AJ Suzuki

"I really believe in the songs and I feel that they have the power to take us somewhere!"

From making full-on house music as Jupiter Ace, remixing Dannii Minogue and Moloko along the way, Gregory Ferguson has hit the ground running with his shiny, new electro-pop project, AJ Suzuki. Ahead of the band’s debut single, ‘Jump Start’, being released via iTunes on April 14, Gregory took time out to bring us up to date.

To the uninitiated, how would you describe the music of AJ Suzuki?
I think you could loosely describe it as ‘indie electro-pop’. I’m someone who likes guitars and synthesisers, and AJ Suzuki gets both and glues them together. It’s all pretty fat-sounding and it’s rocky in places, I don’t like weedy synth sounds! There are a lot of choruses in there too - a lot of people have told me that the music is catchy.

Already, you’ve been garnering a lot of positive press and industry attention. It suggests that AJ Suzuki could really achieve something. How ambitious are you?
All the good press and feedback we’ve been getting has been fantastic. I used to definitely be very ambitious… age has tempered that a bit. I think it’s more accurate to say that I really believe in the songs. I’ve lived with them for quite a while now and I kinda feel that they have the power to take us somewhere!

How does the work of AJ Suzuki contrast to that of your previous incarnation, Jupiter Ace?
The work I do as Jupiter Ace is 100% dance music. AJ Suzuki is a band project and is about the songs first and foremost. Also I sing in AJ Suzuki! AJ Suzuki came about as an outlet for my songwriting and the music is very close to my heart. People tell me there are melodic similarities between the two projects, they say it all sounds like ‘me”’.

Who are the acts that inspire you?
Hmmm. All sorts really, some influences are more direct than others: Hot Chip, White Rose Movement, Muse, The Knife, Gary Numan, Vampire Weekend, Erasure, Daft Punk, Razorlight, Foals and Fischerspooner are acts who have inspired me one way or the other.

Are there any immediate plans to release any material commercially?
We are releasing ‘Jump Start’ ourselves on iTunes on April 14. It’s really just to get the music out there, as there’s a buzz building about us and we want to make the music available. We’re still in search of a proper record deal. So if you’re an A&R man reading this, CALL ME!

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Issue #51 - I Told You This Would Be A Good Issue

Featuring Biffy Clyro, Of Montreal, Duke Special, Frightened Rabbit, Cold War Kids, Jay Reatard, Pat Mills, and more.