Foster the People

Foster the People are a genre-defying indie-pop-rock band from Los Angeles. The group started out as a pet project for Mark Foster, a young jingle writer employed by Morphonics, a studio specialising in music for the advertising industry. Foster had formed the band and was in the process of preparing material for a forthcoming record when when he recorded the track 'Pumped Up Kicks' in a single five-hour recording session. At the time Foster was wrestling with the idea of spending a day on the beach or doing some work in the studio: "I was a block away from the beach, and it was a beautiful day. I kind of just wanted to just be lazy and go hang out at the beach or whatever. But I just forced myself to write a song..." Foster published the track on the band's website and it became a surprise viral hit, and after its formal release it became one of the top pop songs of 2011 crossing over into the Billboard Hot 100. The track eventually peaked at number three, spending eight weeks in that position and was nominated for three Grammy Awards. The band have released just three albums in six years whilst maintaining a signicant presence on the international touring circuit.