Updown

Last updated
"Updown"
Piri & Tommy - Updown.png
Single by Piri & Tommy Villiers
Released17 February 2023
Genre Hyperpop
Length2:45
Label Polydor
Songwriter(s)
  • Piri
  • Tommy Villiers
Producer(s)
  • Tommy Villiers
  • Piri
Piri & Tommy Villierssingles chronology
"Feel It"
(2023)		"Updown"
(2023)		"Nice 2 Me"
(2023)
Music video
"Updown" (official video) on YouTube

"Updown" (stylised in lowercase) is a hyperpop song single by Piri & Tommy Villiers. Released on 17 February 2023 on Polydor Records, the song was written about cowgirl sex and was performed during live sets prior to release. Upon release, the song received airplay from BBC Radio 1 and Capital Dance and was reviewed by reviewers from Impact, Dancing Bears, and Clash. A music video was released on 2 March.

Contents

Background

In 2020, just before the second United Kingdom COVID-19 lockdown, [1] Piri matched on Tinder with Tommy Villiers. [2] A couple of weeks later, one of the band's photographers retweeted one of their photo shoots, prompting her to find his Instagram account and ask him out. [3] : 38:07  They released the mixtape Froge.mp3 in October 2022, which they promoted the following month with Froge.tour. [4] A week after that, they split up and did not talk to each other for several months, reuniting as friends in April 2023. [5] : 44:25 

Recording and release

The band recorded "Updown" in early 2022. [6] A hyperpop song, [7] Piri wrote the song about having cowgirl sex with Villiers [8] and made part of the song's chorus, "I take it updown updown updown updown", after accidentally copying and pasting her vocals. [9] Villiers added a drop to the track during preparation for Piri & Tommy live sets. [10] The band released the song on 17 February 2023, [11] upon which BBC Radio 1 announced it as that day's "Hottest Record" [12] and Capital Dance added it to its playlist. [13] On 2 March 2023, [14] the band released a video directed by Ayla Spaans. [15]

Reception

Izzy Morris reviewed the song twice. Reviewing a Froge.tour concert for LeftLion , she complimented Piri's "exploration of her 'hyperpop era'". [16] However, when she reviewed the single for Impact, she opined that while the track was "perfectly built for a dancefloor", she found Piri's comparison to other women misogynistic and gave the song 2.5 stars out of 5. [17] Simon Meyer-Horn of Dancing Bears felt that the song's drop was the best bit of the song, though felt that it was "just a little too light to really get us excited" and opined that Piri's "monotonous vocals" contributed little to the track's "very bland" instrumental. [18] A more positive review, however, came from Robin Murray of Clash, who described it as "a dose of rave-fuelled female empowerment" and complimented Piri's "biting vocal" and the track's "daring production elements". [7]

Personnel

Release history

Release history for "Updown"
RegionDateVersionLabelRef.
Various17 February 2023 Polydor [20]

Related Research Articles

"Unlock It" is a 2017 song by Charli XCX featuring Kim Petras and Jay Park from XCX's mixtape Pop 2. Released as the second teaser from that mixtape either side of "Out of My Head" featuring Tove Lo and Alma and "I Got It" featuring Cupcakke, Brooke Candy, and Pabllo Vittar, the track samples A. G. Cook's "Beautiful" and was premiered on Zane Lowe's Beats 1 show the day of release. Reviewers praised the song, especially its lyrics. A mashup of the song with Tinashe's "Superlove" went viral on TikTok in 2021, shortly after which XCX renamed the track "Unlock It (Lock It)" to fan discontent. In 2022, Piri & Tommy released a cover that Vice rated as the 14th best song of 2022.

Hyperpop is a loosely defined electronic music movement and microgenre that predominantly originated in the United Kingdom during the early 2010s. It is characterised by a maximalist or exaggerated take on popular music, and typically integrates pop and avant-garde sensibilities while drawing on elements commonly found in electronic, hip hop, and dance music.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Glaive (musician)</span> American musician (born 2005)

Ash Blue Gutierrez, known professionally as Glaive, is an American singer-songwriter. After posting a string of hyperpop songs to SoundCloud during the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic that earned him a following, he signed a record deal with Interscope Records and released his debut extended play, Cypress Grove, in 2020. His debut album, I Care So Much That I Don't Care at All, was released in 2023. His second album, May It Never Falter, was released in 2024.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Piri & Tommy</span> English musical duo

Piri & Tommy are an English drum and bass duo, formed in 2021. The group are formed of Sophie "Piri" McBurnie and Tommy Villiers. The pair charted at number 99 on the UK Singles Chart with their single "On & On". They released their debut mixtape froge.mp3 in October 2022.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Piri</span> English singer (born 1999)

Sophie Leigh McBurnie, known professionally as Piri, is an English musician. Born in Rochdale in Greater Manchester, she is half of the band Piri & Tommy and an original member of the female and genderqueer collective Loud LDN.

