INTRODUCING: FROG POCKET

Meet Frog Pocket — a Manchester five-piece serving up soul, funk, jazz, disco and pop with one simple aim: to get you moving.

Fronted by Holli Gamewell and backed by George Howle, Will Waldron, Jake Dillon and Jack Watterson, the band are quickly building a reputation for infectious grooves, big energy and a live sound that refuses to sit still. Their debut single, Fruitful Feeling, captures exactly that spirit — colourful, euphoric and impossible not to dance to.

Driven by a pulsing drum groove, growling bassline, choppy guitar and jazz-inflected melodies, Fruitful Feeling is the kind of track that hits before you’ve even realised you’re dancing. Think soulful vocals, disco swagger and funk that gets straight under your skin — a seriously joyful introduction to a band with plenty more to come.

1. ‘Fruitful Feeling’ is your debut single, built around soul, funk, jazz, disco and pop. What first brought the five of you together, and how did Frog Pocket’s sound begin to take shape?

Holli (vocals) and George (guitar) met through Manchester music groups and continually worked on different projects together, whilst the other three (Will - bass, Jake - drums and Jack - guitar) got involved over the last few years. Soul-fusion has always been at the core of the sound, but as time goes by the experimenting has resulted in so many genres taking shape within each song, it’s a proper mix and is continually evolving.

We all come from quite different musical backgrounds, which is a big part of what gives Frog Pocket its identity. Holli brings her love of soul, R&B and jazz, George brings his intricate and complex jazz harmony, Will brings his passion for disco and infectious basslines, Jake brings his technicality and feel for groove, and Jack brings his punk and rock background alongside a huge pedalboard. Everyone adds something different, but it all comes together as one sound.

2. The track is all about the euphoria of feeling completely alive on a dancefloor. What inspired ‘Fruitful Feeling’, and what did you want people to feel when they hear it live?

It’s our big-room, set-ending banger. We wanted to write a song that felt energetic, catchy and engaging, so that even if you don’t know the song you still feel involved, as well as being a culmination of all our styles and importantly having a very danceable and fun chorus. Live it’s always a great moment, a strong way to end the show as we draw out the ending and make it as big as possible. Hopefully people in the audience feel the energy from the stage - so far, so good on the reactions! It was never in doubt that this would be the first single to introduce ourselves to the world.

3. You’ve already been playing venues like Band on the Wall and The Finsbury, as well as festivals across the UK. How has playing live shaped the way you write and arrange your music?

The more we gig, the more we realise we want a certain type of song for the shows. Every audience is completely different and being a chameleon for them is so important. Sometimes we think more disco would have had a better impact, others we think slowing it down with a jazzy ballad or all-out funk tune would have worked really well. Then we start to build songs in that direction. Currently we’ve got around 12 and are always writing to adapt to what we want to do live. Then normally after being in the studio we cannot wait to get on stage and give it a whirl.

4. There’s a lot going on musically, from the tight rhythm section and choppy guitar to the jazz melodies and big vocal hook. How do you approach songwriting as a five-piece without losing that sense of fun and spontaneity?

It’s a big old melting pot of different members’ playing styles and music tastes. We approach songwriting collaboratively, with everyone bringing their own ideas and playing styles into the mix. One idea can develop and evolve as we work on it together, often taking it somewhere completely unexpected. That spontaneity is a big part of the fun. No song really sounds the same and we never quite know where it’s going to end up.

5. Are there more releases or a bigger body of work on the way?

That’s definitely the plan! As mentioned we’ve got plenty of songs in the locker and are constantly writing so there’s always something to record and we had a lot of fun with Fruitful Feeling - very excited to record again. Currently our main focus is to lock in gigs for the end of the year (more to be announced soon), and then look to plan our biggest year yet in 2027.