Priest

Based in Florida, Madeline Priest and David Kazyk formed the Priest duo (formerly known as X priest X) in 2013, out of a shared penchant for synthesizers, drum machines, and '80s nostalgia. Having met through a mutual friend in 2011, the pair originally began writing and recording music together as a simple pastime, eventually deciding to commit to the project professionally after it became clear that they were beginning to grasp the attention of music lovers online. In the summer of 2013, the synth pop outfit uploaded to SoundCloud their first single, which quickly gained repeated plays. This led to posting more tracks, which, along with their first posting, made up the official Samurai EP, a release composed of soothing indie pop-electronica, ethereal synth leads, introspective lyrics, and angelic vocals. After recognizing that they were steadily gaining an ever-growing fan base, they decided to drop the "X" aspect from their name in order to avoid misguiding people regarding their sound and style (an X at either end of the band name usually denotes an affiliation to the straight-edge hardcore punk scene). At the tail end of 2013, Priest signed with Swedish label Emotion and got to work on their self-titled debut. In 2015, the duo released the record, which was promoted by the lead singles "Strong Hearts" and "The Game." Their expanding fan base and frequent comparisons to other electro-pop acts such as Chvrches and Electric Youth led to nationwide performances in 2015 and 2016 to promote the album. ~ Rob Wacey