Sylvan Esso will be performing at 9 p.m. Friday at the Bottleneck. Pictured are band members Amelia Meath and Nick Sanborn.

A little bit jazzy, a little bit soulful and completely likable — Sylvan Esso makes music that has crept into everybody’s life over the last year. You’ve no doubt heard Amelia Meath’s soulful crooning in “Coffee” and rhythmic chanting in “Hey Mami” pop up in the indie scene. A string of television performances behind them and festival appearances ahead of them mean they’re not stopping anytime soon.

But before the summer festival season kicks off, they’ll be bringing their beats to the Bottleneck stage Friday. Meath’s work with musical partner Nick Sanborn started as sort of an accidental collaboration after both of their bands played a show in Milwaukee.

Amelia Meath and Nick Sanborn of Sylvan Esso

“We became friends pretty quickly,” Meath says. “But it was mostly an Internet friendship until I needed a remix of a song.”

Finding a collaborator seemed to be the easy part. What the duo had to focus on next was standing out in an over-saturated electro-pop scene. “I think we’re just working on making an authentic live show and making something catchy,” says Meath, who says she puts effort into making sure the audience is happy. “Most of them are incredibly positive and kind, and down to talk about their feelings. A lot of them like to dance. I’m just really excited if they’re there and enjoying themselves. They’ve already come to the show, so I’m as happy as a bird with a french fry.”

Working on an exciting live show may hold more clout for Sylvan Esso because that’s one of the few avenues where fans can actually connect with the band.

“I’m a big believer in the live show in general,” Meath says. “I think there’s a certain amount of oversaturation and communication with these bands. I really don’t need people to know what my cat’s name is.”

In a world where a lot of musicians, especially ones on tour, go above and beyond to connect with fans online and through social media, Meath goes against the grain.

“It’s just a lot of noise traffic right now, through social media,” she concedes. “It’s not necessarily that I don’t want to share my life with people. But there’s this idea about following an Instagram account or feeling as if you have a larger relationship with someone than you actually do because you see the inside of their kitchen. I’m a little weary of it.”

Although their self-titled album came out just last May, the two have already spent a lot of time in the studio writing and recording their next body of work. But a new record on the horizon doesn’t necessarily mean a packed schedule for the music-makers.

“We’re going to do this tour, then we’re going to be doing festivals all summer,” Meath says. “But luckily, we’re going to have weekends on and weeks off, and during that time we’ll be writing songs and making music videos.”

Meath says preserving her “alone time” is important to keeping the creative momentum going, but she doesn’t take all the positive attention for granted.

“We’re remembering that we have the best job,” Meath says. “It’s not that easy to forget, but every now and then you get stressed out and remember, ‘Oh yeah, we’re doing what we wanted to today!'”

You can catch Sylvan Esso’s momentum when they hit the Bottleneck on Friday with Flock of Dimes.

— Fally Afani is a freelance writer and editor of I Heart Local Music.