For us, 2020 has been a year of looking to the future or reminiscing about the past, anything to not focus on the present. This week was no different and Tuesday saw us celebrate our Sweet 16th Anniversigay, the very first day we stepped into a gay bar and came out to ourselves! The joy!
The years that followed were a hazy blur of London nights out at The Cock, Trash Palace & Popstarz. One band that was regularly supplying the soundtrack to that time was New Young Pony Club with hits like ‘Ice Cream’ & ‘Get Lucky.’
So it feels kind of full circle to be speaking with NYPC’s Lou Hayter this week about her forthcoming solo debut album – which is shaping up to be the sexy synth fantasy we all need right now.
Hi Lou, from playing keys in NYPC to being behind the decks DJing and now being front and centre with your own solo work – how has that step been for you?
Hi Loverboy! I haven’t gone live yet so it doesn’t feel like a big step yet. I did front my other band Tomorrow’s World though and it’s a massive change – you can’t hide at the back when you’re hungover and jetlagged like you can when you just play keys, haha.
When DJing you get to be as eclectic as possible and switch everything up, whereas creating an album you really want cohesion and things to be tighter, right? How has that relationship been for you with creating your new album?
It’s interesting ‘cause I’m not the most cohesive person in terms of how I make music. I like so many different types of music and so I could make something totally different every day. I made this record over a long time period too cause I was DJing so much. But with the new stuff I’m writing, I’m exactly the same – just playing with different styles that pop into my head. I think my voice and the actual songs pull it together with me though even if the backing tracks are quite different stylistically.
‘You speak in English but your kiss is French,’ I love that line from ‘My Baby Just Cares For Me.’ Which lyric is your favourite from your upcoming album?
Hehe..lots of people mention that line – I nearly took it out but I’m glad I kept it in now. It’s a bit of a cheeky one. My favourite line of mine is maybe ‘Friday in the sun, I feel your kiss like sugar on my tongue’ from ‘Cherry on Top’.
Has writing lyrics been relatively new for you? Do you go to reality or fantasy when it comes to inspiration?
I started writing songs properly about 15 years ago when I released my first single called ‘It Doesn’t Work Like That’ under the name The New Sins. My lyrics are a blend of fantasy and reality – some songs are directly from my love life which is always a way of finding inspiration. Other times I just make stuff up or go more abstract into complete fantasy. The best thing about it is that you can draw from anything you want or feel in that moment.
Do you have a current favourite song on the album?
Maybe ‘Private Sunshine’ because it’s the one I produced myself so it’s like my baby. But I love them all in different ways. I’m happy to say I don’t think there’s any filler on the album.
Yessss, ‘Private Sunshine’ is a totally gorgeous ballad. When that production switches half way through, ugh, love it. Super cinematic. You were saying you produced this one yourself?
Thank you, I’m really glad you like it. Yeah, I just wrote it at home at the start of the year, then took it to my friend Al O’ Connell to engineer and re-record me singing it. I added a few of his modular synths and it was done. I love the sparseness of it and how there are no beats. It sounds like there’s a kick drum in the bass but it’s just part of the bass synth. I was tempted to add more but just left it as it was. Sometimes it’s good to know when to stop.
Being a DJ you are going to know exactly who you want to remix your singles. Who have you got tapped so far?
So far we’ve had Decius who is Quinn from Paranoid London, Rheinzand and my good mate Tom Furse from The Horrors. I have a massive list of people to hit up next but I don’t know who’s confirmed. It’s fun though cause you never know what they’ll make from it. I’m lucky cause I’ve loved all the remixes so far.
This has been the year that we’ve not been allowed to travel but the tracks I have heard so far from your album totally transport me to sultry Spanish beaches or a lit recording studio in Minneapolis. Where would you most like to listen to the album and in what kind of situation?
Ah it’s great that you feel the record has a sunshine sound. I was channelling a West coast sound with ‘Cherry on Top’ and a few others because I really love Steely Dan and yacht rock etc so I wanted to make a pop song with that feel to it. So maybe I’d choose LA, also Portugal has the most gorgeous beaches.
Lastly we are named after the biggest selling single of 2001, so we always ask everyone what is your favourite Mariah Carey song?
Ooh that’s hard. Can I choose a few? I love ‘Vision of Love’ from her older stuff, ‘Heartbreaker’ (especially with the video) and ‘Fantasy’ – The ODB version with the intro by him. I didn’t answer the question did I? Haha…I cheated!
‘My Baby Just Cares For Me’ & ‘Cherry On Top’ are out now.
Lou Hayter’s album is coming Spring 2021.
Follow Lou on Instagram / Soundcloud
