NYPC

NYPC (formerly New Young Pony Club) are an English electronic music band from London, formed in 2004. The band has consisted of members from London, Hereford, Cambridge and Bromley. Their influences are predominantly post-punk and new wave artists.^[1]

New Young Pony Club are influenced by many different bands and acts, and try not to risk becoming too close to the sound of any one other band.^[2] Their own take on their music is "We marry the dance ethic with the pop ethic, and make something that you can dance to and sing along to".^[3]

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).^[4] The band formed in 2005,^[5] and released two limited edition 7" singles ("The Get Go" and "Ice Cream") on indie label Tirk Recordings^[6] before being discovered by more established Australian label Modular Recordings, 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", 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".^[7]

Breakthrough

The band has enjoyed success in their early years. Their highest chart placing for a first release was number 47 for second official single "The Bomb", though a re-release of "Ice Cream" reached number 40. They put their lack of chart success down to not having the "desire to make really radio friendly singles", but also claim that they "don't want to be the biggest band in the world".^[2][8] New Young Pony Club have been successful in Australia, the home of their label, where they have received airplay on radio station Triple J.

The band's song "Ice Cream" got very wide play in 2009 as a 30-second soundtrack for the TV and Internet advertisement for the Nissan Cube.

Fantastic Playroom

The band's debut album, Fantastic Playroom, was released on Modular Recordings on 9 July 2007^[9] 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.^[8]

Since its release, Fantastic Playroom has received generally positive reviews from the music press in Britain. Mixmag awarded it Album of the Month in its July issue. On 17 July Fantastic Playroom was shortlisted for the 2007 Mercury Prize.

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 ^[10]

Lee has since been replaced on bass by Remy Mallet, who previously played with Josh Weller.

Live shows

The band toured extensively in 2006 and 2007. A support tour with Lily Allen was followed by a place on the 2007 NME Indie Rave Tour along with CSS, The Sunshine Underground and Klaxons. The band went on to their first headline tour to promote their debut album, Fantastic Playroom. The sold-out tour launched on 25 May 2007 at the Gloucester Guildhall, and concluded at Winter Gardens in Eastbourne on 9 June 2007.^[11] The band continued to play festivals throughout 2007. The band brought in the 2008 New Year at the Rhythm & Vines festival in Gisborne, New Zealand.

In 2009 Sarah Jones joined Bat for Lashes' touring band and appeared with her on Later... with Jools Holland. She has since joined Hot Chip 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, replacing original drummer Matt Tong for the remaining of their European Tour in 2013.

2010 has seen 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 on her California Dreams Tour in continental Europe.

Band members

Current members

• Tahita Bulmer – vocals (2004–present)
• Andy Spence – guitar, bass, production (2004–present)
• Sarah Jones – drums (2004–present)

Former members

• Lou Hayter – keyboards (2005–2012)
• Igor Volk – bass (2005–2008)
• Lee Godwin – bass (2008–2009)
• Remy Mallet – bass (2010–2012)
• Lewis Maynard – bass (2012–2013)

Discography

Studio albums

• Fantastic Playroom (2007)
• The Optimist (2010)
• NYPC (2013)

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" (NYPC's Fucked Mix) – Amy Winehouse (2007)
• "Jealous Girls" (New Young Pony Club Remix) – Gossip (2007)
• "Leave It Alone" (New Young Pony Club Remix) – Operator Please (2007)
• "Marlon J.D." (NYPC's The Wire Up Mix) – Manic Street Preachers (2009)

References

External links

• Official website
• NYPC at AllMusic