Sylvan Esso

Synth-pop duo Sylvan Esso were formed in North Carolina in 2013 after vocalist Amelia Meath from the indie folk band Mountain Man bumped into producer Nick Sandborn in Milwaukee's Cactus Club. Sandborn was appearing as a soloist at the time going by the stage name Made of Oak and Meath asked him to do a makeover of her single 'Play It Right'.

The formula which merged Meath's unobtrusive vocal style with Sandborn's saccharine synth treatments is one that has worked well and the band's self-titled debut album reached number 39 in the Billboard 200 despite relatively modest sales. The single 'Hey Miami' lifted from the album was named Paste Magazine's number one song of 2014 and following an appearance on the influential 'The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon' performing their follow-up single 'Coffee', awareness of the band increased considerably with the single being absorbed into the daytime playlists of many US radio shows. In 2017 the band released their second album 'What Now'.