Tommy Villiers

Tommy Villiers
Villiers performing in London, 2024
Background information
Birth nameThomas George Villiers
Also known as
  • Froge
Occupation(s)
  • Singer
  • songwriter
  • producer
  • guitarist
  • trumpeter
Labels
Member of
Formerly of
  • Porij
  • Room C

Thomas George Villiers is an English musician from Saffron Walden. After being introduced to dance music via his brother, he began producing drum and bass tracks and uploading them to SoundCloud. In early 2019, he cofounded Porij, with whom he released two EPs and has writing credits on a third. In mid-2020, he formed Piri & Tommy with Piri, with whom he released several singles including "Soft Spot", "Beachin", "On & On", "Feel It", "Updown", and "Nice 2 Me" as well as the mixtape Froge.mp3, which they promoted with Froge.tour. He also played Scotty in the music video for Wet Leg's "Ur Mum" and has released several singles including a remix of LF System's "Afraid to Feel".

Life and career

[edit]

Early life

[edit]

Thomas George Villiers[1] grew up in Saffron Walden,[2] and was a fan of the Red Hot Chili Peppers.[3] He attended Saffron Walden County High School,[4] at which he would proffer his grade eight[5] trumpet skills to any high school band that would entertain him.[3] In 2016, he played at that year's Justice Service for the County of Essex.[6] When he was in sixth form, his older brother began taking him to house parties, where he developed an interest in dance music;[3] wanting to replicate what he was hearing, and having received a Mac,[7] he began producing drum and bass tracks, uploading them to SoundCloud, and DJing at house parties.[8] Villiers attended the Royal Northern College of Music,[9] from which he holds a degree in popular music.[5]

Bands

[edit]

While at high school, he started a funk rock band,[3] Room C,[4] and while at university, he set up the bands Porij and See Thru Hands.[10] Porij was founded in early 2019[11] by attendees of the Royal Northern College of Music[12] and released the Breakfast EP in November 2020 and the Baby Face EP in September 2021.[13] Villiers left this band in early 2022[14] to concentrate on Piri & Tommy, remaining in Porij long enough to gain writing credits on their third EP, Outlines.[15] Piri & Tommy are a band he set up with Piri, who he met in 2020 just before the second United Kingdom COVID-19 lockdown.[16] The pair initially met on Tinder;[5] a couple of weeks later, one of Porij's photographers retweeted one of their photoshoots, prompting Piri to locate his Instagram account and ask him out.[10]: 38:07  Their first date was at Piccadilly Gardens, at which they bonded over a shared love of disco.[5] They later formed a support bubble in a student house[17] in Manchester.[10]

After it was realised that Piri could sing and Villiers could produce, they set about writing together. The first song they recorded, "Sunlight", was a house song[18] and the first song they released was "It's a Match", a disco song made after both experimented with numerous genres.[10] Their second song, June 2021's "Soft Spot", went viral on Spotify and TikTok,[19] prompting EMI to sign them, re-release "Soft Spot",[17] and release the singles "Beachin" in January 2022[20] and "Words" in April 2022.[21]

They then signed to Polydor Records,[22] who released "On & On" in July 2022,[23] and then the mixtape Froge.mp3 in October 2022, which took its name from a nickname they used to give each other,[18] featured "Sunlight", "Soft Spot", "Beachin", "Words", and "On & On",[24] and which they promoted with Froge.tour.[24] On 11 January 2023, Clash reported that Piri and Villiers had split up but remained friends, would release previously recorded music, and planned to work together in the future;[25] later that month, they featured on MJ Cole's "Feel It", to which Villiers contributed a guitar solo.[26] The following month Piri and Villiers released "Updown".[27] In May 2023, the pair released "Nice 2 Me",[28] and in July 2023, the pair released "Lovergirl" as independent artists.[29]

Other works

[edit]

In April 2022,[30] Villiers played the anti-hero,[31] Scotty,[30] in the music video for Wet Leg's "Ur Mum", directed by Lava La Rue;[31] in an interview in June 2023, he stated that he got the job after supporting Nine8 Collective,[32]: 6:02  a group composed of Lava La Rue, Mac Wetha, Bone Slim, Biig Piig, Nayana Iz, Nige and LorenzoRSV,[33] and after being interviewed for the role in the venue's green room by La Rue.[32]: 6:02  He then released a remix of LF System's "Afraid to Feel",[34] before signing a solo publishing deal in September 2022 with Tim & Danny Music.[35] In November 2022, he released a remix of "Noodle Poodle" by Nine8 Collective,[36] and then the following February, he played as part of Ninety One Living Room's house band Dojo Dojo.[37] In July 2023, by which time he had released "Not Puzzled" featuring Ceòl-Min, he released "To the Moon" with Hertfordshire-based rapper Mustbejohn, a song about the possibilities of a night out inspired by the UK garage and Brazilian music he was listening to at the time.[38]

