Horsing around
With tunes and a lead singer to die-for, New Young Pony Club aren't in need of any bandwagon to jump on.
John Walshe, 13 Aug 2007
The term ‘Nu-Rave’ is generally abhorred by anybody even remotely connected with the ‘scene’ itself, and wisely so. After all, nothing dates a band quicker than being lumbered in with a gaggle of ‘me-too’ bandwagon jumpers when that particular vehicle leaves town.
There’s something decidedly different about London’s New Young Pony Club, however.
OK, so there are plenty of glowstick-friendly big beats in their heavily produced sound, but to these ears, there’s more of an ‘80s synth revival than the ecstasy-fuelled hedonism of the early ‘90s about their debut Fantastic Playroom. More Blondie than KLF, then. The comparison with Debbie Harry isn’t merely facetious, either. In frontwoman, Tahita ‘Ty’ Bulmer, NYPC are possessed of the most captivating microphone-slinger this side of CSS’s Lovefoxx. Music nerds note: Ty provided the vocals for Blue States’ 2002 album, Man Mountain.
In person, Ty is equally arresting, prompting this interviewer’s mouth to dry up like a sponge in the Sahara at one glance into those deliciously arresting eyes. I decided to direct most of my questions towards guitarist Andy Spence instead (no offence to Andy’s aesthetics, you understand, just in the interest of actually being able to ask the duo questions without drooling uncontrollably).
Having already distanced themselves from New Rave, I wondered if NYPC had to describe themselves, what would they say? Are they a rock band who play tunes you can dance to or a dance band who play rock instruments?
“That’s a really hard one,” groans Andy. “We’re not really a dance band and we’re not really a rock band. I can’t answer that. We’re just what we are but we love both those forms.”
“I’d say we’re probably more dance,” opines Ty, “because of the basis of what we’re doing. It’s all about groove and beats, and real songs happen on the top of that.”
So how have hardcore dance fans taken to it?
“We don’t really know who the dance fans are, because we don’t really play clubs: we play gigs,” opines Andy, “But the dance press have been great. Mixmag had us as their album of the month, so obviously that whole scene is really getting into it.”
Page 1/3 <Previous 1 2 3 Next>
©Hot Press 2011. Why be a member? | Terms of Service | Privacy Policy