Toy Horses

"My new favourite indie band must be Toy Horses"
- Stephen Fry on Twitter

"A delightful discovery at SXSW"
- Nic Harcourt, First Music Supervisor in Residence (MTV) and
Music & Culture Editor (LA Times Magazine)

“Really cool stuff. I genuinely love Toy Horses' music and overall style!”
- T. Rotem, Beluga Heights Records (Rihanna, Jason Derulo)

Welsh band, Toy Horses, seem destined to break into the mainstream with their inventive, exciting and instant indie gems.

Their melody-fuelled, radio-ready songs are what made them an accidental success after they posted rough, demo versions of songs on the internet last year. Tracks were picked up by Radio 1, 6 Music and gained repeated "Demo of the Week" accolades on BBC Wales as well as becoming a "Featured Band" on XFM.

Within a very short space of time they were flying out to America to record their debut album with Wilco's Ken Coomer, proclaimed US radio guru Nic Harcourt’s pick of SXSW and could count Stephen Fry among their many fans. If you take in to consideration that all of this has happened without any active self-promotion on their part, you start to see a genuine viral phenomenon.

The unconventional pairing of Adam D. Franklin and Tom Williams are, for all intents and purposes, step-son and step-father but certainly not in the traditional sense. The indie-duo blur the assumed family generation gap and jigsaw perfectly together to create an inspired musical partnership. They forged a bond through their shared passion for songwriting, which flourished as they spent time perfecting their lyrics and harmonies. Their affinity for 60s sounds is evident in their melodic, playful tunes, which hide the melancholy of Adam’s often tragic, poetic lyrics. Having written music together for their own pleasure, the two decided to put some of their songs up on the internet for friends and family to hear. When these started getting radio play out of the blue, they began to play gigs in Cardiff and quickly built up a loyal local following.

At this point Toy Horses were playing as a duo and didn’t have a backing band despite the full sound of their home demos. As multi-instrumentalists, part of their charm is Tom’s use of the rather extraordinary looking electric ukulele, as they switch between a variety of guitars and keyboards, with duelling vocals and gorgeous harmonies. Yet it is the strength of the songwriting that draws people in - usually a total collaboration between Adam and Tom. The sound recalls hints of the British bands from the 60s but updated with a stunning modern edge to become very accessible, hugely enjoyable and highly memorable. From heart-rending ballads such as ‘Last Chance’ to the indie rock of ‘No One’s Ever Gonna Leave You’, they mix quirkiness with a keen pop sensibility.

It was the strength of the songs that caused Wilco's Ken Coomer to contact them with an offer to record the album. They flew to the States and, oddly, the home of country music, to be joined in the studio by Jim Bogois (Counting Crows, Sheryl Crow) on drums and Tim Marks on bass (Grammy award winner who has played with Taylor Swift and just about every major country artist you can name), thus taking their very British sound to another level entirely.

On the fast track to breaking the States before their first single had been recorded, the band went on to play SXSW and were booked at the showcase by one of the most influential figures in American music, Nic Harcourt (credited with launching the US careers of the likes of Coldplay & Dido). They went on to be his pick of the festival and were invited to do a live session in LA on his own KCRW radio show.

Toy Horses are playing the main stage at 3 UK festivals so far this year:

Lemonfest, The Shirefest and The Festival of Hope.

www.toyhorsesmusic.com