References

[edit]
  1. ^ "Updown". American Society of Composers, Authors and Publishers. Retrieved 10 July 2023.
  2. ^ Paleblu on Reprezent - Paleblu interviews Tommy Villier May 2022, retrieved 26 September 2023
  3. ^ a b c d "Piri & Tommy Villiers - 1883 Magazine". 30 September 2021. Retrieved 4 August 2023.
  4. ^ a b "Saffron Walden Blues & Rock Weekender preview: Introducing...Room C". Saffron Walden Reporter. 5 September 2014. Retrieved 7 August 2023.
  5. ^ a b c d Helm, Jake. "Piri and Tommy: meet the rising stars of pop". The Times. Archived from the original on 8 November 2022.
  6. ^ "High Sheriff of Essex brings Justice Service to Saffron Walden". Dunmow Broadcast. 12 October 2016. Retrieved 26 September 2023.
  7. ^ "Miz w/ Piri & Tommy Villiers". Reprezent Radio. Archived from the original on 23 February 2023. Retrieved 1 February 2023.
  8. ^ "The Zoomer Embrace of Drum 'n' Bass". Pitchfork. 29 October 2021. Retrieved 4 August 2023.
  9. ^ "Rising highs for popular music artists - Royal Northern College of Music". RNCM. Retrieved 4 August 2023.
  10. ^ a b c d "The Daisy Adams Show w/ Piri and Tommy Villiers 27th October 2021". Reform Radio. Archived from the original on 13 February 2023. Retrieved 13 February 2023.
  11. ^ Sue, David (5 March 2020). "Made in Manchester - Porij". Manchester Evening News. Retrieved 23 February 2024.
  12. ^ Hutchinson, Kate (28 November 2020). "One to watch: Porij". The Guardian. Retrieved 26 January 2024.
  13. ^ "Class of 2022: Porij". DIY. 15 December 2021. Retrieved 4 February 2024.
  14. ^ Reilly, Nick; Richards, Will (22 March 2024). "Rolling Stone UK's Future Of Music: see the full list". Rolling Stone UK. Retrieved 3 April 2024.
  15. ^ Williams, Sophie (12 September 2022). "Porij: dynamic Manchester gang with festival season's most fun live show". NME. Retrieved 5 August 2023.
  16. ^ J, Trixie (4 April 2023). "Piri And Tommy Rose From Viral Rookies To UK Dance's Next Big Ace. | Nexus Radio". Retrieved 22 July 2023.
  17. ^ a b Jolley, Ben (1 December 2021). "Piri and Tommy Villiers: ambition and reinvention from vibrant drum 'n' bass duo". NME. Archived from the original on 9 December 2022. Retrieved 15 January 2023.
  18. ^ a b Holden, Finlay (30 November 2022). "Hype List 2023: piri & tommy: "You've just got to take one thing at a time"". Dork. Archived from the original on 24 January 2023. Retrieved 24 January 2023.
  19. ^ Zhang, Cat (29 October 2021). "The Zoomer Embrace of Drum 'n' Bass". Pitchfork. Archived from the original on 10 March 2023. Retrieved 10 March 2023.
  20. ^ Murray, Robin (28 January 2022). "Track Of The Day 28/1 – piri & tommy". Clash Music. Archived from the original on 28 February 2023. Retrieved 28 February 2023.
  21. ^ McCarthy, Neive (7 July 2022). "piri & tommy: "I remember when I first discovered dance music. Once you're in, there's no going back"". Dork. Archived from the original on 17 November 2022. Retrieved 25 January 2023.
  22. ^ Kemp, Ellie (23 June 2022). "The Manchester acts worth watching at Glastonbury 2022". Manchester Evening News. Archived from the original on 1 February 2023. Retrieved 1 February 2023.
  23. ^ "piri & tommy Share Joyous New Bumper 'on & on'". Clash Music. 29 July 2022. Archived from the original on 25 May 2023. Retrieved 25 May 2023.
  24. ^ a b Holden, Finlay (21 September 2022). "piri & tommy have announced their debut project, 'froge.mp3'". Dork. Archived from the original on 4 March 2023. Retrieved 4 March 2023.
  25. ^ Murray, Robin (11 January 2023). "piri & Tommy Reveal "Amicable" Break-Up". Clash. Archived from the original on 15 January 2023. Retrieved 15 January 2023.
  26. ^ McCarthy, Neive (20 January 2023). "MJ Cole has joined forces with piri & tommy for new track, 'Feel It'". Dork. Retrieved 11 July 2023.
  27. ^ "piri & Tommy Share Ecstatic New Blaster 'updown'". Clash Music. 20 February 2023. Retrieved 20 February 2023.
  28. ^ O'Connor, Siobhain (24 May 2023). "piri & Tommy Villiers have dropped their new "summer banger", 'nice 2 me'". Dork. Retrieved 7 August 2023.
  29. ^ "BBC Radio 1 - Radio 1's Future Sounds, with Jack Saunders: Chase & Status and Bou Hottest Record". BBC. Retrieved 28 July 2023.
  30. ^ a b Promonews. "Wet Leg 'Ur Mum' by Lava La Rue | Videos". Promonewstv. Retrieved 6 August 2023.
  31. ^ a b "Awards, Harry Styles, and 'hand dick': the songs that scored Wet Leg's wild year". Double J. 3 March 2023. Retrieved 6 August 2023.
  32. ^ a b Tommy Villiers Interview @ Art Club, retrieved 9 October 2023
  33. ^ "Radical pop collective Nine8: 'Anyone who thinks like us is part of the gang'". The Guardian. 8 June 2021. ISSN 0261-3077. Retrieved 6 August 2023.
  34. ^ "How LF System's Ecstatic "Afraid To Feel" Became The UK's Biggest Hit Of 2022". Stereogum. 7 September 2022. Retrieved 6 August 2023.
  35. ^ Thraves, Lucy. "Pop dance duo Piri & Tommy sign with Warner Chappell and Tim & Danny Music". Musicweek.com. Archived from the original on 1 February 2023. Retrieved 1 February 2023.
  36. ^ Holden, Finlay (14 November 2022). "NiNe8 Collective have shared a remix of their recent single, 'Noodle Poodle', from Tommy Villiers of piri & tommy". Dork. Retrieved 6 August 2023.
  37. ^ "Five Points presents: dojo dojo ft. Tommy Villiers". Ninety One Living Room. Retrieved 9 October 2023.
  38. ^ "Tommy Villiers releas collaboration with mustbejohn, 'To The Moon' • WithGuitars". www.withguitars.com. Retrieved 6 August 2023.
Retrieved from "https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Tommy_Villiers&oldid=1241822117"