    We are going to be DJing at this show, so it’ll be great to drop some fresh new music from other artists! It’s always refreshing to switch from playing Live to DJing because it allows us to see what else works on the dancefloor.

    Will you be hanging around at the Together Winter Music Festival? Are there any acts playing that you want to check out?
    Yeah. We are always the last to leave a venue. I think it’s in our blood!

    Finally, a message for your fans coming to see you at the Together Winter Music Festival?
    Enjoy your weekend. I’m sure you have worked hard all week in the office, so make sure to let your hair down and come dance with us.

    For tickets and the latest news to the Together Winter Music Festival, go to www.togetherwmf.com.

by Mike Barnard

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