<i>I Care So Much That I Dont Care at All</i> 2023 studio album by Glaive

I Care So Much That I Don't Care at All is the debut studio album by the American musician Glaive. It was released on July 14, 2023 via Interscope Records.

"On & On" is a liquid drum and bass song by Piri & Tommy, from their mixtape Froge.mp3. Released on 28 July 2022 on Polydor Records, the track was written after the pair attended that year's Parklife Festival. The song premiered as BBC Radio 1's "Hottest Record"song charted at No. 99 on the UK Singles Chart and received positive reception, with Time Out, The Forty Five, NME, Dancing Bears, and Billboard rating it on their year-end best of lists. A music video was released on 12 October 2022 to promote Froge.mp3.

"Soft Spot" is a liquid drum and bass song, first released independently on 4 June 2021, where it was credited to Piri. After she paid six TikTok creators to promote the song, the song was used in a video of a creator making a Japanese bench, which caused the song to go viral on that platform. Around this time, the track went viral on Spotify after featuring on the platform's "Fresh Finds" playlist. For this, EMI signed her and her producer Tommy Villiers and re-released the track under the name Piri & Tommy Villiers. The song appeared on the pair's 2022 mixtape Froge.mp3.

"Beachin" is a jungle track by Piri & Tommy. Originally intended for late October 2021, the track was eventually released on 28 January 2022 through EMI as their second single from Froge.mp3. The track describes a trip the pair had taken to Formby beach and ends with a spoken word section discussing the creation of sand sculptures. The track received positive reception from Matthew Perpetua and from reviewers from Clash and The Sunday Times. Skream later released an abstract remix of the song.

<i>Froge.mp3</i> 2022 mixtape by Piri & Tommy

Froge.mp3 is the debut mixtape by Piri & Tommy. Released on 21 October 2022 and on vinyl on 22 April 2023 on Polydor Records, the mixtape contains "Sunlight", previous singles "Soft Spot", "Beachin", "Words", and "On & On", focus track "Say It", and six additional tracks. The album was promoted by both 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, NME rating it amongst the twenty best mixtapes and EPs of 2022, and Ellie Dixon rating it as her favourite album of the year. Additionally, the mixtape charted at No. 13 on the UK Dance Albums Chart.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Nice 2 Me</span> 2023 single by Piri & Tommy Villiers

"Nice 2 Me", sometimes referred to as "Nice to Me", is a 2023 single by Piri and Tommy Villiers. Released 24 May 2023 on Polydor Records, the song is about wanting to be treated nicely in a relationship and received positive critical reception. It featured on Spotify's "Planet Rave" playlist and on the soundtrack for EA Sports FC 24.

Parthenope Ann Wald-Harding, usually credited as Parthenope, is an English musician and singer. She is best known for her cover of Norah Jones's "Don't Know Why", and is a member of Loud LDN.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Froge.tour</span> 2022 concert tour by Piri & Tommy

Froge.tour is a nine-date tour by the English band Piri & Tommy. Released to promote their mixtape Froge.mp3, the tour began on 2 November 2022 at Belgrave Music Hall and ended on 19 November 2022 at The Warehouse Project. Sets included most of Froge.mp3, several future singles, and cover versions of Chic's "Everybody Dance" and Crystal Waters's "Gypsy Woman". Their Brighton gig was opened by Coupdekat, while their London gig was opened by Maisi and contained pole dancing and Parthenope. These three gigs were between them reviewed by Alexis Petridis and reviewers from LeftLion, Brighton & Hove News, and Gigwise, who gave what they saw a mixed reception.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Feel It (MJ Cole song)</span> 2023 single by MJ Cole featuring Piri & Tommy Villiers

"Feel It" is a 2023 single by MJ Cole featuring Piri & Tommy Villiers. Released on 20 January 2023 on 892 Recordings, the song was Piri & Tommy's first since splitting up and contained a guitar solo from Villiers. The song received positive reception, with many reviewers highlighting Piri's vocals for praise, and the track received airplay by BBC Radio 1 and Capital Dance.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Maisi</span> Musical artist

Maisie Harriet Brand Bourke, known professionally as Maisi, is a British musician and social media personality from south-east London. The daughter of Jo Brand, she co-founded Loud LDN, a collective of women and non-binary musicians, and has released several singles and supported Piri & Tommy on their Froge.tour. She has also gone viral on TikTok for her attempts at addressing her boyfriend's restrictive eating.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Tommy Villiers</span> Musical artist

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. While at the Royal Northern College of Music, he joined See Thru Hands and cofounded Porij, with whom he released one and two EPs respectively. In mid-2020, he formed Piri & Tommy with Piri, with whom he released the mixtape Froge.mp3, which they promoted with Froge.tour, and several singles including "Soft Spot", "Beachin", "On & On", "Feel It", "Updown", and "Nice 2 Me". 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".

Katherine Reilly, known professionally as Coupdekat, is an English musician. She is best known for cofounding Loud LDN with Maisi, but has also released two EPs and has supported Piri & Tommy on their Froge.tour.

