Friday Live: Future Islands bring Singles to Studio Q

Our Friday Live guest Future Islands perform throughout the show. The hard-working Baltimore synth-pop band broke through with an arresting and intense performance on The Late Show with David Letterman, and is now touring to promote their latest record, Singles.

The band tells Jian that their approach to making music doesn't involve a lot of planning. "Our music just happens, we don't really discuss anything," says keyboardist Gerrit Welmers. "As far as creation goes, it just comes out."

Lyricist and vocalist Samuel Herring adds, "If you talk about stuff, you ruin the emotion."

Their confidence in their process is admirable -- as is the way in which they carry and present themselves.

"It's taking that idea of being a good person on the street to taking that on the stage," says Herring. "I just want to be humble to who I am."

Letting loose on Letterman 

William Cashion (bass, acoustic and electric guitars) says the band is "tickled" by the amount of attention garnered by their intense appearance on Letterman, and not at all bothered that new fans may only know them from the viral sensation.