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You know when you turn up to a gig and the support band totally outshines the headline act? This happened last year when I discovered Brightonian electronic duo IYES. Despite it being one of their very first gigs, they were extremely polished with an intriguing chillstep sound. I just had to listen to more, but the enigmatic pair had an almost non-existent online presence.

That is except for a single demo song on their soundcloud account, ‘Lighthouse’. This dreamy track features the poignant male vs female vocals of Josh Christopher and Melis Soyaslasnova, over sustained guitar notes and undulating synth. They gradually came out of the shadows with the addition of two more demos: the upbeat rave duet ‘Glow’, with its twinkly glockenspiel riff and noisy synth pulses, and ‘Daddy’, an instrumental electro romp.

Just under a year after that show-stealing performance and they’ve they played the BBC Introducing Stage at The Great Escape Festival, earned the title of ‘Breaking Act’ in The Sunday Times and racked up a whopping 130,000 listens of their so-called demos on soundcloud. And it’s no wonder – their sound is so relevant right now with many artists layering stunning vocals over electronic riffs.

Keeping some mystery around their music seems to have worked, with many eagerly anticipating their headline gigs in October. To hear more of their addictive synth-pop, head down to The Prince Albert on 9th October. If you like The xx, James Blake or Purity Ring, you’ll love IYES.

– Published at Brighton Noise