Arriving out of ashes of Maccabees, 86TVs blend together duo Hugo and Felix White, with their younger brother Will, and drummer Jamie Morrison (Stereophonics, Noisettes).  Leading off with recent singles ‘Worn Out Buildings’ and ‘Higher Love’ (both being singles of the week with various radio stations) the next step is their debut EP ‘You don’t have to be yourself right now’.  Damian Robinson caught up with Hugo to find out more.

Congratulations on the two debut singles, they’re both excellent; how do you think the EP compares?

Thank you, that’s really nice.  We wanted to come out banging with the first singles so the rest of the EP is pretty similar in terms of style and production.  Dreaming is perhaps a little different in terms of its more delicate sound but we wanted to show people what we were capable of and to represent the whole of the band. 

You’re all really accomplished songwriters, how did you find the writing process?

It was really good, we’ve all got different ways we write and different tastes and what makes us work is that I think we are all good at adding to someone else’s idea and making it better. 

Are you pretty prolific as a band in terms of writing?

Yeah, we’ve got 20 songs recorded, so enough for an album already, and we’ve already got ideas for a second.  The ideas are diverse which helps keeps us all interested and we’re really happy with where we are.

Is there an overall plan for the band?

Sort of yeah, me and Will and Felix started writing almost immediately after the Maccabees split up and it was all pretty natural and not forced.  We had no record deal and just wanted to make music.  Jamie we’ve known for ages so he was a really good fit for us and since he joined we’ve built a really strong foundation.  Then it seemed like the stars aligned a little for us and we got signed and Jamie T took us on tour at the end of last year so we were in a good place.  It felt really good to be on tour and almost to start again in a way with no expectations and no one knowing any of our music.  So now we want to release the EP, then an album, and take it from there.

And there’s a tour as well

Yeah, we’re really excited to get out and play and almost to start again in a new band and see where the world takes us.  It feels natural and exciting but more importantly we feel comfortable with each other and enjoy making music together.

‘You Don’t Have To Be Yourself Right Now’ is released on January 26th.  86TVs play Think Tank on FEBRUARY 28th