FooR

British EDM quartet FooR came together in Southampton on England’s south coast during 2015, when childhood friends Gavin Foord, Paul Aki, MC Jukie and Tyrone decided to pool their skills as DJs and producers. Their early tastes had been shaped by U.K. two-step garage, especially the local example set by Artful Dodger, and while still teenagers they began producing tracks—initially in the separate pairings Ape Like and Maximus Baxter. Each duo issued singles that made little commercial headway until the four artists merged their efforts. They crafted a retro-leaning style that fused Italo house, breakbeat hardcore and U.K. garage with present-day bass music and grime, beginning with unofficial remixes before issuing a stream of original digital singles and EPs. Online momentum helped them establish a regular club event that took them around southern England and, eventually, to stages across Europe. Further exposure arrived through official remixes for grime figures Skepta, Wiley and Stormzy, after which their profile earned them the chance to compile one volume of the Pure Garage series. When their debut album was announced it climbed into the U.K.’s Top Three pre-order rankings despite the absence of any label or management support. Titled Friends of FooR and boasting numerous guest vocalists, the record debuted at number nine on the official U.K. dance albums chart in February 2018.