The Japanese Popstars
The Japanese Popstars, an electronic act from Derry, Northern Ireland, formed in 2006 by Gary Curran and Gareth Donoghue, with founding member Declan McLaughlin performing DJ sets and production work under the act until his 2012 departure. Each of the three friends had already been individual club DJs within the Irish scene before deciding, after a festival in the grass, to form a group together, according to their own account of the act's origin.
Signing to Gung-Ho Recordings in the UK, home to acts including GusGus and Zoo Brazil, and Beatink in Japan, they released their debut album "We Just Are" in 2008, which climbed to number 89 on the Irish Albums Chart and led to a deal with Virgin Records. The act was nominated for Best House DJs at the 2006 World Urban Music Awards and won Best Live Act at the Irish Music Awards four years running from 2008, alongside a Best Breakthrough Producers win at the DJ Mag Best of British Awards 2008.
Their remix catalogue spans Beyonce, Depeche Mode, Kylie, Gorillaz and Daft Punk, while collaborations have included Robert Smith of The Cure, Morgan Kibby of M83 and James Vincent McMorrow. McLaughlin has since continued DJing and hosting radio shows as Decky Hedrock through his own project, Sirkus Sirkuz.