The danger with releasing brilliant singles is that you set the bar high for what comes next. That’s a hurdle Friends Electric clear with ease on Puzzle Pieces: a synth-pop powerhouse with a massive sonic rush of a chorus, the song justifies the buzz about the four-piece, and confirms them as electro’s hottest tip.
So far this summer, Friends Electric have headlined the BBC Introducing Stage at Radio 1’s Big Weekend, played to packed dancing tents at the Isle of Wight and V Festivals, wowed the crowds at Hop Farm Festival, turned on the charm with Blondie at Somerset House, slayed Huw Stephen’s stage at Latitude, headlined a rammed-to-the-rafters Koko for Club NME, had their singles playlisted on Radio 1 and XFM, and recorded live sessions for BBC Radio 1 & BBC Radio 2. Their music has also been used in adverts for Strongbow and on E4 programs including Made in Chelsea.
Friends Electric is a band spawned not by a scene, but a burning desire to make people dance. You can hear it in the pop hooks at the heart of their songs and feel it in the slinky rhythms and euphoric beats that have been filling dancefloors in their native Wales for the past two years.
Based in the former mining town of Neath – or about as far from the hip clubs of London as it’s possible to get without crossing water – Friends Electric are a quartet in their early 20s who formed their first band aged fourteen. Sneaking in to a Soulwax show a few years ago persuaded them to swap their guitars for synths, move together in to a terraced house and do jobs as diverse as delivering pizzas and engineering Abba Mania to fund the purchase of enough equipment to fill their front room.
Friends Electric’s infectious electronic-pop persuaded Noisettes to hire them for their first remix. Since then, the band has risen through the ranks with remixes for Ellie Goulding, and have co-written a track (Say It Out Loud) on the debut album by Nicola Roberts.
“The faith is not misplaced: the band’s euphoric synth pop has the dancefloor nailed” – The Sunday Times
LIVE DATES:
21.10.11 – Cardiff, SWN Festival
26.10.11 – London, Old Blue Last
28.10.11 – Birmingham, HMV Institute
29.10.11 – Keele University, Staffordshire
10.11.11 – Manchester, Night and Day
11.11.11 – Glasgow, King Tuts
12.11.11 – Bristol, Start the Bus
