Friends Like These: Alfie Templeman and Chloe Moriondo

Alfie Templeman picks up his phone and scours it for notes from recent songwriting sessions. Finding the early workings of his new collaborative single ‘Dizzy’ – a sugary pop treat that features fellow young indie heroes Chloe Moriondo and Thomas Headon – he shows that he’d simply written: “I’ve never felt this good before/I’m far from someone else,”, words that later became the song’s pre-chorus. Next to the lyrics, he’d pasted stock images of a dog, a banana and a lamp. You know, just your typical songwriting inspirations.

Templeman was partaking in a “mildly chaotic” three-way Zoom call with Moriondo and Headon, he reveals to NME in the latest instalment of Friends Like These. Written and recorded during the coronavirus-induced lockdown earlier this year, the track came to life as the trio of pals spent a few hours “coming with the craziest lyrics,” Templeman says.

He continues: “It started off as an Oh Wonder song, but we wanted to bring an element of youth to it that wasn’t necessarily there at first. I wanted it to be one of those songs that people can relate to, and I wanted it to feel nostalgic.”

“It was so fun,” Moriondo says of the slightly unconventional songwriting experience. “I was so happy to be on a track with these two artists. They are really sick and both make really cool music that I admire a lot. I hope we get to do more [music] together soon – we could write a lot more [songs].”

Released last week, the colourful and catchy track welds together layers of acoustic guitar with bubbling synth lines. In support of May’s ‘Blood Bunny’ project, Moriondo will tour across the US later this month. The’ll be joined by Templeman, meaning that these will be the first shows they’ve ever played together. “I can’t wait to meet in person, so we don’t have to speak through screens all the time,” they say.

Templeman responds: “I can’t wait either. I’m fed up of Zoom songwriting sessions – it’s impossible to feel the vibe. But you know what, we managed to make such a fun track, despite it all.”

For the latest edition of NME’s Friends Like These series, the friends and collaborators interview each other, discussing the inspiration behind ‘Dizzy’, their recent respective releases, and the wildest places they’ve heard their songs in public. Watch the video in full above.