Samantha Urbani From Friends Discusses Her Innovative Genre 'Exp. Pop'

American band Friends have recently released their self-produced debut album 'Manifest!' on Lucky Number records. Frontwoman Samantha Urbani reveals to Contactmusic.com her band's innovative new genre 'Exp. Pop' short for 'Exploration Pop' at London's FIELD DAY Festival.

The vocalist from the Brooklyn five-piece was unashamed to call the band's music Pop despite its negative associations. 'Pop gets a really bad rep these days,' she muses. 'Not because the songs are bad but because its cultural context is bad.'

After playing at the Primavera Sound Festival two days previous, Friends have also noticeably fit into the alternative scene. Samantha thinks their sound is alternative for different reasons. 'By not playing alternative music, it's the alternative to alternative music'. She goes on to dub the band as 'Exp. Pop' or 'Exploration Pop' because she reflects that none of Friends' songs sound the same and they just want to enjoy experimenting with different sounds. She was also unwilling to refer to the group as having an electro sound despite their heavy use of keyboards and electric guitars. 'When I think of electro, I think of drum machines and samples and we do everything live.'

Samantha also reveals the true inspiration behind the band's name (NOT the 'Beach Boys' album) and the life she left behind before starting up the band.