were a British dance-punk band formed in London in 2006 by singer, songwriter and producer James Smith and synth player Alice Spooner along with guitarist Daniel "Pilau" Rice, bassist Christopher Purcell and drummer Nick Rice.

self-released a two-song limited edition vinyl, a double-a side of "That Boy That Girl" and "Tuning In".

[3] They played their debut London gig the following week at the notorious Another Music Another Kitchen night at Proud Gallery in Camden.

They recorded demos and spent their first six months playing gigs predominantly in Leeds and London.

In February 2007 the band released what is said to be an internet phenomenon,[4] described as "a savage, snarling work of genius", by NME.

[5] single double a-side "That Boy That Girl/Tuning In" through the band's own label, Surface Noise Records.

played a UK tour with support from fellow Leeds band Shut Your Eyes and You'll Burst Into Flames as well as Manchester based The Whip, The Ghost Frequency and Late of the Pier.

referred to previous single 'Leap of Faith' as an experiment and suggested the album would draw more on their dance music influences, comparing it to The Prodigy and The Chemical Brothers.

In mid-2009, the band recorded their second studio album, For the Masses, in the Netherlands with drum and bass producers Noisia.

The album was followed up by a new mix of single "Mic Check" which included a sample from Tina Moore's "Never Gonna Let You Go".

wrote an anthem, "Things Could Only Get Worse", for the UK Labour Party as part of the lead up to the 2010 General Election.

Following the radio debut of "Mecha Love", James Smith confirmed that a second single had been recorded and was ready for release.

[12] On 12 June 2012, Zane Lowe gave "Bad Signal", their new single, released 5 August 2012, its first play, on his BBC Radio 1 show.

On 27 December 2012, the band announced that their third studio album will be called 'Every Weekend' and will be released through their own label 'Surface Noise Recordings'.

The group made an appearance in 2012 on Feed Me's "Trapdoor" and James provided vocals for KillSonik's song "Slaughterhouse" this year.

'People Are Awesome 2013' was the number one most watched video on YouTube around the world, gaining 20 million views in its first week.

also featured on Loadstar's song "Boa" from the album Future Perfect and Tom Swoon & Paris Blohm's single "Synchronize".

On 25 December 2019, the remix of "Oxygen" was played in the closing scene of Canadian sitcom, Letterkenny, Season 8, Episode 1, "Miss Fire".