Interview #174: New Young Pony Club

At last summer is coming. The sun is shining and, even though it's only May, we've already been to the beach.

But what will you be listening to come the endless rounds of barbeques in July, August? To which album are you going to be chilling out to as you crack open the sunscreen and head for the coast? Which band's tunes are going to define your summer?

The smart money - and I Like Music’s - is on New Young Pony Club.

Back when the nights were just a little longer and a lot colder we headed to the seaside to catch up with Chief Pony, lead singer and all round icon-in-waiting, Tahita Bulmer as she prepared for NYPC's opening slot on the NME Indie Rave Tour at Portsmouth Pyramids Centre.

On stage the Sunshine Underground are screaming through their sound check whilst various Klaxons are wandering around exchanging pleasantries - and, in some cases, saliva - with CSS.

So we adjourn to the poolside to conduct the interview in near-tropical heat amidst the screams of small children hurtling down flumes.

ILM: So, Tahita, how has the tour been so far?

Tahita: Yeah, pretty good. It's been a nice one I think. From the sounds of things, people I know who're doing the other tour (NME Indie Rock Tour) are not giving very good reviews.

ILM: Apparently there's inter-band friction?

Tahita: Well, on our tour we all rip the p*** out of each other constantly.

ILM: So it's been better than you thought?

Tahita: I wouldn't say it's been better than I thought 'cos I didn't think it was going to be horrible or anything. The only band we hadn't met was the Sunshine Underground, so it wasn't like they'd destroy the vibe.

ILM: Had you seen them play live before?

Tahita: No, but now I have I have to say, out of all the bands that are playing, they're the most professional.

ILM: Really?

Tahita: Yeah, it doesn't matter how drunk they are, how tired they are, how stoned they are, how ill they are, they're still totally professional.

ILM: They look a little bit naughty!

Tahita: Oh, they are very naughty! But they always go out and give really great performances, whereas the rest of the bands can be quite shambolic, like CSS.

ILM: Yeah I saw CSS play with the 1990s, who like to enjoy themselves and, well, they all looked a bit f***ed to be honest.

Tahita: Well these girls ,they're actually quite clean living, you know! They kinda pick their moment. You know we're going to be nutters on this specific day, 'cos they don't do it every night. The Klaxons do it every night! If they're allowed. They did it in Dublin and their manager confiscated their rider.

ILM: What about you guys?

Tahita: Well, we're... (suddenly looking towards the swimming pool) OH LOOK! Awwwwwwwww, don't they look cute! Hahaha!

ILM: Where am I looking?

Tahita: There! At the bottom of the flume! Look! Klaxons and Ponies all frolicking! Hahahaha...they're all running to get back on the slide! That's really funny! My god, they're hairy!

ILM: I should get my camera out!

Tahita: I reckon you should! You'll never get the opportunity again! Annnnyway...!

ILM: Haha...so what's been the best night so far? Glasgow?

Tahita: Glasgow was amazing. Manchester the audience was quite incredible, but I was really ill all last week so I kinda missed that one. Cardiff was a good response as well. But you know, it's difficult for us to be first on as well. And the audience are kind of a bit...

ILM: ...go on, impress us!

Tahita: Exactly, and they're a bit (looks unimpressed) at you.

ILM: You haven't got an album out yet though.

Tahita: Nope!

ILM: So you're the only band on the tour without an album to promote?

Tahita: Yep! The Klaxons managed to get in there before us.

ILM: So where is it?!

Tahita: We've been sitting on it for ages.

ILM: Why?!

Tahita: I don't know. It's finished! Basically the album was probably finished this time last year.

ILM: So why the delay? You guys seem pretty 'polished' so I thought getting the album down would be pretty quick and easy.

Tahita: Yeah we are polished. I think it was because we had a whole load of songs we thought would go on the album - when we signed with Modular we had almost had an album worth of songs anyway - and then it was like, maybe we should write a whole new album and try and put out some stuff that's never been put out before.

ILM: That's pretty ambitious.

Tahita: Yeah. We tried to do that but then by about June we realised we just didn't have time so that plan just fell apart. And it was like right, we're going to put out the album we were going to put it out this year.

ILM: Your stuff is quite hard to buy though!

Tahita: Yeah!

ILM: I've looked...from a geeky fan point of view...on iTunes and I swear there was stuff there that isn't there anymore.

Tahita: Yeah, they've probably deleted us. My attitude is that if there's a band you like and you can't find anything by them then you're well within your rights to go online and rip it for free. Chances are you'll go and buy the album as well. Most people are completists, they want inlay cards...

ILM: ...which we love reading...we're all geeks...

Tahita: ...yep! You want pictures of the band sprawled around a yacht.

ILM: And you want something tangible in your hand, don't you?

Tahita: Exactly. I mean maybe this lot all bouncing around now in their little swimsuits wont give a cr@p about that kind of stuff, they won’t have known anything, apart from an era of downloading.

ILM: So who's been the most badly behaved in your band?

Tahita: Igor! Our bass player.

ILM: Are you all of a similar age 'cos the guys (Andy and Igor) look a bit older?

Tahita: We're all late twenties, except Sarah (Drums) who's the youngest at twenty-one. I'm twenty six. So is Lou (keyboards). But yeah, Igor's thirty and Andy's thirty-one and they're really hairy! We've got like the hairiest band-boys! You look at the Klaxons and they're all sylph-like.

