As a teenager, Joseph Mount began Metronomy as a bedroom project while he was still living with his parents in Devon. After having an interest in music from an early age, he "drummed in a few bands at school and they all fell apart. Then I got an old computer off my dad and I started messing around when I was about sixteen or seventeen". The name Metronomy was originally chosen by Mount as the name sounded cool and interesting and was in keeping with the bands he was heavily into, namely Autechre and Funkstorung. The word 'Metronomy' is also linked to a metronome, which is a piece of equipment musicians use to help keep and set tempo.