PIRI & TOMMY - JULY 2024

( Digital Covers ) - Wednesday 31st July 2024

Words by Isaac Solanki. Photography by Amy Lindsay (Creative Opportunities). Styling by Elis Haddock (Creative Opportunities) using pieces from Fridge. BTS by Jack Wales (Creative Opportunities). Location: Frameless Immersive Art Experience. Thanks to Thori Ingles (Listen Generously).

piri & tommy, submerged within the endless creative borders of the Frameless Immersive Art Experience in London. A one-off energy infused infectious duo of fun formed by chance through a Tinder date turned sub-genre sculpting partnership.

The captivating dance duo are currently carving their own unique sound in the modern-day music industry and firmly cementing their status as a viral hit that’s here to stay. Having personally been a fan of the two-piece band for some time now, I was excited to sit down with them and talk all things piri & tommy… and even more excited to offer Amy Lindsay, Elis Haddock and Jack Wales from our Creative Opportunities groupchat the chance to be a part of our biggest photoshoot team to date.

There’s a contagious sense of joy that seems to follow piri & tommy around wherever they go and having the freedom to shoot our July digital cover in Frameless Immersive Art Experience’s Beyond Reality gallery certainly allowed us all to bring full piri & tommy energy to the forefront of Slanky® Magazine for the exclusive feature.

I first saw piri & tommy play live back in July 2022 when they supported Thomas Headon at Spotify’s Greasy Tunes cafe, more 6 months on from when I first heard their debut hit “soft spot” via an Instagram ad. Having seen just how quickly some of their unreleased music was connecting with both their own and Thomas Headon’s fans back then, I was keen to hear why the future icons themselves thought that their sound connected and continues to connect so well with the younger generation of today.

“First of all, I feel like people just love happy music and that’s what we make; it’s what we’ve always made” says piri after almost stumbling over the fact that an Instagram ad might have actually worked. “Happy music resonates with people; it’s fun, it’s easy to listen to, especially when you hear it live and people love listening to something that makes them feel good.”

“I’m always thinking about the listener and where the song might initially be heard by someone” adds Tommy, “my first intention is to make it feel good and easy to get on board with.” Despite their differences in musical upbringing, it’s instantly clear to see just how well the natural synergy, friendship and understanding between the two of them has helped allow free flowing creativity. “We were always trying new things and our love for dance music unexpectedly went viral. Tonnes of new and exciting opportunities flooded our way quickly and despite us both facing countless challenges along the way, we’ve always remained resilient and committed; it’s brought us to where we are today, on the verge of releasing some of our best work yet.”

Lyrically, nothings ever too drowned in metaphors either but some parts of piri & tommy’s unique genre-defying sound can naturally sound poetic at times. “I just write about real stuff in a real way, often expressed in simplistic sentences, much like how you’d perhaps text a friend” explains piri, “we touch upon a lot of universal experiences within our music and we do it in a way that’s simple to understand and as a result, easy to relate to.”

Following the viral success of “soft spot” came “beachin” and “words” before “on & on,” the lead single from their debut mixtape “froge.mp3” went on to become one of the most recognisable sounds of the 2022 UK summer. “We actually had a nightmare of a time trying to make the follow up track; “soft spot” was made entirely for fun” emphasises piri, “we genuinely had no idea where it’d take us. I just thought Tommy was cool and I said to him that it could be fun if we made a track together.”

“The contrast between making “soft spot” for the fun of it and then the endless overthinking of every minute detail of “beachin” was crazy” adds Tommy, “suddenly there was all of this pressure and all these ears waiting to hear another “soft spot;” we both had this imposter syndrome hanging over us.”

Putting a track out to the world for fun is one thing but releasing a follow up track to a waiting audience is another. “I didn’t even do GCSE music, let alone think that I could one day become an artist” explains piri “I was studying chemistry while living in a house full of Tommy’s bandmates and I really didn’t believe in myself at the time. We then got signed to a label and that’s when everything began to feel real… the pressure too.”

