Interviews
New Young Pony Club Interview
Following the release of their second album 'The Optimist', New Young Pony Club are back on the road and touring the UK. Pete Robinson caught up with singer Tahita Bulmer and guitarist Andy Spence in Korova, Liverpool.
Hi guys, to kicks things off, it'd be nice to find out who influenced the music. What did you listen to growing up?
Tahita: I was really into the usual indie stuff, Blur and The Verve.
Andy: I listened to a lot of Prince when I was young.
Yeah, it's hard to argue with a bit of Prince. Ok, you've been reported as saying your mission statement is to 'get people to dance'. Does this conflict at all with the darker, more introspective sound of the new album?
Tahita: Well, we still want to get people dancing and we still do but we also want to get people thinking. Thinking and dancing.
Andy: Yeah, we haven't changed in that we haven't taken anything out, we've just kind of added an expansion pack, [laughes] a goth expansion pack.
Tahita: I don't like bands that don't entertain the crowd, I think it's a band's duty to entertain and that's how I see us as a live band.
When do you feel most in your element as a band, during the recording process or performing live?
Andy: For me it's always the writing because it's where it all started.
Tahita: But it's also our duty to entertain, to give something back to the fans.
Your song 'Ice Cream' put you in the limelight, any worries it will become your 'Creep' or has it acted as a springboard?
Andy: 'Ice Cream' is a great track and its helped us so much.
Tahita: And I think if people listen to the album wanting more of the same then it's their loss.
Andy: It says a lot about the state of the music industry in general at the moment, there's just so much music out there, which is a good thing, but it also means people will just listen to one song and move on. 'Ice Cream' got us recognition but there's a lot more to the (first) album.
You've been described as 'Synth Pop', 'New Wave' and 'New Rave' in the past. How would describe yourselves musically right now?
Andy: Art Pop maybe [laughs], we've actually been described as the best Art Pop band in the world.
In terms of image and the energy of your live shows, you've often been compared to the likes of CSS amongst others, is this a fair comparison?
Andy: I think it's a lazy comparison to be honest, the media always want to make comparisons but we're our own band.
Tahita: They're a band with a lot of energy like us but apart from that I can't see where that comes from to be honest.
So how are you finding being back on tour?
Tahita: Last night was great, (Academy, Newcastle) it was brilliant to see the same familiar faces again this time around. We've got a real loyal bunch of fans that we see at all the shows so it's good to see them getting into the new stuff.
And finally, the new album seems to be a bit a departure from the first (Fantastic Playroom) in terms of style, is this 'NYPC mark II'?
Andy: Yeah, I think it is in a way and the second album definitely is more introspective lyrically.
Tahita: And seeing the same fans that came to see us touring the first album and seeing them taking so well to the new songs is fantastic.
Andy: I think that almost validates the record for us.
Excellent, well thanks for that guys. Good luck with The Optimist and enjoy the gig!