Magistrates were a pop band from Essex, England, blending influences from soul, disco, Chicago house, and krautrock. Formed in the mid-2000s, the group began by self-releasing the demo Make This Work, which drew attention from Damon Albarn and Zane Lowe and led to their signing with XL Recordings in 2008.

They gained early exposure through festival appearances and the 2009 NME Radar Tour, releasing the singles Make This Work (2008) and Heartbreak (2009). Despite initial momentum, the band split in late 2009 before reforming in 2011. Magistrates released their only album, When We Are Apart, in 2014 and disbanded again the same year.

Their music fused indie-pop melodies with dance-floor rhythms, reflecting the members’ desire to move beyond their small-town Essex roots. Read more on Last.fm. User-contributed text is available under the Creative Commons By-SA License; additional terms may apply.