BIOGRAPHY
The Japanese Popstars are riding a wave of great live gigs, major festival bookings, and media praise off the back of their recent single, ‘EP1’. In their debut album, ‘We Just Are’, they have a collection of 12 tracks that will really take them places.
Native to Northern Ireland (any fetishists expecting cute Japanese girls can leave now), and consisting of Declan McLaughlin, Gary Curran, and Gareth Donoghue, The Japanese Popstars are signed to bespoke indie label, Gung-Ho Recordings (Gus Gus, Zoo Brazil) in the UK, and Beatink in Japan (home of Underworld, Aphex Twin, Cinematic Orchestra).
The Japanese Popstars’ only parallel with rock music is that they’d built up a sizable live following before releasing their first major single – some might even say cultish, judging by the amount of clips on Youtube. Their gigs are typically raucous affairs, with an energy that crackles with each beat, chord, and keyboard stab.
However, let’s get one thing straight about the music – The Japanese Popstars aren’t indie rave, or any other sub-sub-sub genre, theirs is big room, cool as f**k electronic music built for festivals and stadiums. They’re not dance kids aping indie kids, nor are they indie kids dropping synths and calling themselves ‘ravers’.
