NYPC (also known as New Young Pony Club) are an English
electronic music
Electronic music is a genre of music that employs electronic musical instruments, digital instruments, or circuitry-based music technology in its creation. It includes both music made using electronic and electromechanical means ( electroac ...
band from
London
London is the capital and largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary down to the North Sea, and has been a majo ...
. The band was formed by Andy Spence and Tahita Bulmer in 2004. Their influences are predominantly
post-punk
Post-punk (originally called new musick) is a broad genre of punk music that emerged in the late 1970s as musicians departed from punk's traditional elements and raw simplicity, instead adopting a variety of avant-garde sensibilities and non-roc ...
and
new wave artists.
Career
Forming and signing
Mutual friends introduced now London-based vocalist Tahita Bulmer and producer Andy Spence, who shared a love of punk rock and dance music. The founding pair began writing together, originally only for Bulmer to perform. Spence later assumed a larger role when they decided to form a proper band, and the duo recruited Lou Hayter (keyboards), Igor Volk (bass) and Sarah Jones (drums).
The band formed in 2005,
and released two limited edition 7" singles ("The Get Go" and "Ice Cream") on indie label
Tirk Recordings
Tirk Recordings is a UK record label created by Sav Remzi. It has signed a broad range of sounds from the Kraut Rock of Fujiya & Miyagi, to the disco re-edits from Greg Wilson, the "SoCal" sounds of Daniel Judd (aka "Sorcerer") and the New ...
before being discovered by more established Australian label
Modular Recordings
Modular Recordings (known simply as Modular) is an Australian record label founded in 1998 by Steve Pavlovic that is currently owned by Universal Music Australia. It has released music from local artists such as Eskimo Joe, Ben Lee, The Avalan ...
, and signing a worldwide deal.
The band's name came from lead singer Bulmer's desire to be a part of a club or team at school. Her original idea for the band name was the more concise "
Pony Club
Pony Club is an international youth organization devoted to educating youth about horses and riding. Pony Club organizations exist in over thirty countries worldwide.
Origins
Pony Club began in Great Britain in 1929 when the Institute of the ...
", which she describes as "quirky and kinky and fun". A pre-existing Irish band had already claimed the name, and the prefix "New Young" was added to reflect that the band are "a newer, younger and kinkier
Pony Club
Pony Club is an international youth organization devoted to educating youth about horses and riding. Pony Club organizations exist in over thirty countries worldwide.
Origins
Pony Club began in Great Britain in 1929 when the Institute of the ...
".
''Fantastic Playroom''
The band's debut album, ''
Fantastic Playroom
''Fantastic Playroom'' is the debut studio album by English band New Young Pony Club. It was released on 6 July 2007 by Island Records. The album debuted at number 54 on the UK Albums Chart, selling 4,804 copies in its first week. As of March ...
'', was released on
Modular Recordings
Modular Recordings (known simply as Modular) is an Australian record label founded in 1998 by Steve Pavlovic that is currently owned by Universal Music Australia. It has released music from local artists such as Eskimo Joe, Ben Lee, The Avalan ...
on 9 July 2007 in the UK and 28 August in the U.S. Although the band had an album's worth of material, they decided to create an entirely new album.
Since its release, ''Fantastic Playroom'' has received generally positive reviews from the music press in Britain. ''
Mixmag
''Mixmag'' is a British electronic dance and clubbing magazine published in London. Launched in 1983 as a print magazine, it has branched into dance events, including festivals and club nights.
History
The first issue of ''Mixmag'' was prin ...
'' awarded it Album of the Month in its July issue. On 17 July ''Fantastic Playroom'' was shortlisted for the 2007
Mercury Prize
The Mercury Prize, formerly called the Mercury Music Prize, is an annual music prize awarded for the best album released in the United Kingdom by a British or Irish act. It was created by Jon Webster and Robert Chandler in association with the B ...
.
''The Optimist''
Second album ''
The Optimist'' was released in the UK on 8 March 2010.
According to the We Smoke Fags final MySpace blog posting, their bassist Lee has joined New Young Pony Club after We Smoke Fags have decided to go on an indefinite hiatus
Lee has since been replaced on bass by Remy Mallet, who previously played with
Josh Weller
Joshua Brent Weller is an English comedian, musician, comic-book writer, and podcast host.
