Tommy Villiers
Villiers (left) with Piri on stage at Radio 1 Big Weekend
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. While best known for his work with Piri and as part of Piri & Tommy, he is also noted for his membership of Porij and See Thru Hands, and as a solo musician and remixer in his own right.

Life and career

Early life

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

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 took its name from a misspelling of the breakfast cereal porridge, and released the Breakfast EP in 2020 on their own label, Oat Gang,[11] so called because DistroKid wanted a label name.[12] They released a second EP, Baby Face, in 2021,[13] and a third EP, Outlines, in 2022, by which time Villiers had left to concentrate on Piri & Tommy,[14] a band he set up with Piri, who he met in 2020 just before the second United Kingdom COVID-19 lockdown[15] after matching with her 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[16] and ask him out.[17] 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[18] in Manchester.[19]

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.[20] The first song they released was "It's a Match", a disco song, made after both experimented with numerous genres,[21] and their second song, June 2021's "Soft Spot", went viral on Spotify and TikTok,[22] prompting EMI to sign them, re-release "Soft Spot",[18] and release the singles "Beachin" in January 2022[23] and "Words" in April 2022.[24]

They then signed to Polydor Records,[25] who released "On & On" in July 2022,[26] and then the mixtape Froge.mp3 in October 2022, which took its name from a nickname they used to give each other,[20] featured "Sunlight", "Soft Spot", "Beachin", "Words", and "On & On",[27] and which they promoted with Froge.tour.[27] 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;[28] later that month, they featured on MJ Cole's "Feel It", to which Villiers contributed a guitar solo.[29] The following month, he played as part of Ninety One Living Room's house band Dojo Dojo,[30] and later that month Piri and Villiers released "Updown".[31] In May 2023, the pair released "Nice 2 Me",[32] and in July 2023, the pair released "Lovergirl" as independent artists.[33]

Other works

In April 2022,[34] Villiers played the anti-hero,[35] Scotty,[34] in the music video for Wet Leg's "Ur Mum", directed by Lava La Rue;[35] in an interview in June 2023, he stated that he got the job after supporting Nine8 Collective,[36]: 6:02  a group composed of Lava La Rue, Mac Wetha, Bone Slim, Biig Piig, Nayana Iz, Nige and LorenzoRSV,[37] and after being interviewed for the role in the venue's green room by La Rue.[36]: 6:02  He then released a remix of LF System's "Afraid to Feel",[38] before signing a solo publishing deal in September 2022 with Tim & Danny Music.[39] In November 2022, he released a remix of "Noodle Poodle" by Nine8 Collective,[40] before releasing a club track, "Not Puzzled", which featured Ceòl-Min. In July 2023, 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.[41]

References

  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. 1 2 3 4 "Piri & Tommy Villiers - 1883 Magazine". 30 September 2021. Retrieved 4 August 2023.
  4. 1 2 "Saffron Walden Blues & Rock Weekender preview: Introducing...Room C". Saffron Walden Reporter. 5 September 2014. Retrieved 7 August 2023.
  5. 1 2 3 4 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. ↑ "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. ↑ Hutchinson, Kate (28 November 2020). "One to watch: Porij". The Guardian. ISSN 0261-3077. Retrieved 7 August 2023.
  12. ↑ "Porij: "Make big, dirty tunes, have a blast, and hopefully you'll be alright"". DIY. 17 August 2021. Retrieved 7 August 2023.
  13. ↑ "Baby Face is another step forward for Manchester's Porij". The Line of Best Fit. Retrieved 7 August 2023.
  14. ↑ Williams, Sophie (12 September 2022). "Porij: dynamic Manchester gang with festival season's most fun live show". NME. Retrieved 5 August 2023.
  15. ↑ 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.
  16. ↑ MistaJam. 8 June 2022. Capital Dance.
  17. ↑ "Radio 1's Dance Party with Danny Howard, MK & Paul Woolford Hottest Record". BBC Radio 1. Retrieved 28 May 2023.
  18. 1 2 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.
  19. ↑ "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.
  20. 1 2 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.
  21. ↑ "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.
  22. ↑ 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.
  23. ↑ 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.
  24. ↑ 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.
  25. ↑ 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.
  26. ↑ "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.
  27. 1 2 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.
  28. ↑ Murray, Robin (11 January 2023). "piri & Tommy Reveal "Amicable" Break-Up". Clash. Archived from the original on 15 January 2023. Retrieved 15 January 2023.
  29. ↑ McCarthy, Neive (20 January 2023). "MJ Cole has joined forces with piri & tommy for new track, 'Feel It'". Dork. Retrieved 11 July 2023.
  30. ↑ "Five Points presents: dojo dojo ft. Tommy Villiers". Ninety One Living Room. Retrieved 9 October 2023.
  31. ↑ "piri & Tommy Share Ecstatic New Blaster 'updown'". Clash Music. 20 February 2023. Retrieved 20 February 2023.
  32. ↑ O'Connor, Siobhain (24 May 2023). "piri & Tommy Villiers have dropped their new "summer banger", 'nice 2 me'". Dork. Retrieved 7 August 2023.
  33. ↑ "BBC Radio 1 - Radio 1's Future Sounds, with Jack Saunders: Chase & Status and Bou Hottest Record". BBC. Retrieved 28 July 2023.
  34. 1 2 Promonews. "Wet Leg 'Ur Mum' by Lava La Rue | Videos". Promonewstv. Retrieved 6 August 2023.
  35. 1 2 "Awards, Harry Styles, and 'hand dick': the songs that scored Wet Leg's wild year". Double J. 3 March 2023. Retrieved 6 August 2023.
  36. 1 2 Tommy Villiers Interview @ Art Club, retrieved 9 October 2023
  37. ↑ "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.
  38. ↑ "How LF System's Ecstatic "Afraid To Feel" Became The UK's Biggest Hit Of 2022". Stereogum. 7 September 2022. Retrieved 6 August 2023.
  39. ↑ 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.
  40. ↑ 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.
  41. ↑ "Tommy Villiers releas collaboration with mustbejohn, 'To The Moon' • WithGuitars". www.withguitars.com. Retrieved 6 August 2023.
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