TWRP

Although they’re based in Toronto, Canada, ’80s-inspired synth rock/electro-funk outfit TWRP (“Tupper Ware Remix Party”) transcend time and space. Known for their wild live shows and unpretentious party music, the group rose to prominence in the early 2010s both with their own colorful releases and through frequent collaborations with like-minded New York duo Ninja Sex Party. Throughout their career, TWRP’s members have withheld their true names and always appear in costume. As of 2019, the band has released three proper albums and a variety of singles, EPs, compilations, and collaborations.
TWRP was created by frontman, vocalist, and keytar wielder Doctor Sung, who was born around the time of the Big Bang. The 69th-degree black belt recruited the group’s second member, robot drummer Havve Hogan, sometime during the Mesozoic Era. The pair would not fully flesh out the band until much later, when the lion-headed, intergalactic, funk-smuggling humanoid Commander Meouch joined as TWRP’s bassist and the fourth and final member, rocketeering Lord Phobos, filled the guitarist slot. Together, the four spandex-clad time-and-space travelers made their debut in 2011 with the “Lazerhorse” single, a combination of melodic chiptune and ’80s hair metal. The following year, TWRP unveiled their first funky EP, The Device, which saw the quartet develop their sound in the direction of a Discovery-era Daft Punk cover band. A pair of EPs arrived in 2015. 2nite featured appearances by Skratch Bastid and Ninja Sex Party, an American duo who would become frequent collaborators with TWRP. Another NSP track was included on 2015′s other EP, Believe in Your Dreams, which also featured White Hot Guilt. TWRP’s first extended collaboration with NSP was released in 2016. The Under the Covers EP included their interpretations of ’80s classics from a-ha, Tears for Fears, Van Halen, Michael Jackson, and others, with TWRP serving as the duo’s backing band. TWRP released their fourth EP that year as well. Guardians of the Zone included “Rock n Roll Best Friends” and an updated version of The Device’s “The No Pants Dance” that added NSP to the mix. In early 2017, their fifth effort arrived. Ladyworld debuted at number five on the Billboard Heatseekers chart. 2019 brought both a new TWRP album, Return to Wherever, along with a backing band appearance on The TryForce by NSP side project Starbomb. ~ Neil Z. Yeung