It took the London band Franc Moody some time to perfect the ideal clap sound. They tried clapping their hands, then they tried numerous people clapping their hands. But after much experimentation, they discovered that the most pristine clap sound comes, yes, when you record three pairs of hands clapping in which one pair is wearing marigolds. This isn't abnormal behaviour for Franc Moody. Listen to their songs and you'll hear salt shakers and mugs, dripping radiators, the sound of someone zipping their flies, and their own family playing strings. It's this kind of DIY sound design and attention to detail that has made the new London duo such a curious and captivating proposition.

Franc Moody's sound is contemporary funk, awash with electronic inspiration, human touches, and throbbing grooves. Like Daft Punk and Jamiroquai before them, they draw from the sounds, styles and techniques of funk, disco and soul while simultaneously threading in electronic influences of the here and now. And over their short lifespan as a band they've shown a masterful knack for creating rich and textured bangers, like "Dopamine" (which has amassed over 2 million streams) and "Dance Moves" (over 1 million streams). Their hypnotic and free-form live show has garnered a cult following, and they'll be playing their biggest one to date this April in London's 1100 capacity 'Heaven' as well as a 7 date tour including iconic Leeds venue Belgrave Music Hall and a trip to Dublin.

Franc Moody see themselves as a collective, and have countless members once you include the musicians, guest vocalists, producers and animators that all play a part. But at the core of the band are the two ringleaders and songwriters: Ned and Jon. While Jon was born into a family of classical musicians and grew up on oboes, cellos and violins, Ned was musically educated by the stereo in his parents car, blasting old soul, 50s/60s New Orleans music, and the rock n roll sounds of Chuck Berry, Little Richard and Eddie Cochran. "I loved the melody and the groove of that music, but I think really I loved the energy of it as well," explains Ned…