frYars

Location: London, United Kingdom

Bio: Welcome to the world of frYars. A universe of dueling strangers, deserted lakehouses, speeding cars, and a lonely mail-order bride. A place of violent encounters ... (more) with bakers, where simpletons and the treacherous mingle in a dreamland of the absurd. A place where a blissfully infectious electro-pop song can hide dark and turbulent lyrical depths under it's glistening surface.

The visionary behind this vivid, abstract world, is 19-year old Ben Garrett, a self-taught musician who is already living years beyond his peers in both talent and creative scope. frYars is Ben’s first musical endeavour. It began life when, as a 16-year-old he stumbled upon the music program Fruity Loops, began tinkering, and one day, presumably under a full moon, drew a track called ‘The Ides’ from his subconscious.

Once unleashed into the digital ether ‘The Ides’ started causing ripples of appreciation. Rallye gave him the obligatory Big In Japan moment early on and released the song as an EP over there and a second effort, the ‘Perfidy EP’, soon followed, cementing an online worldwide fanbase. When he got the call asking him to support Goldfrapp on their UK tour last Summer it was clear that word of his unique talent was spreading fast.

Of course it wasn’t long before the industry sharks came circling. “I found myself at other people’s gigs with all these labels wanting to talk to me” Ben remembers. “My manager held them off; I think it would have been bad if I’d made an album back then.” Instead, frYars eschewed the traditional label route and left them begging, opting instead to create his own, frYarcorp. One thing the disappointed labels did manage to contribute, however, was speculative cash for a series of demos that eventually formed the crux of his debut album Dark Young Hearts.

A doorway to a boundless imagination, a discofied electro-pop dancefloor dozen, a simultaneously melancholic and uplifting textbook of electronic emotion – Dark Young Hearts is many things. Featuring production from Clor's Luke Smith, The Bees' Paul Butler and legendary New Order / Pet Shop Boys / OMD producer Stephen Hague, it’s a triumphant merging of technology and the human touch.
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