More about: Piri + TommyPiriTommy Villiers

Piri and Tommy Villiers, both 23, herald themselves as part of the new ‘pop DnB’ wave. The movement includes the haunting, sombre works of PinkPantheress, and the liquid-inflected tunes of Venbee. With their debut project, froge.mp3, Piri and Tommy offer a running commentary on their relationship and marry it with cool, breezy DnB breaks for a fun, if inoffensive, live show. 

Tonight, Piri and Tommy are playing at London’s Scala, where everyone from Tommy’s parents to Jo Brand has come to see the pair. Both are dressed exactly how you’d expect a Gen Z raver couple to dress: Piri’s come out on an orange halter top, short pink skirt, and chunky black trainers. Meanwhile, Tommy’s in a white shirt, white cargo pants, and appropriately frog-green sunglasses. Their audience, equally young and wavy, are dressed similarly. 

If it’s not in a warehouse or a basement, what does a pop DnB show look like? Piri and Tommy’s response is more evocative of your mate’s cozy living room. Scala’s stage is replete with potted plants, a small Persian rug, and giant mushrooms. There’s even a stripper pole in the corner for Piri. It’s almost a bit too on the nose – aesthetically, it’s everything happening on TikTok with a hint of spice to set them apart.  

Piri and Tommy do the best when small parts of their personality shine beneath the Gen Z branding. Piri’s pole dancing, for instance, is pretty decent, and elicits a wild cheer from the crowd – it’s a nice alternative from a typical dance choreo. Tommy, meanwhile, does some mean bass playing on their cover of Chic’s ‘Everybody Dance’. 

The pair also manage to blend their two disparate influences pretty well together. They have a live drummer to affect a pop stage setup, and the live drumming helps add life to the music. Piri is adorably dramatic when singing ‘words’: “I know you’re not the best with words but/You need to think before you speak”. They bop around on stage to the beats, which do go legimitately hard. Everything is organic and natural, like a couple that just happened to make it big and is now relishing in the glory. 

However, there’s still kinks to work out. As Piri is the main vocalist for the songs, Tommy is occasionally left bopping alongside her with no definitive role, or gazing into Sophie’s eyes. The stage banter is minimal, which doesn’t help the lack of personality beyond the superficial stylings. 

Still, there’s no denying the amount of love the crowd has for the duo. ‘on and on’ is a particular highlight, where Piri has to right a night gone wrong: “big night, lost my weed, but the beat goes on and on…”. Closing track ‘soft spot’ ends with a genuinely incredible breakbeat that I wish went on for way longer than it did. Though there’s some stage skills to be brushed up on, Piri and Tommy’s show forges an exciting path for the future of pop DnB. 

See the view from the pit, captured by Owen Williams:

Grab your copy of the Gigwise print magazine here.

More about: Piri + TommyPiriTommy Villiers