"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!

Is AJ Suzuki the most satisfying experience you've had as a musician?
I find AJ Suzuki very satisfying. Some of the AJ Suzuki tracks have existed in one form or another for a few years and it's great to get these along with the newer songs down in the form of an album. It's nice to step back and see the body of work. It also feels really good to sing the songs live.

The gigs have been going down a treat, what can people expect from the AJ Suzuki live experience?
All the guys in the band are really great musicians and they've each got something different they bring to the stage. I think it makes for a really dynamic live show. Kristian is an incredible guitarist and he's 6' 10? so he looks pretty incredible too. Stu is a really stylish guy with stage presence and Marty is a powerful but technical drummer… it's great. Even at our first gig we got compliments about how tight we were, some people even thought we were a signed band from somewhere else on tour! It's good to hear things like that.

There is a definite pop sensibility to AJ Suzuki, do you think the ability to write a good pop tune is an underrated art?
Yeah, maybe! I'm certainly a fan of pop music and I suppose it's very important to me that the music reaches a lot of people. I don't try and write poppy tunes, it's just what comes out really. I think the thing that makes a piece of music last is when it has a strong melody at its core that connects with people in some way. I guess that's what I aim for.

Which takes priority, commercial or creative concerns?
As I've said, with AJ Suzuki I want to write music that reaches a lot of people, so by the very nature of that I'm saying I want the music to be popular, but in a good way, not in a crass, money-making way. I'm not actually very good at writing 'commercial' music to a brief, I've tried doing that kind of thing before and it didn't work very well!

What would constitute success for AJ Suzuki?
I suppose I think that the AJ Suzuki songs deserve a certain level of success, so if we signed a deal and the album sold well, I'd be happy I think. I'm certainly attracted to the excitement of playing big gigs and the glamorous side of things, but my priority is just for the songs to get some recognition. Right now it looks like we're on the right track.