Biography
Future Islands craft a signature style of polished, guitar-free synth pop anchored by the expressive range of frontman Samuel T. Herring, whose vocals shift between howls, yelps, and croons. The Baltimore quartet refined their approach across several early releases before achieving wider recognition with the near-flawless 2014 album Singles and a memorable television performance on Late Night with David Letterman. That vocal boldness and the ensemble’s expansive melodies reached a further peak on the polished 2017 release The Far Field and the reflective 2020 set As Long as You Are. Their seventh studio album, People Who Aren’t There Anymore, which blends upbeat tracks with slower material, appeared in 2024.
The group first assembled in 2003 while studying art at East Carolina University, initially operating as Art Lord & the Self-Portraits with Herring, keyboardists Adam Beeby and Gerrit Welmers, bassist William Cashion, and percussionist Kymia Nawabi. Following the project’s dissolution in 2006, Herring, Cashion, and Welmers adopted the Future Islands name and recruited bassist Erick Murillo on an electronic drum kit. They issued several limited-run CD-Rs, splits, and cassettes before recording their debut with producer Chester Endersby Gwazda; after the sessions, the core trio minus Murillo moved to Baltimore, and Wave Like Home emerged on Upset the Rhythm in 2008.
Steady touring helped cultivate an audience as the band continued sharpening its approach. A move to Thrill Jockey yielded the 2010 In the Fall EP and In Evening Air album. After tensions surrounding 2011’s On the Water, the group parted ways with the label and stepped back from the spotlight. Herring pursued his Hemlock Ernst hip-hop alias while the others quietly prepared new material. A 2012 single returned to Upset the Rhythm, and in 2013 they joined 4AD. Their label debut, Singles, arrived the following year as a streamlined, highly approachable synth-pop record helmed by producer Chris Coady. The band drew considerable attention when their rendition of album standout “Seasons (Waiting on You)” on Late Night with David Letterman left host David Letterman visibly impressed. Extensive touring followed, including a 2015 appearance at Glastonbury, alongside the double-sided single “The Chase”/“Haunted by You.”
During the gap before the next album, Herring remained active, contributing vocals to tracks by Clams Casino, Du Blonde, and BadBadNotGood, forming the hip-hop duo Trouble Knows Me with Madlib, and releasing material under the Hemlock Ernst moniker. The band still found time to record their sixth album with producer John Congleton, incorporating extra studio gloss and enlisting Blondie’s Debbie Harry for a guest spot. The Far Field surfaced on 4AD in early 2017.
Drummer Mike Lowry became an official member ahead of the subsequent sessions. For the first time the quartet co-produced, teaming with engineer Steve Wright at his Baltimore facility, Wrightway Studios, to shape a moodier, more subdued collection centered on expansive synth ballads. As Long as You Are was released in October 2020; on the same day the band played their 1,235th show as a livestream, their sole concert that year. A sequence of remix EPs followed in 2021, along with a cover of Colourbox’s “The Moon Is Blue” and the buoyant single “Peach.” The introspective “King of Sweden” and a direct version of Wham!’s “Last Christmas” surfaced in 2022, succeeded by the luminous ballad “Deep in the Night” in 2023. All original singles issued since 2021 were collected on People Who Aren’t There Anymore, the seventh album co-produced by the band and Wright, which appeared in 2024.
The group first assembled in 2003 while studying art at East Carolina University, initially operating as Art Lord & the Self-Portraits with Herring, keyboardists Adam Beeby and Gerrit Welmers, bassist William Cashion, and percussionist Kymia Nawabi. Following the project’s dissolution in 2006, Herring, Cashion, and Welmers adopted the Future Islands name and recruited bassist Erick Murillo on an electronic drum kit. They issued several limited-run CD-Rs, splits, and cassettes before recording their debut with producer Chester Endersby Gwazda; after the sessions, the core trio minus Murillo moved to Baltimore, and Wave Like Home emerged on Upset the Rhythm in 2008.
Steady touring helped cultivate an audience as the band continued sharpening its approach. A move to Thrill Jockey yielded the 2010 In the Fall EP and In Evening Air album. After tensions surrounding 2011’s On the Water, the group parted ways with the label and stepped back from the spotlight. Herring pursued his Hemlock Ernst hip-hop alias while the others quietly prepared new material. A 2012 single returned to Upset the Rhythm, and in 2013 they joined 4AD. Their label debut, Singles, arrived the following year as a streamlined, highly approachable synth-pop record helmed by producer Chris Coady. The band drew considerable attention when their rendition of album standout “Seasons (Waiting on You)” on Late Night with David Letterman left host David Letterman visibly impressed. Extensive touring followed, including a 2015 appearance at Glastonbury, alongside the double-sided single “The Chase”/“Haunted by You.”
During the gap before the next album, Herring remained active, contributing vocals to tracks by Clams Casino, Du Blonde, and BadBadNotGood, forming the hip-hop duo Trouble Knows Me with Madlib, and releasing material under the Hemlock Ernst moniker. The band still found time to record their sixth album with producer John Congleton, incorporating extra studio gloss and enlisting Blondie’s Debbie Harry for a guest spot. The Far Field surfaced on 4AD in early 2017.
Drummer Mike Lowry became an official member ahead of the subsequent sessions. For the first time the quartet co-produced, teaming with engineer Steve Wright at his Baltimore facility, Wrightway Studios, to shape a moodier, more subdued collection centered on expansive synth ballads. As Long as You Are was released in October 2020; on the same day the band played their 1,235th show as a livestream, their sole concert that year. A sequence of remix EPs followed in 2021, along with a cover of Colourbox’s “The Moon Is Blue” and the buoyant single “Peach.” The introspective “King of Sweden” and a direct version of Wham!’s “Last Christmas” surfaced in 2022, succeeded by the luminous ballad “Deep in the Night” in 2023. All original singles issued since 2021 were collected on People Who Aren’t There Anymore, the seventh album co-produced by the band and Wright, which appeared in 2024.
Albums
From a Hole in the Floor to a Fountain of Youth
2026
People Who Aren’t There Anymore
2024
ALAYA Remixes EP 3
2021
ALAYA Remixes EP 2
2021
ALAYA Remixes EP 1
2021
As Long As You Are
2020
The Far Field
2017
Singles
2014
Singles