Career
Weller's first solo single "Pretty Girls" was released on Yodel in 2008, followed by EP ''Push'', again on Yodel in 2009, produced by Ryan Hadloc ...
.
Live shows
The band toured extensively in 2006 and 2007. A support tour with
Lily Allen
Lily Rose Beatrice Allen (born 2 May 1985) is an English singer-songwriter and actress. She is the daughter of actor Keith Allen and film producer Alison Owen. Her music career began in 2005 when she made some of her vocal recordings publi ...
was followed by a place on the 2007
NME Indie Rave Tour along with
CSS
Cascading Style Sheets (CSS) is a style sheet language used for describing the presentation of a document written in a markup language such as HTML or XML (including XML dialects such as SVG, MathML or XHTML). CSS is a cornerstone techno ...
,
The Sunshine Underground
The Sunshine Underground (often shortened to TSU) were an English alternative dance band based in Leeds, England. Their style developed from indie, alternative to electronic music, and they released four full-length albums; '' Raise the Alarm ...
and
Klaxons
Klaxons were an English rock band, based in London. Following the release of several 7-inch singles on different independent record labels, as well as the success of previous singles " Magick" and " Golden Skans", the band released their debu ...
. The band went on to their first headline tour to promote their debut album, ''
Fantastic Playroom
''Fantastic Playroom'' is the debut studio album by English band New Young Pony Club. It was released on 6 July 2007 by Island Records. The album debuted at number 54 on the UK Albums Chart, selling 4,804 copies in its first week. As of March ...
''. The sold-out tour launched on 25 May 2007 at the
Gloucester Guildhall
Gloucester Guildhall is a former municipal building in Eastgate Street, Gloucester, which is now used as a arts and theatre venue. It is a Grade II listed building.
History
The original town hall, known as "the Tolsey" meaning "town hall", was ...
, and concluded at Winter Gardens in Eastbourne on 9 June 2007.
[ ] The band continued to play festivals throughout 2007. The band brought in the 2008 New Year at the
Rhythm & Vines
Rhythm and Vines (commonly known as R&V, RnV or Rhythm) is an annual music festival held at Waiohika Estate vineyard, northwest of Gisborne, New Zealand. The festival began in 2003 and was held for the one day of New Year's Eve until 2008 wh ...
festival in
Gisborne, New Zealand
Gisborne ( mi, Tūranga-nui-a-Kiwa "Great standing place of Kiwa") is a city in northeastern New Zealand and the largest settlement in the Gisborne District (or Gisborne Region). It has a population of The district council has its headquarter ...
.
In 2009, Sarah Jones joined
Bat for Lashes
Natasha Khan (born 25 October 1979), known professionally as Bat for Lashes, is an English singer, songwriter, producer, and multi-instrumentalist. She has released five studio albums: ''Fur and Gold'' (2006), ''Two Suns'' (2009), '' The Haun ...
' touring band and appeared with her on ''
Later... with Jools Holland''. She has since joined
Hot Chip
Hot Chip are an English synthpop band formed in London in 1995. The group consists of multi-instrumentalists Alexis Taylor, Joe Goddard, Al Doyle, Owen Clarke, and Felix Martin. They are occasionally joined by former member Rob Smoughton for ...
as a touring member of the band, appearing in a May 2012 edition of ''
Later... with Jools Holland'' in this capacity, and also played with
Bloc Party
Bloc Party are an English Rock music, rock band, composed of Kele Okereke (lead vocals, rhythm guitar, keyboards, sampler), Russell Lissack (lead guitar, keyboards), Justin Harris (bass guitar, keyboards, saxophones, backing vocals) and Loui ...
, replacing original drummer Matt Tong for the remaining of their European Tour in 2013.
2010 saw NYPC tour even more extensively around the world taking in new territories such as Croatia, Slovenia and Bosnia as well as revisiting Australia and mainland Europe. They also featured on several UK festival lineups including Reading and Leeds, Underage, Wireless, Bestival and Lovebox. In October the band headlined the Rocking the Daisies and Rocking the Gardens festivals in South Africa.
