Maverick Sabre, New Machine and Jake Hall on YOURS: "We just write what we want to write. And have loads of fun doing it"

YOURS, a dance collective that includes Maverick Sabre, Adam ‘New Machine’ Jordan and fashion designer Jake Hall, have been tearing up Mediterranean dancefloors this summer with their ‘Dónde Está’ single.

If you’ve been larging it up in Ibiza or one of its Balearic Island neighbours this summer, chances are you’ve shaken a leg – and other body parts – to ‘Dónde Está’, the latest Latin-infused dancehall banger from London-based quartet YOURS.

The euphoric treated vocal belongs to Maverick Sabre, a former New Ross resident whose latest flight of musical fancy finds him hooking up with producer Adam ‘New Machine’ Jordan, a fellow Wexford-ian who’s previously done the honours for Jorja Smith, Kano and Aitch, and brothers Jake and Sonny Hall, more of whom anon.

Asked where and when him and Adam, first met, Mav says, “Around 2005 in London. The story goes slightly further back than that, though. When I started up a Myspace – remember that? – I got a random follow from a guy saying he was born in Wexford and brought up in London. Having similar backgrounds, we messaged a couple of times but I didn’t know his name or what he looked like.

“Then, one day, I was at Plan B’s place and this fella came in with his deep voice and said, ‘We know each other from Myspace.’ It was Adam who was Plan B’s guitarist at the time. I was like, ‘Fucking hell, right’ and that’s how the friendship started.”

“Both of us would go back to Wexford for Christmases and connect then,” Adam adds.

Is there a New Ross/Wexford rivalry?

“Oh yes,” Mav notes. “Wexford’s higher up in the pecking order and New Ross sort of gets left behind. It’s a breeding ground for a lot of talent, though, so I like to think we’re culturally superior!”

What was the first tune they made together?

“Something that people will never have heard,” Adam laughs. “It would have been a beat that Maverick made with me rapping on it.”

“I think I’ve got it on one of my old computer hard drives, so there’s blackmail potential!” his partner in rhyme deadpans. “The first tune we’d have put out there officially is the ‘I Need’ remix featuring Chipmunk, Benny Banks and me. So there’s a bit of history there.”

That there is. Vague plans for Mav and Adam to form a new band crystalised when they met Jake, a fashion designer, reality TV star – he appeared on The Only Way Is Essex – and former professional football-player.

“Mav contacted me in relation to a mental health chat I was part of on social media and we ended up doing a collection together for my former clothing label, Prevu,” Jake recalls. “All the money from it went to CALM, the Campaign Against Living Miserably, and Pieta House so it was a nice thing to do.

“We really enjoyed each other’s ideas and, sitting in a kitchen after the Prevu x Maverick Sabre event, said, ‘Why don’t we do something that combines house music with fashion and all the other stuff we’re interested in?’ Then Mav introduced me to the genius that is New Machine who’s also into breaking boundaries and going against the rules. They let me into their world and vice versa, the YOURS motto being, ‘Anything is possible!’”

We shall return to matters musical in a moment, but first I want to know more about Jake’s footy and TV careers.

“I was at Bromley for a little bit in the Conference South, Boston United in the Conference North – that was fun! – and Dagenham & Redbridge when they were in League Two,” he tells me. “I was trying, unsuccessfully, to break into the first team there which is why I got loaned out to the lower divisions.

“My main reason for doing The Only Way Is Essex was to plug my clothing brand. I had Prevu caps and other stuff that I wore on the show, which was a great marketing tool until one day the makers of it said, ‘We know what you’re doing, stop it!’ I was like, ‘If I can’t wear my brand anymore, see you later’ and that was the end of my TV career. It was a fun and interesting part of my life, during which I made a load of mistakes but I’ve made sure to learn from them.”

Mav, nodding in agreement, says, “I had my own huge learning curve putting out two records on Universal and having both positive and negative experiences. A mistake is okay if you make it once, but not okay if you make it twice! Going independent in 2015 really brought to the forefront what I want to do both as a solo musician and a producer. It’s the best move I could have made, really.”

“Similar to Mav, I lost my first company when I got into the world of big corporations, which left me feeling disconnected from my customers,” resumes Jake whose Prevu clobber was worn by the high-profile likes of Bella Hadid and Romeo Beckham. “I’ve now set up a new mid-tier thing, By Jake Hall, which has taken off far more quickly than I expected and is bringing me so much joy.”

Although signed to Defected, the label set up by former Ministry of Sound man Simon Dunmore, YOURS have complete creative control over everything they do including their videos.

“The bartender busting out the moves in the ‘Dónde Está’ one is my Dad,” Jake laughs. “He can’t really dance but we slipped him some ‘shrooms! For the ‘In The Morning’ video before that we basically said to Defected, ‘We want to go to Ibiza and party’ and they were like, ‘Okay, send us the bill.’”

As mentioned earlier, ‘Dónde Está’ – it translates as ‘Where is’ – has been soundtracking many a Balearic blowout this summer.

“People that we’re really big fans of like Shapeshifters, Horse Meat Disco, Bob Sinclar and Miguel Baptista have been playing it, which is nuts,” Adam enthuses. “We’ve a few other tunes with that summery Latin vibe but the rest are totally different. There’s no, ‘Does this fit into a particular genre?’ – we just write what we want to write. And have loads of fun doing it!”

• ‘Dónde Está’ is out now on Defected. Maverick Sabre is paying a solo visit to Electric Picnic 2023 (September 1–3)