ILM: They are very slim; their legs go down to points! So, how do you all think things are going for you at the moment? Do you think you'd maybe built up a bit of momentum then stopped it yourself by not getting the album out?

Tahita: Umm, I don't know really, I wouldn't say that. I feel like there's constant momentum going but its weird 'cos a lot of bands who started after us have almost worked too fast to get albums out. And it becomes not about being better. I always thought the music industry would be about being better, but you get into that whole corporate thing where, even if you're working with an independent label, it's like well, this band are a bit further along than you. Even though they're perhaps not as good as you, they get more attention because they've got an album out! So that's why the bill for this (NME Indie Rave) tour looks like it does; with us on first.

ILM: So you steadfastly decided this is how we're going to do this...we're going to do this at our own pace?

Tahita: Yeah, we wanted to do it at our own pace. We didn't want to rush. We would've liked to have got the album out sooner. Our record label (Modular) were a bit tempted with 'Ice Cream' - they want it to be a big hit, it IS a bit hit, everybody thinks it's a big hit - and they wanted to put it out in a big way, but of course in a UK chart environment you have to 'build profile' and all the rest of that cr@p, which, to my mind is ridiculous. It's a great single...just put it out! Put it out...massively...and people will buy it!

ILM: It's on a commercial now. How did you feel about that?

Tahita: At first we were very wary of doing that, especially so early on, but then, it's a great way of promoting the single. A lot of people who would never have heard the single, especially in the States, are aware of it, and like it. They're playing it in Australia and on MTV2.

ILM: You've almost had a hit without a lot of effort and you're probably better off doing it this early in the band's life.

Tahita: Yeah, we're not at that stage where we've sold a lot of records so we don't need to do a commercial. Plus we're on an independent label and there's no way you can say oh there are some people who want to give us a lot of money to do an advert...but we don't want to do it!

ILM: Especially when the label has invested a lot of money in you.

Tahita: Exactly. They're going to say are you f***in' serious?! Maybe one day down the line when we're all multi-millionaires...but certainly not at this moment in our careers. We've been an underground dance band for three years and we're maybe a 'cool band' but Radio 1 and NME still hasn't taken any real notice.

ILM: This may seem like an odd question but don't you think you really suit Modular? If you look at their website and the whole aesthetic of it; it suits the way you guys look, the way you dress and the way you present yourself, which is obviously important to you, and the way the videos look. Even the way the website is coloured and suits your 'look'!

Tahita: I think we're a fairly Modular band but if we went on stage in day-glo clothes and we were all pretty boys between the age of 18 and 24 then we'd definitely be a typical modular band! There's something fairly metrosexual about Modular (smirks)!

ILM: It seems to be a good label though.

Tahita: Yeah definitely. It's been a learning experience for us all I think. They've been happy for us to have a fairly slow trajectory. And we're their first UK signing.

ILM: Doesn't Modular being based in Australia make them a bit...distant?

Tahita: (Raises eyebrows and smiles wryly) There has been a kind of weird getting used to it thing where stuff has to be okayed there and then come back to be okayed here.

ILM: Do you sell much over there?

Tahita: Yeah, we're massive in Australia.

ILM: Are you really?!

Tahita: Yeah! We're on their equivalent of Radio 1 over there. We've been beating Oasis and Jet records! But we've got that whole girl thing going on!

ILM: You have, but you're not girlie girls; Sarah is head down, pounding away; Lou is ice cool. And you're quite scary on stage! Do you just click into that kind of mindset?

Tahita: People say that but, I don't know...

ILM: Not scary as in 'F***ckin 'ell!', but you came out on stage the last time you played here and you were very firm with the crowd about exactly what you expected from them! There were young girls in the crowd thinking Bloody hell, she said dance and she means business! We'd better do as she says!

Tahita: (Laughs) I suppose so! I think though we're definitely one of the only bands out there with the whole pretty girl thing going on. Sarah's gorgeous. So is Lou. I'm me. So, you know: what's not to like!?!

Well, Tahita - from what we've seen and heard - nothing!

Later, NYPC set an early sophisticated, synth-pop pace for the evening with the likes of future classics 'The Bomb' and 'Get Lucky'. Those arriving late not only miss out on the most stylish, accomplished and downright classy pop of the night, but also all the best eye candy too, with Igor and Andy (guitar) almost out-pouting the girls.

Igor even makes a drunken unscheduled appearance during CSS's set during which ilikemusic.com is invited to touch Lou's prominent collarbones (swoooon) as she reveals that the ice queen on keyboards persona nicely masks the fact that she invariably plays drunk.

Later still, after all the abandon of throwing ourselves around to the Klaxons' barmy new-rave-sci-fi euphoria, CSS's skuzzy sex-pop and The Sunshine Undergrounds Rapture-surpassing power, it's still New Young Pony Club's cool beats and Tahita's sexy sneering vocals that ring in our ears.

Next time there's a tour like this you can guarantee NYPC will be top of the bill. And the forthcoming album - Fantastic Playroom - will be the soundtrack you your summer.

Ah, what the hell; the sun is shining and we're in a good mood, so... New Young Pony Club is the best new pop band in Britain!

There, we said it. Anyone for Ice Cream?

Words and pics: Chris Waugh