With a punk-informed emphasis on independent artistry; The New Twentys have spent the last year and a half developing and self-producing the project. The band have split their creative time between their own home studios and a beach house in Cornwall, where they created music that feels completely authentic and true to the 3 members.
Festivals have been at a premium this year. With the exception of a few small drive-in shows, we as music lovers have been left with few opportunities to enjoy live music and the vibe which only that can bring. Thankfully The New Twentys have arrived on the scene and our bringing the Festival Home.
Their Debut Single 'Inside Out' invokes feel-good energy from the very first listen, the New Wave / Alt-Pop style is classic and yet fresh, bringing their own identity to the forefront from single number 1.
With a Debut EP already mixed and mastered, Expect more to come from The New Twentys.
We had a chat with Chris from the band to find out more...
Hey Guys! Introduce yourselves and tell us a bit about you!
"Hey, we’re The New Twentys! We’re a 3 piece independent band from in and around London. Jimmy is the lead singer who plays guitar and Harry’s his younger bro who plays lead guitar and sings back up vox. My name’s Chris and I play bass and also sing back up vox. Collectively we love a good “Ooooh” :)"
Where are you from and do you feel it has inspired the sound in any way?
"J and H are from South West London, Staines way and I’m from sunny Southend on Sea. A lot of rad bands have come out thefrom Southend, including Nothing But Thieves and Busted to name a few but we like to think our sound throws it back a little more towards the new wave, post punk scene of the 80s. Ultimately, we’re a British band :)"
How did you meet and decide to make a band?
"We met through the cracks of the London music scene, I’d seen H and J gigging about London, we met each other after a gig in Soho and started talking. Initially, I just wanted to write and produce for their own thing so I invited the guys down to my studio in Southend. We hit it off during that session, and though the first song we wrote didn’t make the cut, It was clear we were all on the same page regarding music and the industry. I was posting up in Cornwall with my studio for the summer of 2018 and I invited the guys down for a few days, which subsequently turned into a few months. By the end of it we had written a s*** ton of songs and had self produced enough for a long EP. 'Inside Out' was one of the first tunes we wrote and laid down on that trip, I think everything that followed was a result of that first song, it was like we had found our “sound”. After that initial 3 month jam we were all pretty invested in what we had created and decided to form the band."
Who are your biggest inspirations musically?
"We all love punk and new wave. Growing up listening to bands like The Clash, Sex Pistols, Talking heads, New order etc. Some of our inspirations are sadly not around anymore, like Bowie, Lou Reed and Prince, we try to channel that pop/ funk element into our songs too."
You’ve just released your debut single ‘Inside Out’! Tell us a little about it!
It was one of the first defining songs we wrote together and consequently one of the first we finished recording. We feel like everyone has been in that place after a break up, regardless of who did the “breaking up”. It’s easy to mope around, feeling sorry for yourself. “I miss the pain of losing you” It’s an excuse to act and feel pathetic. For some people it’s almost a comfort, hanging on, and refusing to let go gives the illusion that there may actually be a chance of redemption. The juxtaposition between the melancholy lyric and the “feel good” music in our mind represents the split between the reality of the situation and how you choose to deal with it."
How has the reaction been so far?
"We are really happy with the initial reaction so far it’s a little under 3 weeks since the release and we have hit 6,500 monthly listeners on Spotify with almost 15,000 streams. Considering it’s just us steering the ship, without a label or management, theresponse has been encouraging. I think a lot of people are resonating with the concept and lyric, “we’re living in a cold world” seems to be quite a fitting statement right now with everything going on."
What are your plans for 2021? Can we hope for any live shows (if it’s safe?)
"Everything is still up in the air regarding gigs soo we are going to do our best to slot in wherever we can. We’ve got our eyes on some rad festivals and headline gigs. We want to meet everyone and anyone who digs our music!"
'Inside Out' is out now.
Listen HERE @newtwentys
Read more of our interview with The New Twentys in Issue Two of our print magazine!
Pre-order HERE