Not that they were even thinking about collaborating when they first met. But One sent Hawthorne some tracks, and Hawthorne wrote some songs to them. Going from being major fans of the music to making it themselves proved challenging, particularly finding how to make it sound fresh.
"Initially we were a little too derivative. It wasn't until we put our own personalities in there, and Mayer found his voice within the tracks, that it really started to work."
"We're never gonna be able to do what a band like Zapp do, as good as they do it, so we have to do our own original thing, and I think realising that was the key to the whole project," Hawthorne adds.
They've played a show with Zapp though, and it turns out the band loved what Tuxedo are doing. "That was the best compliment we could have, they were definitely one of the groups that inspired this whole project, so to have them side of stage clapping for us when we came off, we were blown away," One laughs.
As for the name, Tuxedo, that was inspired in two ways - first, by Hawthorne's love of the outfit ("I'm online right now, looking for tuxedos as we speak, trying to get some more") and second, by the acts they admire.
"All of our favourite bands that we were influenced by, Chic and Zapp and Shalamar, they all have one-word names, so we knew we wanted a one-word name and then Tuxedo just sort of felt like it fit with the vibe of the music, the classy quality," Hawthorne laughs.
"As we say in one of our songs, you only wear a tuxedo when it's time to party.
"It's not like a regular suit, like you can wear a suit to a funeral, but you wouldn't wear a tuxedo. A tuxedo means it's time to celebrate. It's a celebration outfit."
Who: Mayer Hawthorne and Jake One
What: Tuxedo
Where and when: Performing at The Studio on Friday September 18
