5 Minutes with The Japanese Popstars

Fresh from their recent Sandance performance in Dubai, The Japanese Popstars' Gareth Donoghue speaks about the rise of the Northern Irish dance trio and working with The Cure's Robert Smith.

How was your Sandance experience?

It was incredible. We flew in that morning and we had a few hours to chill in the hotel and we were jet-lagged. When we arrived at the show we were impressed with the scale; it was like 12,000 people and on the beach. It was a brilliant night and similar to the shows that we done in Ibiza.

Your Dubai trip sounds hectic, is the constant traveling and jet-lag part and parcel of the DJ life?

Unfortunately it is. That has been our life for the last three or four years. We have been to incredible places but a lot of the times it is just in and out. But it is all about building your profile and putting the ground work in. Every singer-songwriter and band must do the same-thing and play to as many people as we can build your support. It is part of the job and I really can't complain.

For a lot of your fans, the group is their first exposure to the Northern Ireland dance scene. How would you describe it?

There is a lot going on. Northern Ireland and Ireland is one big electronic scene. There is a lot of techno coming out of Northern Ireland. During The Troubles the techno places were the ones you wouldn't have any problems with the religious Protestants and Catholics thing. It was all a community thing and we have a lot of friends doing well at the minute. It's a good time for Irish music in general.

Your latest album Controlling Your Allegiance has a collaboration with The Cure's Robert Smith. Considering his stature was it tough reaching out to him?

We got our manager to find out if he knew of us and we sent him an email with ideas. We didn't hear anything from him for six months and then he replied one morning saying he apologises because our email went into his junk folder. He sent us through an idea that he really liked and after that he was behind the project and a really nice guy to deal with.

Finally, I have to ask this: how did the Japanese respond to the group when you first hit their clubs

.

It is actually the only country we been to where nobody actually asked about our name. That is one of the great things about Japan, they embrace stuff like that.

Controlling Your Allegiance (EMI) is out now.