Wild Beasts, previously known as Fauve, was founded in 2002 by Hayden Thorpe and Ben Little. In Fauvism, an early twentieth century painting style that is known for the use of bright colors, the band members recognized their own idea of what art should be. Singer/guitarist Tom Fleming: "When Arctic Monkeys shot to number one, their music was very blunt, very macho and Northern. We're from the same kind of culture and we didn't feel that was the way we wanted to portray things."