Citing vodka, cake and emotion as their influences, it’s apparent that New Young Pony Club distribute their unique blend of electro-pop with what’s described by guitarist Andy Spence as “an explosion of joy in their head.” He tries to stay straight-faced while explaining that the band is “very serious about not taking themselves too seriously.” But he doesn’t succeed, collapsing into laughter.
But this might very well be the only thing that he doesn’t succeed at, as the past couple of years of triumphs have elevated NYPC to a place where, to be honest, it wouldn’t be surprising if they all had secret superhero alter-egos. Igniting dancefloors globally, having their tunes featured on prime-time ads, collaborating on charity tracks and staying close to their fans via a blog are all in a day’s work for ‘The Ponies’. But what really plugs them into the stratosphere (for ITMers at least) would be the fact that they’re closet Oz-ophiles.
The Oz-ophile, a curious specimen recognisable for its longing for the sweet smell of Vegemite, is quite an unusual phenomenon. And even if they might fly away, they can’t help but come back for more. While we’re usually forced to wait years for bands to return downunder, the Ponies will be visiting our not-so-sunny shores for the second time this year, to play Splendour in the Grass and assorted side shows. Andy explains, “We always enjoy it down there, great country, good people, good food, good crowd…”
The tendency for the Ponies to continually grace Australia with their presence could be attributed to their deal with Aussie cult label Modular Records. Other Modular heavyweights such as the Presets and Cut Copy are regulars on the Australian scene; are the Ponies under the gun from their label managers to keep on flying back over? “I wouldn’t say its pressure,” Andy clarifies. “I mean, obviously they want us to come out and they’re excited for us to come and promote…We’ve been to Australia three or four times now, and I know that’s unusual, and I guess it’s because of the level of interest in the band out there, and that’s because of Modular and their level of influence.” But he dismisses any illusions of Australian grandeur. “It’s not really like a label is local these days. People talk about us being on an Australian label but technically, it’s a global company…Modular has an office in London, they have offices everywhere. They’re a massive label now.”
But Modular aren’t the only massive factor in the equation, as the Ponies have been credited as the vanguard of the ‘New Rave’ movement, though they are quick to dismiss the label. Andy maintains that whilst they aren’t really bothered by the term, “it was just a case where it dragged on a bit. I don’t know if it’s called a movement, but there was a bunch of bands all around that time doing something alternative. Maybe a movement is something different to a scene, and there was no ‘scene’ as such, we didn’t hang out with other bands going, hey, we like the same music. We just did our own thing.”
The Ponies certainly differentiate themselves in that respect, and it’s perhaps their evasion of any ‘scene’ that adds to their appeal; as well as a commitment to remaining accessible to both their existing fans, and potential new followers. They happily lent their most famous tune Ice Cream to Intel for use in one of their advertisements, they blog regularly on their MySpace page, and they’ve even played a gig in the alternate reality of Second Life. “It wasn’t a real life gig, of course, just a recording of us,” explains Andy. “But I wanted to check it out and I created a little guy and I managed to find it. There were heaps of people there and they were singing along! That was the weird thing, they were ‘singing’ the words and typing it in like you text and it was crazy!”
Although they might be keeping busy at the moment with an extended run on the Japanese and Australian festival circuits, they recently announced they’ve begun work on “making the world’s raddest new album.” The followup to the Mercury Award nominated Fantastic Playroom has been anticipated by many, but as Andy warns, they shouldn’t hold their breath. The debut took the group years to get it in the can. “We have to create something we love and something that excites us emotionally. It’ll take a while, we want to make sure it’s as good as the last one, make sure it has that quality.”
With Fantastic Playroom boasting dance anthems like Ice Cream, The Bomb and Get Go, matching that quality on a follow up was never going to be easy. But the burden of producing hit singles is not lost on the band members. “You always need that on an album, if that’s what people enjoy. It’s always going to really connect with people, have songs that really last….we need to keep working on it until we get there.”
This shouldn’t be too much of an issue for New Young Pony Club. Lead singer Tahita Bulmer is reputed for her endless stamina onstage, and the Ponies appear to have so much love for their day jobs that all work doesn’t necessarily equate to no play. The fact that the Ponies give as good as they get (see Tahita’s mini-outburst to The Guardian when the Klaxons beat them for the Mercury Prize) has likely only contributed to their popularity. After all, the band walks a fine line between creating that accessible sense of fun, and maintaining their cult status. “We’re probably not going to be a big massive global band like Coldplay or U2,” Andy reassures. “Not mainstream like that, but we love pop music and the idea of that is to make us accessible.”
“But being a huge band could be fun, couldn’t it? Having your own caterers on tour.” Accessible or not, the Ponies have promised to stay true to their quasi-Aussie, potential superhero roots, sacrificing the allure of being well-fed for the greater good. Persuasive as having as a full-time caterer may be.
New Young Pony Club will be playing at Splendour in the Grass in earl yagust, as well as the following sideshows, presented by inthemix. Tickets on sale now!
Tue Aug 5th – Prince Bandroom, Melbourne
Wed Aug 6th – Oxford Art Factory, Sydney
And check out some up close and personal footage of the Ponies doing their thing…
Alice23 says...
Have you ever met ANYONE who actualy likes New Young Pony club? They're awful live and have terrible songs, the only good things they've had a remixes. Total definition of a hype band!
sjays says...
I love NYPC but they are sh*t house live. It's actually a real let down. There is no energy or presence, they all just stand there like rag dolls. If you love their CD don't go to see them at OAF [moved from HOME] or the tunes will be ruined for you forever.