Eighty Ninety

Interview & Article by Brittany Ormiston

Indie-pop brother duo Eighty Ninety is on the rise with their infectious sound and storytelling deeply rooted in the intricacies of life, love, heartbreak, and the pursuit of happiness. Their new single ‘Yourself’ is filled to the brim with emotion as it guides listeners through a narrative of disconnect that exists in many relationships. Being physically present while being emotionally distant is a concept many of us know all too well. The band is entering a new era with the release of ‘Yourself,’ and looking forward to releasing another project in the coming year. Eighty Ninety has the ability to create music that makes listeners feel truly alive, and many will carry this pure, unfiltered happiness with them for a lifetime.           

What are you hoping resonates with listeners with the new single?

Eighty Ninety: “At the center of the song is the idea that the paradox of a relationship is needing to commit fully to an amorphous, almost abstract concept of that relationship—something that exists between two people, is real, but hard to define. You have to give yourself over to it, or you lose it. But even reading that back, what does that mean exactly? How can you keep something you've given yourself to? It makes sense as a feeling, and we hope people can relate.”

‘Yourself’ is the first release after your self-titled debut album. Why did you select this single in particular to be released before any others?

Eighty Ninety: “To us, it feels musically like a bridge from our last record to this new one, which will be a bit more thematic, experimental, and ambitious while still retaining the spirit of our music up to now.”

What is your favorite lyric from ‘Yourself’ and why?

Eighty Ninety:  “‘You have to give yourself to something or it slips out of your hands.’ I (Abner) think that most fully encapsulates the paradox at the center of deep relationships—the one that transcends two people and becomes its own distinct thing that exists in the space between them.”

What inspired the artwork for ‘Yourself’? Any significance behind the blurriness, and the handwriting etched into the photo?

Eighty Ninety: “To us, the handwriting represents committing the most intimate, personal version of yourself to a promise of a shared bond with someone. It's something hard to articulate and define—maybe ‘blurry’—but you feel deeply that it's worthwhile and real.”

You wrote, produced, and mixed the new single! Tell us about your journey of creating music on your own from start to finish. 

Eighty Ninety: “We create most of our music entirely ourselves, except for a few close collaborators we bring in when a song calls for it. On one hand, it's incredibly rewarding because we can see our vision all the way through. On the other hand, it’s great to bring in other perspectives occasionally. Typically, it begins with Abner writing a draft of a song on guitar or piano with some ideas about the overall vision, then bringing it into the studio. Harper leads the production and mixing to bring it to life. We're both hands-on in all elements, but we each take the lead in those ways.”

You call your style “808s and telecasters.” What is the meaning behind the phrase, and where did it originate from?

Eighty Ninety: “It became a kind of mantra that reminds us that it's the emotions of a given song, and not any genre conventions, that should dictate how we approach producing in the studio.”

Your music has over 35 million streams, been mentioned in Rolling Stone and Billboard, and added to countless Spotfiy playlists (including Taylor Swift’s!). How do you stay level-headed and practice mindfulness in the midst of your success?

Eighty Ninety: “Mindfulness is at the center of our music-making process—first, in writing, to be fully present with our emotions so we can articulate what we're feeling. Then, when producing, we shut out the noise of expectations or pressure to stay in the moment, focusing on details like dialing in that snare drum. The sounds should reflect the articulation of emotion, not a fear that the new single needs to ‘hit harder,’ for example. We also practice a bit of mindfulness through meditation and yoga when we can, which helps ground us in all aspects of our lives, not just the music. That said—there's no staying level-headed about Taylor Swift. We've given up on that one.”

What are your plans for the rest of 2024, and do you have any resolutions for 2025 yet?

Eighty Ninety: “Right now, we're finishing the album and definitely plan to release it next year!”