Froge.mp3 (/froʊɡ/) is the debut mixtape by Piri & Tommy. It charted at No. 13 on the UK Dance Albums Chart.
| Froge.mp3 | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Mixtape by | |
| Released | 21 October 2022 |
| Recorded | 2020–2022 |
| Length | 35:46 |
| Label | Polydor |
| Producer | Tommy Villiers |
| Singles from Froge.mp3 | |
Released on 21 October 2022 and on vinyl on 22 April 2023 on Polydor Records, the album contains previous singles "Soft Spot", "Beachin", "Words", and "On & On", and eight additional tracks. The album was promoted by Froge.tour, a nine-date tour, and Froge.tv, a twelve-episode YouTube Shorts series. Critical reception was broadly positive, with Gigwise describing the album as the 45th best album of 2022, and NME rating it amongst the twenty best mixtapes and EPs of 2022.
Background and singles
Tommy Villiers began producing music in sixth form after his older brother[1] Hamish[2] began taking him to house parties, prompting Villiers to develop an interest in dance music.[1] He wanted to replicate what he was hearing, and having received a Mac,[3] he began producing drum and bass tracks and uploading them to SoundCloud.[4] One of these tracks was "Caviar Hardcore", released on 14 May 2020.[5]
Just before the second United Kingdom COVID-19 lockdown, he met Piri.[6] They met after she matched with him on Tinder and discovered Villiers' band Porij on Twitter, and then found Villiers' Instagram account[7] and asked him if she could "shoot [her] shot".[8] They began writing songs together after they realised that Piri could sing and Villiers could produce; the first song they wrote was "Sunlight",[9] and the first song they released was "It's a Match", a disco song they recorded after experimenting with numerous genres.[10]
On 4 June 2021, the pair released "Soft Spot", which went viral on TikTok and Spotify, prompting EMI to sign the pair, and re-release "Soft Spot"[11] under the name "Piri & Tommy Villiers" on 13 September 2021;[12] as Piri & Tommy, EMI also released "Beachin" on 28 January 2022 and "Words" on 22 April 2022. Polydor Records later signed them and released "On & On" on 28 July 2022.[13] The music videos for "Words"[14] and "On & On" contained frogs; when Piri met Tommy, she was in a phase of drawing frogs and toads, and they started calling each other 'froge' (/froʊɡ/)[15] as a nickname. Later, a crocheted frog hat would become part of Piri's signature look.[16]
Release and promotion
Each song (in both lyrics and vibe) captures a different point in time of our journey, and the different experiences and emotions we were going through. We really wanted to avoid guiding or limiting ourselves too much during the creative process: we made whatever we felt like, just for fun, and I can definitely feel that energy of us enjoying being creative and with no pressure when listening back. It’s so cool having a collection of tracks to document parts of our lives in that way, like a little time capsule.
—Piri[17]
Piri & Tommy announced the release of the album in September 2022, with Piri describing it as "basically a diary of the first year tommy and I have been making music, and pretty much the first year of us knowing each other at all".[17] The project was intended as a mixtape, rather than an album; in an interview with Student Music Network UK, Piri stated that when they "were making these songs, [they] weren't really thinking of an album", and "were just kind of making like songs or doing what was best for each song and making just whatever we felt like making".[15]
Froge.mp3 was released on 21 October 2022,[18] with a vinyl release on 22 April 2023.[19] They promoted the mixtape with a nine-date tour, Froge.tour, in November 2022.[18] In addition, the pair uploaded a twelve episode YouTube Shorts series, froge.tv, in which Piri and Villiers explained what the album's songs were written about.[20]
Reception
Froge.mp3 charted at No. 13 on the UK Dance Albums Chart.[21] Reviews for the album were broadly positive; The Times called it "electric",[22] while Dork gave it five stars and called it an "air-tight, comprehensive taster of their potential".[23] AllMusic likened it to PinkPantheress' To Hell with It but with "a more Ibiza-friendly sound", and noted that "[a]ny of these tracks would sound perfect at a beach rave, but the lyrics and hooks stick with you, and they stand up to repeated home listens. [...] Fresh, vibrant, and deeper than it might seem on the surface, froge.mp3 is a gem".[24] The New Yorker called it "charming",[25] NME rated it amongst the twenty best mixtapes and EPs of 2022,[26] and Gigwise described the album as the 45th best album of 2022.[27] Reviewing a Froge.tour gig, The Guardian singled out "Silver Lining" for praise, and complimented its lyrics "How did we get this far?"[28] and "running out of time, I can still see a silver lining" [sic].[note 1][28] The Soundboard Stereo described "On & On" as "pretty much the wormiest earworm going", though felt that little else was of the same standard, and that the mixtape's "very light, tactile pop / drum 'n' bass" was "not in any way equipped to convey" some of the lyrics on "Beachin", citing as an example "I got him bussin', he makin' some mayo".[30]
Track listing
| No. | Title | Subject | Length |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | "Silver Lining" | Entering a long-distance relationship[31] | 2:34 |
| 2. | "On & On" | Their experience at the end of[32] Parklife Festival[33] | 2:15 |
| 3. | "Soft Spot" | Piri's inability to control her feelings for Villiers[34] | 3:43 |
| 4. | "Settle" | Post-breakup disenchantment[35] | 2:42 |
| 5. | "Words" | Communication problems[36] | 3:10 |
| 6. | "Slowly But Surely" | Wondering when to express affection[37] | 3:06 |
| 7. | "Say It" | Being scared to say 'I love you' too early[38] | 2:58 |
| 8. | "Can We" | Struggles to find the right team[39] | 2:36 |
| 9. | "Easy" | Comfort within a relationship[40] | 3:08 |
| 10. | "Player 2" | Villiers' departure from his previous band[41] | 3:00 |
| 11. | "Beachin" | Trip to Formby beach[42] | 3:15 |
| 12. | "Sunlight" | Early dates[43] | 3:14 |
| Total length: | 35:46 | ||
| No. | Title | Length |
|---|---|---|
| 13. | "Caviar Hardcore" | 4:10 |
| Total length: | 39:56 | |
Personnel
Credits adapted from the album's liner notes.[29]
Musicians
- Piri – lead vocals
- Tommy Villiers – vocals (4, 10), mixing (all except 11), mastering (3, 11)
- Jonny Breakwell – mixing (11)
- Stuart Hawkes – mastering (all except 3 and 11)
Charts
| Chart (2022) | Peak position |
|---|---|
| UK Dance Albums (OCC)[44] | 13 |