“The process of making “beachin” was by far the longest that I’ve ever taken to mix a track” says Tommy, “I knew that I was good with a guitar and all but in terms of producing, I really didn’t consider myself at the level of where I thought I needed to be to be bringing in millions of streams like we were, it was really tough. Even after we released the track, I kept going back and re-mixing it, night after night, out of pure mental anguish I think, I just couldn’t let go.”

“It’s not just you”piri adds, now directing her sentences towards the other young musicians of the world, “it’s a real hard step going from something being a viral success to putting out music for an intended audience. I think we were just lucky that we had so much music sat there ready, all of the stuff that we’d made for fun during lockdown just needed finishing off. It was by no means easy, there was a lot of strenuous overthinking again but it was all more than worth it in the end.”

“We always had a good feeling about “on & on”” says piri, “it just felt right. The way that the lyrics mixed in with the beat was just so satisfying and it felt like people already knew it before it came out. It’s such a relatable catchy track; it’s actually done better in the US than the UK which is surprising but it’s really rewarding to see that different cultures are able to relate to our experiences so easily.”

Based on a joint Parklife Festival experience, piri & tommy wrote the hit track about British festival culture together, once again showing off their impressive versatility and ability to be free flowing within creativity and continuously connect with the ever-expanding creative youth of today.

Towards the end of last year, both piri and Tommy began stepping up their solo careers – Tommy popping up as a headline DJ at events such as our recent Slanky® x Fridge Summer Party and piri hopping on new dance tracks as a feature with the likes of Higgo, Charlieeeee and Salute. It’s beautiful to see the piri & tommy world naturally expanding as a result of the collaborative nature within the drum and bass scene. Being able to connect, create and network with friends is such a rewarding thing to be able to do within the industry.

“Everybody that we’ve worked with are just friends of ours and each others. Tommy’s recently released with the likes of KiLLOWEN and Mustbejohn, I’ve teamed up with the ones you mentioned above and I just think that it’s really nice that piri & tommy has become more than just piri & tommy if that makes sense? It’ almost like 3 overlapping individual little worlds and we’re both connecting with so many more people because of it.” piri continues to highlight the importance of creative experimentation as individuals, “it's always good as a team to have your own independence as well.”

“We never sat down at any point and said let’s go separate ways in music. I think it’s just really beneficial to us both as a unit that we can go off and have periods as a team and as individuals” adds Tommy, “it’s all very free flowing and I think that it’s when some of our best ideas come about. I’ve always wanted to DJ in clubs and headline my own shows and I’m really pleased that our joint successes have allowed us both to fulfil other dreams and goals too.”

Coming back to working together and more specifically, the music making process, it’s incredible to see just how naturally fun and enjoyable everything the duo do is. “I’ll typically work on beats alone before sending my favourites to piri who’ll then play around with different lyrics and vocals” explains Tommy, “I get inspired easily and regularly make music freely at home, sometimes even starting with just 8 bars; producing is a continuous process that I really enjoy. Once we’ve both found something cool, we’ll always come together and finish it.”

“I actually find it quite fulfilling working independently, especially with a background in science” says piri, “when I write songs, it feels like I’m solving a problem. Collaborating with others is always a new challenge for me as an individual but our teamwork as piri & tommy is definitely effective because like Tommy said, it’s all so experimental and as a result, always fun.”

It's been almost two years since piri & tommy last released a full project together and they’ve now got a mass of new music stacked up ready to go. “We believe it’s our best work yet” teases piri, “we’re fully focused on bringing together all aspects of our artistry as we move forwards. We really want our videos, social media and press material to all to present our brand in an iconic and memorable way.”

Dwelling on how to imitate viral hits can certainly be overwhelming and it’s always easier when you begin and remain authentic to yourselves just like piri & tommy have done, “I really think that our new stuff showcases this” finishes Tommy.