For Japanese music acts, success abroad has traditionally been the reserve of noise-rock bands such as Boredoms and Melt-Banana, for whom potential barriers like language or cultural disparities do little to hinder their pursuit of abstraction. More conventional Japanese indie bands have traditionally fared less well in the West, which is why it's so refreshing to see several acts on the verge of genuine breakthroughs abroad in 2011, spearheaded by all-girl four-piece The Suzan.

In 2010, The Suzan took their ultra-cool brand of garage rock, which features genre-hopping elements of dance music, soul and riot grrrl, to America on numerous occasions, playing alongside the likes of Kanye West and Kid Sister. As recent additions to respected turntablist A-Trak's dance-music-oriented Fool's Gold label, The Suzan were often the only typical rock band at the shows they played, making it all the more impressive that they managed to capture the attention of ravers, hip-hop heads and bloggers alike.

"So far the sorts of Japanese artists who have played in America have tended to be J-pop acts such as Puffy Amiyumi and X-Japan. Although we're Japanese, our sound is obviously nothing like J-pop, which I think surprised a lot of people," says drummer Sachie Sone, who goes by the name of Nico. She is a confident, boisterous character who takes charge of the interview and answers questions in rapid Japanese. Luckily, vocalist Saori Suzuki chimes in now and then with much-appreciated English translations.