Nature TV. No, not directly something to do with Chris Packham – but in fact a great new band who have just dropped a really rather spiffing new track.
Signed to Very Good label of note Heist Or Hit, the band are delivering new cut ‘Only One’ today, the second offering from forthcoming EP ‘Emotion Sickness’, which is set to arrive on 29th November.
Fresh off the back of a support run with fellow Dork faves and do-woppers extraordinaire Trudy and the Romance, they’ve got a hometown Brighton launch party on the books at the start of December too. It’s all going off.
We tracked the band down to get a deeper insight into what’s happening.
Hi Nature TV, who are you all, and how’s it going?
Solo: I’m Solo. Lead guitarist and producer for NTV.
Josh: Josh here, I play bass. It’s going good. Just returned from a hedgehog sanctuary… those little guys are great.
Guy: I’m Guy, I’m the songwriter, guitar and vocals for the band. I’m on my lunch break at the shop, so this is a welcome relief.
Zal: Hey Dork, I’m Zal, I’m the drummer in the band.
How long have you guys been together then? You met at college?
Guy: Well, in one form or another we’ve been together a while, we met at uni like 7/8 years ago. Then we boosted ourselves with Solo about a year and a half ago, and it’s been a real treat.
Solo: I’ve known Guy for two years from our day job. I wasn’t at uni with these guys, but I wish I was!
Josh: We’ve been playing together as Nature TV a little under two years. Guy and I met at uni eight years ago, where we played in a band with a drum machine. Then we met Zal around six months after and alas, our drum prayers were answered. Solo and Guy met in an outdoors/camping shop in which they both worked and then Solo came on board as producer, as well as lead guitarist.
Have you always wanted to be a musician? Is it living up to the hype?
Solo: Yes! I started playing guitar and have locked myself away, producing on my laptop since I was 18!
Josh: Since about the age of 10. I used to really be into wrestling and wanted to be a professional wrestler… music took over where the dreams of the squared circle ended!
Zal: Yes, and I would say it does live up to the hype, but not because it’s anything like what you think it’s going to be when you first get into it. It’s unique and has its moments of magic and its challenges, but I wouldn’t want to do anything else.
Guy: Well when I was 14 or 15 I wanted to be a teacher, but then I did no work at school so that plan fell apart quickly, but my history teacher told me to go try out for “music school” so I went for that. It was there I met the guys, and since then it’s been full steam music, and even though sometimes it’s a grind, it’s a charming grind where you get to do a bunch of cool stuff with your mates!
Are you all from Brighton, or have you moved in from elsewhere?
Solo: I’m from Cornwall originally, which was amazing as it had so much natural beauty. I then moved to London before settling in Brighton, which seems to have a great mix of both places.
Guy: We are from all over the south, really. I’m from West London; Josh is from Hemel, Zal from Diss, I think, and Solo stems from Cornwall. Something like that, I never speak to them.
Brighton must be a great place to be an up-and-coming band?
Solo: I’m loving every second!
Guy: It certainly is, there is a bunch of music down here and who doesn’t love the beach? It’s now turned cold, windy and awful though so it’s less going to shows and more staying inside at all costs.
Josh: It’s the best, it’s the reason I moved down. But it’s not just great for music; there’s a whole range of creative industry hubs and amazing people. Living by the sea is also a massive plus, I’m not leaving until they make me…
Give us the tl;dr of your time together so far – what have you been up to?
Guy: Pretty much it’s been recording the songs we had down, writing news ones and trying to play as many shows as we can. We’ve got more stuff about to come out and even more in the pipeline for next year. We just started working with our new manager, sweet Bernie, and she’s been hooking us up, so that’s great.
Zal: We’ve recently signed to Heist or Hit which has been amazing!
Josh: We’ve been recording and gigging since we’ve been together and are super excited to get our latest batch of songs out with Heist. We have also been blessed with meeting Bernie (the angel of our dreams) who looks after us and also keeps us in line!
Solo: We’ve just come off of a support tour with Trudy and the Romance which was dope, we had such a good time playing out on the road with those guys.
What do you guys do for fun?
Solo: More music! But also some reading, watching films and drinking cocktails :p
Guy: Umm well I suppose I try and play sports I guess, I’ve been playing tennis and ping pong a bunch, but it’s cold now, so that’s out. I go climbing, I’m not sure I’m tough enough for it, but it is pretty fun. I try not to play video games, but sometimes you just have to. Then the usual, drinking and listening to music, I suppose. Not always together, and not always alone?
Josh: Like most Brightonians, we’re fond of a beach picnic and beer in the summer. Guy and Solo are super into their climbing, and we occasionally have a band tournament of tennis. In the winter, we sink our teeth into some DnD (it’s really cool, honestly…). One Sunday a month I go and sing sea shanties in a pub with friends to blow the cobwebs away. It’s pretty rousing stuff!
Zal: I lift weights for fun; it’s like meditation and provides an element of discipline in an otherwise chaotic routine.
Tell us about your new EP, what’s it about and when can we hear it?
Josh: We’re all really proud of the EP, we put a lot into it and can’t wait to put it out on the 29th November. It’s a mixture of relationship woes, both romantic and otherwise, encountered by Guy. It’s called Emotion Sickness, so that gives you some idea where we’re heading with it.
Guy: The EP is called ‘Emotion Sickness’ which the more I think about it, the worse it gets. But we couldn’t think of anything, and that one made us laugh. It’s all about, well, the misadventures of my love life basically, but trying to approach them in different ways I hope. It’s out on the 29th November, so we hope you like it!
Who do you think is the most exciting band or musician around right now?
Solo: Weyes Blood. The production on her newest album is impeccable. Also, I love electronic music and am super excited by Iglooghost and Dorian Electra.
Josh: For me, I’m really into Stella Donnelly or Penelope Isles.
Guy: I’ve been listening to Kate Bollinger this last week, it’s dreamy, and her voice puts me at ease, so I’m into that.
Do you have big plans for 2020?
Solo: More music!
Guy: In theory, yeah. Just record and play a bunch more new music.
Josh: Lots more gigs, more touring and releases in the pipeline, hopefully taking in some new cities and countries on the way. Personally speaking, I hope 2020 sees a resurgence of my baking game… I’m told I make some seriously good brownies and think I’m ready to tackle a massive gateau or something.
Nature TV’s new EP ‘Emotion Sickness’ is out 29th November.
