From four college students coincidentally joining the same program to rising indie alternative-pop band, New Friends has hit the jackpot — of friends and of music.

Starting out as a school project, the quartet never imagined what would await them as they crafted their debut track 'Purple Candy'. With almost 4 million streams on Spotify, they quickly became one of the notable bands in the alternative pop scene, catapulting them to tours, headline shows, and gigs all around the world. 

Bandwagon sat down with the Ontario-based group as they let us in on their beginnings, the rollercoaster rise of producing their debut album, The Pilot, and their aspirations as a band. 

Congratulations on dropping debut album The Pilot. First thing’s first, introduce yourselves to our readers, let us in on how the band came about, and your thoughts on the album.

The Band all met in London Ontario at Fanshawe College in 2018. We all joined the MIA program, and by the end of the first month we were “New Friends”.

The process of this album was a rollercoaster. There were a lot of big ups and downs throughout the whole process of finishing the record. Not only were we figuring out what we wanted to say in the songs, we were also just trying to figure out who we were as people/friends.

How would you guys describe your sound, and what inspired the title, ‘the Pilot’?

We would describe our sound as a product of all our childhoods. We like to take our individual influences and blend them together with a modern twist. "The Pilot” is a play on the Television Industry. Every show starts out with a pilot episode that they take to a network to pitch it for TV. Since this is our first record we thought it was fitting to go along with that theme.

Previously, you guys have managed to garner quite a bit of traction — almost 4 million streams on Spotify for your first track, ‘Purple Candy’, back in 2019. Tell us a bit more about that track, and how you guys received its reception.

Purple Candy started out as a school project that turned into something we ever thought possible. The reception we have received on this song has been incredible. This song has gone farther than we would have imagined in our dorm rooms.

Last year, you guys also won Canada’s biggest music competition ‘It’s Your Shot’ as a band. Tell us about that experience. 

Winning the “It's Your Shot” contest has been a crazy experience from the start. It started out with Ayden submitting our music into the contest without telling any of us. We had tried for some other contest but came out short so he didn't want to get our hopes up. Weeks later we got a call letting us know we were top 5, then another week passed, and got the final call saying we won. That morning of the call was life-changing.

What are your plans for the album and what do you want to say to your fans?

Our plan now that the record is out is to go and play shows, meet all the fans that have made this journey possible so far. We are so excited to recreate the sounds live for everyone and just have a party every night on stage.

Finally, be it as individuals or as a band - what are your aspirations for the near future?

Our aspirations for the near future is to continue to release the best music and make more new friends along the way.

Listen to The Pilot here.