Jockstrap are an English musical duo consisting of Georgia Ellery and Taylor Skye, who met at London's

Guildhall School of Music and Drama The Guildhall School of Music and Drama is a music school, music and drama school located in the City of London, England. Established in 1880, the school offers undergraduate and postgraduate training in all aspects of classical music and jazz al ...

in 2016. The duo's music has been categorised by critics as

experimental pop Experimental pop is pop music that cannot be categorized within traditional musical boundaries or which attempts to push elements of existing popular forms into new areas. It may incorporate experimental music, experimental techniques such as m ...

and

art pop Art pop (also typeset art-pop or artpop) is a loosely defined style of pop music influenced by art theory, art theories as well as ideas from other art mediums, such as fashion, fine art, film, cinema, and avant-garde literature. The genre dra ...

, combining Ellery's half-whispered vocals and string arrangements with Skye's electronic production. The band signed to

Rough Trade Records Rough Trade Records is an independent record label based in London, England. It was formed in 1976 by Geoff Travis, who had opened a record store off Ladbroke Grove. It is currently run by co-managing directors Travis and Jeannette Lee and ...

in 2021 and have so far put out three singles under the label, namely "50/50", "Concrete Over Water", and "Glasgow", and a debut studio album, '' I Love You Jennifer B'', released on 9 September 2022. Upon its release, the album gained critical acclaim and was nominated for the 2023

Mercury Prize The Mercury Prize, formerly called the Mercury Music Prize, is an annual Music award, music prize awarded for the best album released by a musical act from the Music of the United Kingdom, United Kingdom or Music of Ireland, Ireland. It was cre ...

. Taylor Skye additionally works as a producer, and has produced tracks with

Slowthai Tyron Kaymone Frampton (born 18 December 1994), better known by his stage name Slowthai (stylised in lowercase), is a British rapper. Raised in Northampton, he rose to popularity in 2019 for his gritty and rough instrumentals and raw, Music and ...

Injury Reserve Injury Reserve was an American hip hop music, hip hop group formed in 2012 in Tempe, Arizona, Tempe, Arizona. The group consisted of rappers RiTchie with a T (Nathaniel Ritchie), Stepa J. Groggs (Jordan Groggs), and producer Parker Corey. After ...

, and

Sega Bodega Salvador Navarrete (born 16 February 1992), better known by his stage name Sega Bodega, is an Irish-Chilean music producer, singer, songwriter, DJ, and co-head/founder of the record label and collective Nuxxe. Sega Bodega is known for his futuri ...

, among others. Georgia Ellery is also a member of

Black Country, New Road Black Country, New Road (commonly abbreviated to BC,NR or BCNR) are an English rock band formed in Cambridge in 2018. The original founders of the band consisted of Tyler Hyde (vocals, bass), Lewis Evans (vocals, flute, saxophone), Georgia Eller ...

History

Georgia Ellery and Taylor Skye met while studying at the

in 2016 in London, where Ellery focused on

jazz violin Jazz violin is the use of the violin or electric violin to improvise solo lines. Early jazz violinists included: Eddie South, who played violin with Jimmy Wade's Dixielanders in Chicago; Stuff Smith; and Claude "Fiddler" Williams. Joe Venuti ...

and Skye on

electronic music Electronic music broadly is a group of music genres that employ electronic musical instruments, circuitry-based music technology and software, or general-purpose electronics (such as personal computers) in its creation. It includes both music ...

. They began collaborating in September 2017, after Ellery approached Skye to produce a series of songs she had written. Their debut single, "I Want Another Affair", was released later that year, followed by their first live performance in March 2018. The duo adopted the name "Jockstrap" for its shock value and memorability. On 2 November 2018, they released their debut EP, ''Love Is the Key to the City'', through Kaya Kaya Records. The EP featured songs such as "Hayley" and "Charlotte", which were written as poems reflecting Ellery's experiences during her first year at Guildhall. The project incorporated a 21-piece string ensemble composed of fellow students. In April 2019, they released a visual remix EP, ''Lost My Key in the <3 Club <3'', with remixed tracks by Skye and videos directed by Ellery. In 2020, Jockstrap signed to

