On & On (Piri & Tommy song)

"On & On" (stylised in lowercase) is a liquid drum and bass song by Piri & Tommy, from their mixtape Froge.mp3. Released on 28 July 2022 on Polydor Records, it charted at No. 99 on the UK Singles Chart, and has appeared on a number of year-end best of lists.

Background and composition
Between 2021 and 2022, Piri & Tommy released three singles on EMI, "Soft Spot", "Beachin", and "Words". In June 2022, Piri & Tommy signed to Polydor Records, and on 28 July 2022, they released "On & On", which had been written shortly after the pair attended that year's Parklife Festival and following an incident where Piri left her cannabis in the fridge; Piri would later play Parklife herself in June 2023. "On & On" is a liquid drum and bass song; Villiers lifted the song's drums from an earlier jump-up track which, according to Villiers, featured "grotty Belgian bass". Remixes came from Sammy Virji on 23 September 2022 and Sudley on 7 October 2022, the latter of whom Piri would release a solo single, "Fumble", with on 28 April 2023.

Reception
Upon release, BBC Radio 1 named it that day's "Hottest Record", and in November 2022, they nominated it for "Hottest Record of the Year", by which time the song had spent a week at number 99 on the 11 November 2022 UK Singles Chart. Time Out described the song as "a banger and a half" that "swallow[s] you up into mellowed-out dancefloor bliss" and as "unpretentious, [...] irresistibly catchy [and] most importantly [...] fun", complimented its "textural garage-esque synths", and rated it the seventh best song of 2022. Billboard described it as a "hybrid of sugary pop and aqueous drum & bass [that] perfectly bottles the peak-summer essence of muggy days and sleepless nights" and rated it as one of 'The 50 Best Dance Songs Of 2022'. Thefortyfive.com described it as the 45th best song of 2022, compared the track to PinkPantheress, and complemented the song's "relatably shit-faced lyrics ('Big night, lost my weed, but the beat goes on and on and on and on ...')"; NME also praised the lyrics, noting that "Piri's 'on and on and on and on and on and on and on and on' will be stuck in your head forever", and described Piri's vocals as "serene", Villiers's drums as "unrelenting", and "On & On" as the 31st best song of 2022.

Music videos and other uses
Piri & Tommy performed the song as part of their The Great Escape Festival set in May 2022, with NME noting that Tommy had "a nervous grin" across his face when singing it, on the grounds that he was "more comfortable on guitar". On 28 July 2022, Piri & Tommy uploaded a lyric video to YouTube, and on 12 September 2022, they uploaded an acoustic performance to the platform; the latter, along with a cover of "Unlock It", would appear as an Apple Music-exclusive download the same day, and would be released on Spotify on 4 November 2022. On 12 October 2022, they uploaded a music video; directed by Deadhorses, it entailed Piri suffering a hallucinogenic episode after accidentally eating a hot dog with a frog in it. On 21 October 2022, the song appeared on Piri & Tommy's mixtape, Froge.mp3. On 28 September 2022, the pair performed "On & On", "Beachin", and a cover of Crystal Waters' Gypsy Woman at a BBC Radio 1 session; Piri would perform the song at the 27 May 2023 Radio 1 Big Weekend, with Sammy Virji's remix bolted on as part two. In addition, "On & On" was used on the 27 February 2023 broadcast of series 9 of Love Island.

Track listing
Digital single
 * 1) "On & On" – 2:15

Extended mix
 * 1) "On & On" – 3:36

Sammy Virji remix
 * 1) "On & On" – 2:11

Sudley remix
 * 1) "On & On" – 4:32

Acoustic version
 * 1) "On & On" – 2:24

Personnel

 * Piri – vocals
 * Tommy Villiers – production, mixing
 * Stuart Hawkes – mastering