In 2011, New Young Pony Club supported
Katy Perry
Katheryn Elizabeth Hudson (born October 25, 1984), known professionally as Katy Perry, is an American singer, songwriter, and television personality. Known for her influence on modern pop music and her Camp (style), campy style, she has been ...
on her
California Dreams Tour
The California Dreams Tour was the second concert tour by American singer Katy Perry, in support of her third studio album '' Teenage Dream''. The tour played 124 shows beginning February 20, 2011 in Lisbon, Portugal and concluding on January 22 ...
in continental Europe.
NYPC
With Hayter and Jones leaving to pursue other interests, leaving founding members Bulmer and Spence to continue as a duo, the pair decided to shorten the band's name to NYPC to reflect the change.
Their subsequent eponymously entitled album marked a return to the duo's electronic music roots.
Band members
Current members
*
Tahita Bulmer
Tahita Rotardier Bulmer (born 29 April 1981) is an English singer-songwriter. She is known for her true contralto voice.
She is currently the lead vocalist for the English electropop band NYPC (formerly New Young Pony Club) and has previously ...
– vocals
* Andy Spence – guitar, bass, production
*
Sarah Jones – drums
Former members
* Lou Hayter – keyboards
* Igor Volk – bass
* Lee Godwin – bass
* Remy Mallett – bass
* Lewis Maynard – bass
Discography
Studio albums
Extended plays
* ''New Young Pony Club'' (2006)
Singles
* "Ice Cream" (February 2005)
* "The Get Go" (27 June 2005)
* "Get Lucky" (20 March 2006)
* "Ice Cream" (18 September 2006)
(first re-release)
* "The Bomb" (19 March 2007) – UK No. 47
* "Ice Cream" (2 July 2007)
(second re-release) – UK No. 40
* "Get Lucky" (29 October 2007)
(re-release)
* "Chaos" (28 February 2010)
* "We Want To" (30 May 2010)
* "You Used to Be a Man" (7 May 2012)
* "Hard Knocks" (6 July 2013)
Remixes
* "The Mirror Man" (New Young Pony Club Remix) –
Spektrum (2006)
* "
Tears Dry on Their Own
"Tears Dry on Their Own" is a song by English singer and songwriter Amy Winehouse from her second and final studio album, ''Back to Black'' (2006). It was released on 13 August 2007 as the album's fourth single. While the melody and lyrics are co ...
" (NYPC's Fucked Mix) –
Amy Winehouse
Amy Jade Winehouse (14 September 1983 – 23 July 2011) was an English singer and songwriter. She was known for her deep, expressive contralto vocals and her eclectic mix of musical genres, including soul, rhythm and blues and jazz.
A membe ...
(2007)
* "
Jealous Girls
"Jealous Girls" is a single by the band Gossip. It is the third single from their album '' Standing in the Way of Control'' and was released on August 20, 2007.
The cover was designed by David Lane. Different covers were designed for different fo ...
" (New Young Pony Club Remix) –
Gossip
Gossip is idle talk or rumour, especially about the personal or private affairs of others; the act is also known as dishing or tattling.
Gossip is a topic of research in evolutionary psychology, which has found gossip to be an important means ...
(2007)
* "
Leave It Alone" (New Young Pony Club Remix) –
Operator Please
Operator Please were an Australian pop band, originating in the Gold Coast, Queensland, in 2005. Their final line-up consisted of vocalist and guitarist Amandah Wilkinson, drummer Tim Commandeur, keyboardist Chris Holland, bassist Ashley McC ...
(2007)
* "Marlon J.D." (NYPC's The Wire Up Mix) –
Manic Street Preachers
Manic Street Preachers, also known simply as the Manics, are a Welsh Rock music, rock band formed in Blackwood, Caerphilly, Blackwood in 1986. The band consists of cousins James Dean Bradfield (lead vocals, lead guitar) and Sean Moore (musician ...
(2009)
References
External links
*
{{Authority control
2004 establishments in England
British musical trios
Dance-punk musical groups
Dance-rock musical groups
English electronic rock musical groups
English new wave musical groups
English synth-pop groups
Island Records artists
Modular Recordings artists
Musical groups established in 2004
Musical groups from London
Remixers