Lucy Tun is an English musician. Born in North West London, she released her first long-play, Good Nights Bad Stories, as LCYTN in 2018, after which she took a break from making music. After being recognised on a family trip to Myanmar, she released the beat tape Bad Weather, Vol. 1 in 2019 and the three-track EP Every Thursday Night / Spotlight in 2020, both under the name LCYTN. She began releasing music under her own name in 2021, reserving LCYTN for DJ sets, and released the EP Unreal in 2023. She joined Loud LDN in 2022 and is also a member of ESEA Music, with whom she released a single in 2023.

Charlie Helen Deakin Davies is a British musician from Walkern. They have released two EPs; Green under the name DIDI and Dog Bowl under the name Charlieeeee. They have also co-written the Gary Barlow song "Let's Get Drunk" and the Ellie Dixon song "Swing", the Kate Dimbleby album Songbirds and the compilation album The F Spot Femme Fatales, directed the Piri & Tommy tour Froge.tour, and supported China Crisis. They joined Loud LDN in August 2024.

Porij are an English four-piece band formed in Manchester in 2019 after meeting at the Royal Northern College of Music. At the time, the band consisted of Tommy Villiers, Tom Donaldson, James Middleton, and Scout Moore. Villiers and Donaldson later left and were replaced by guitarist Jacob Maguire and drummer Nathan Carroll. They have released the EPs Breakfast, Baby Face, and Outlines, before supporting Coldplay for four Manchester gigs of their Music of the Spheres World Tour in mid-2023. They released their debut album, Teething, in April 2024, which was received positively by DIY, The Line of Best Fit, NME, Dork, and Clash, but not The Guardian.

References

  1. ↑ J, Trixie (4 April 2023). "Piri and Tommy Rose from Viral Rookies to UK Dance's Next Big Ace". Nexus Radio. Archived from the original on 22 July 2023. Retrieved 22 July 2023.
  2. ↑ Helm, Jake. "Piri and Tommy: meet the rising stars of pop". The Times . Archived from the original on 8 November 2022.
  3. ↑ "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.
  4. ↑ "piri & tommy have announced their debut project, 'froge.mp3'". Dork . 21 September 2022. Archived from the original on 4 March 2023. Retrieved 4 March 2023.
  5. ↑ "Piri – Going Viral, Sustaining A Career in Music and Making OnlyFans Content". Utopia Talks. 20 September 2023. Archived from the original on 16 October 2023. Retrieved 11 October 2023.
  6. ↑ "Radio 1's Dance Party with Danny Howard". BBC Sounds . Archived from the original on 17 February 2023. Retrieved 17 February 2023.
  7. 1 2 "piri & Tommy Share Ecstatic New Blaster 'updown'". Clash Music. 20 February 2023. Retrieved 20 February 2023.
  8. ↑ "Pole Dancing to 170BPM: piri is Reimagining the Rave". Gauchoworld (4): 67.
  9. ↑ Taylor, Tinea (5 April 2023). "Tinea". Kiss . Retrieved 5 April 2023.[ dead link ]
  10. ↑ "Capital Dance on X: ". @piri_io_ on THAT drop 🐸 @VilliersTommy"". X. Retrieved 7 October 2024.
  11. ↑ "piri & Tommy Villiers premiere new single 'updown' • WithGuitars". www.withguitars.com. Retrieved 2023-09-03.
  12. ↑ "BBC Radio 1 - Radio 1's Dance Party with Danny Howard, Ella Toone House Party Playlist". BBC. Retrieved 2023-07-18.
  13. ↑ "Capital Dance on X: "🆕 playlist's looking bangin' with new music from @Borai_Music @buntmusic_ @CamdenCoxMusic @EmpireOfTheSun @Ritontime @Blessed_Madonna @piri_io_ @VilliersTommy @morgancoledj @DenhamAudio plus our JAM HOT 'What You Say' by Young Marco 🫶"". X. Retrieved 7 October 2024.
  14. ↑ Taylor, Sam (2023-03-02). "piri & Tommy Villiers have shared a new video for their latest track, 'updown'". Dork. Retrieved 2024-10-22.
  15. ↑ "piri & Tommy Villiers unveil video for latest single 'updown' • WithGuitars". www.withguitars.com. Retrieved 2024-10-22.
  16. ↑ "Gig Review: piri & tommy at The Bodega". LeftLion. Archived from the original on 5 February 2023. Retrieved 5 February 2023.
  17. ↑ "New Releases Roundup: Singles". Impact Nottingham. 22 February 2023. Retrieved 23 February 2023.
  18. ↑ Meyer-Horn, Simon (2023-02-17). "Nieuwe single piri & tommy - "updown"". Dansende Beren (in Dutch). Retrieved 2024-10-22.
  19. 1 2 3 "Updown – Credits". Tidal . Retrieved 11 June 2023.
  20. ↑ "piri Singles and EPs discography". Spotify . Archived from the original on 4 February 2023. Retrieved 4 February 2023.
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.