Hard life

The British band Easy Life gained a following by combining elements of electronic music with R&B, hip-hop, and pop hooks to create a distinctive indie-pop hybrid. Based in Leicester, England, the group formed in 2017, when Murray Matravers (trumpeter, vocalist, and keyboardist) recruited friends Sam Hewitt (bass, saxophone), Lewis Alexander Berry (guitar), Oliver Cassidy (drums), and Jordan Birtles (keyboard, percussion). The musicians' debut single, “Pockets," paved the way for the band to sign with Island and release its first mixtape, Creature Habits, in 2018. Easy Life rounded out the year with a pair of new singles, “Nightmares” and “Temporary Love." More singles followed, and in 2019 Easy Life played its first shows in the United States, as well as having a prime slot at that year’s Glastonbury Festival. The band's first official EP, 2020’s Junk Food, became Easy Life's biggest success to that point, cracking the Top 10 on multiple UK charts and featuring the Arlo Parks collaboration "Sangria." Life's a Beach, the band's full-length debut album, followed in 2021, charting at Number 2 in the UK and Number 4 in Scotland. One year later, the band returned with Maybe In Another Life..., a sophomore album that matched its predecessor's peak at Number 2 on the Official Albums Chart.