Warp Records Warp Records is a British independent record label that specialises in Electronic music, electronic, indie rock and experimental music. It was founded in Sheffield in 1989 by Steve Beckett, Robert Mitchell and Robert Gordon. It has released recor ...

and released their second EP, '' Wicked City'', on 19 June. The record expanded their sonic palette, with tracks like "Acid" and "Robert" introducing elements of electro-

noise Noise is sound, chiefly unwanted, unintentional, or harmful sound considered unpleasant, loud, or disruptive to mental or hearing faculties. From a physics standpoint, there is no distinction between noise and desired sound, as both are vibrat ...

and

experimental hip-hop Alternative hip-hop (also known as alternative rap and experimental hip-hop) is a subgenre of hip-hop music that encompasses a wide range of styles that are not typically identified as mainstream. AllMusic defines it as comprising "hip-hop group ...

. The latter track was a collaboration with the Arizona hip-hop group

, and the duo later paid tribute to member

Jordan Groggs Injury Reserve was an American hip hop group formed in 2012 in Tempe, Arizona. The group consisted of rappers RiTchie with a T (Nathaniel Ritchie), Stepa J. Groggs (Jordan Groggs), and producer Parker Corey. After the death of Groggs in 2020 a ...

following his death. Due to restrictions imposed by the

COVID-19 pandemic in the United Kingdom The COVID-19 pandemic in the United Kingdom is a part of the worldwide pandemic of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). In the United Kingdom, it has resulted in confirm ...

, Jockstrap launched a virtual exhibition at implied.gallery in lieu of music videos for the EP. During the same period, Ellery collaborated with

Jamie xx James Thomas Smith (born 28 October 1988), known professionally as Jamie xx, is an English musician, DJ, record producer, and remixer. He is known for both his solo work and as a member of the indie pop band the xx. He has been described as a " ...

in a 15-minute improvised session for

BBC Radio 3 BBC Radio 3 is a British national radio station owned and operated by the BBC. It replaced the BBC Third Programme in 1967 and broadcasts classical music and opera, with jazz, world music, Radio drama, drama, High culture, culture and the arts ...

's ''Late Junction''. In November 2021, Jockstrap signed with

and released the singles "50/50", "Concrete Over Water", and "Glasgow". Their debut studio album, '' I Love You Jennifer B'' was released on 9 September 2022. The album received critical acclaim and was shortlisted for the 2023

. The recording process was marked by a combination of accident and experimentation, with incidents such as a stolen laptop—reportedly recovered by

—shaping the final outcome. The duo toured extensively in support of the album, including their first North American performances. A

remix album A remix album is an album consisting of remixes or rerecorded versions of an artist's earlier released material. The first act who employed the format was American singer-songwriter Harry Nilsson ('' Aerial Pandemonium Ballet'', 1971). As of 200 ...

, '' I<3UQTINVU'', was announced for release on 3 November 2023, with Skye leading the production.

Members

*Georgia Ellery – vocals, violin, guitar *Taylor Skye – production,

synthesisers A synthesizer (also synthesiser or synth) is an electronic musical instrument that generates audio signals. Synthesizers typically create sounds by generating waveforms through methods including subtractive synthesis, additive synthesis and ...

, keyboards, drum machines, programming, vocals

Discography

Studio albums

*'' I Love You Jennifer B'' (2022, Rough Trade Records)

Remix albums

*'' I<3UQTINVU'' (2023, Rough Trade Records)

EPs

*''Love Is the Key to the City'' (2018, Kaya Kaya Records) *''Lost My Key in the <3 Club <3'' (2019, Kaya Kaya Records) *'' Wicked City'' (2020, Warp Records) *''Beavercore'' (2020, Warp Records)

Singles

*"Hayley" (2018) *"Charlotte" (2018) *"Acid" (2020) *"The City" (2020) *"50/50" (2021) *"Concrete Over Water" (2022) *"Glasgow" (2022) *"Greatest Hits" (2022) *"Red Eye" (2023) *"Good Girl" (2023)

References

{{Reflist Indie rock groups from London English alternative rock groups English noise rock groups British musical duos Warp (record label) artists Avant-pop musicians Electropop musicians Experimental pop musicians Art pop musicians 2017 establishments in England