My Tiger My Timing

"...listening to Today's New Band, My Tiger My Timing, is the right thing to do. They're a band that have found how to be arty and not jarring - one of rock's holy grails. Thus, the least we can do is point our ears in their direction.

This Is Not The Fire quickly unfolds into one of the jerkiest, warmest pop songs of its unusual ilk this side of Born Under Punches by Talking Heads. It rambles freely in its self-imposed sonic limitations, eager to seek out every cranny of possibility. Conversation Starter, full of gentle punches of pulsating sounds, steely guitar shimmers and careful chanting, dreams of shiny space-pop and aims high enough to get there.

My Tiger My Timing are an example of a band Doing The Right Thing. Not only are they NEW! in spirit and sound, but have delicacy, urgency and the desire to make sounds that you haven't quite heard before. Ace!" - A New Band A Day (blog)

If you like music that is dark, moody and intelligent, let us introduce you to your new favourite band. My Tiger My Timing formed in south-east London in 2008, and have just released their debut single “This Is Not The Fire”. Produced by Andy Spence of New Young Pony Club, the single is a real statement of intent from a very exciting and assured new band. “We’re all so excited about people hearing it,” said singer/synth player Anna, “It’s a massive tune!”

My Tiger My Timing have been together for about a year, and constant touring has made them consummate professionals. Well, sort of. “Someone stole the velcro off my keyboard stand before we were about to go onstage. I freaked out. I’ve never been able to live it down with the other guys!”

Their sources of inspiration are as eclectic as their sound. Named after an Arthur Russell song, other admitted influences include Stone Roses, Blur, Fun Boy Three and Happy Mondays. The band also cites the impact of working with the aforementioned Mr Spence and Joe Goddard of Hot Chip.

Confidence is always vital when a band is trying new things, something acknowledged by Anna. “We make spaced out, dark, melancholy pop,” she says, “Our music takes a few listens but I think that means it’s got interesting layers and ideas which kind of creep up on you”.

Touring remains a massive priority for the band, as they feel that their music is best experienced live. “2009 for us is all about getting out on the road and playing to as many different people as possible.” This summer will see the band put in festival appearances at Great Escape in Brighton, Glasgow’s Hinterland and the Monarchy Festival in Warwickshire. The latter is apparently of particular excitement. “I’ve heard there are helicopters involved!”

My Tiger My Timing’s debut single ‘This Is Not The Fire’ is out now on download through iTunes, Amazon and Napster.
Find them at www.myspace.com/mytigermytiming

By Liam Clune - www.addictmusic.co.uk

Everyday at the office here, while we're writing our articles and drinking our teas, we try to go through the many cds we receive daily and now and then there's one that catches everybody's attention, making everyone in the room ask "who's this"?

That's exactly what happened when Cari put on the single from up and coming group My Tiger My Timing. In less than 30 seconds heads were bopping and legs were shaking unanimously. This Is Not The Fire is so catchy that I've been listening to it non stop since Tuesday.

They play a delightful, totally danceable afro beat, electro-pop and still they compare themselves with bands like Metronomy and Casio Kids. While most of the groups desperately run away from extreme pop and commercial tracks, MTMT does exactly the opposite, recognizing their will for creating easy listening and fluid beats.

The foursome was formed in 2008 in south east London and their debut single was produced by Andy Spence of New Young Pony Club and will be released April 6th 2009 downloadable through Silver Music Machine.
Tuesday I had the chance to see them live at Cargo and I'm definitely looking forward to the entire album, it was quite an electrifying performance. - Amelia's Magazine (www.ameliasmagazine.com)

My Tiger My Timing - 'This Is Not The Fire' (Silver Machine Music)

This was almost single of the week, until Hook & Twin trounced it at the last minute, but both tracks are cut from a similarly hypnotic cloth. Like H&T, My Tiger My Timing slowly mess with expectations, tinkering with the trappings of 21st century post-punk and altering bits of their sound here and there with such a deft hand that it's barely noticeable. But it makes all the difference. - Drowned in Sound (drownedinsound.com)

MY TIGER MY TIMING

Hot Chip- endorsed pop band, best NY resolution, ever.

“I made a resolution to take up Pilates and form the band. Now I’m only doing the band.” Anna Vincent is talking about forming My Tiger My Timing , a minimal and earnest London electro band that she sings and plays keyboards in. Jamie Harrison, vocals/guitar/bass, finishes the story: “We decided to set up the band at a New Year’s Eve 2007/8 party. January’s usually written off, this time we formed a band. We’d been wandering around in a dream-like state. Now the band is the dream. ”

We’re sitting around Spitalfields Market late on a chilly afternoon. They both seem really, really nice and pretty smart. They joined by Anna’s brother James, Gary Drain and Seb Underhill in the Arthur Russell-referencing, New Cross-based band, My Tiger My Timing. On their own label, Silver Music Machine, they put out pop music with its middle stripped. Their debut single, This Is Not The Fire, came out a few days ago, and it sounds distilled, concentrated – it’s electro with its bones showing. Anna: “We wanted to do something that was more about rhythm and texture, without any frivolous bits. We’ve been quite puritanical about the way we make up the song. If you allow yourself to do anything, it can be limiting, whereas a narrowed field can be freeing.” As Jamie says, even their visual element is stripped down, using only primary colours: “It’s become basic but vibrant, and the more striking for it, and the music is primary. Rhythm and melody. Texture and atmosphere. It’s almost a dissociative technique – you’ll listen, and realise that you’re hearing something created by a pop song. There’s something about a synthesiser that offers that difference of interpretation. You’ve totally taken away the emotion – you allow people to add it for themselves. “

If the idea of a south London band playing deconstructivist electro pop rings a bell, then it’ll come as little surprise that Hot Chip are all over this. Joe Goddard has produced some songs for them, joining Andy Spence from New Young Pony Club, who produced This Is Not The Fire. There’s a similar, almost unnerving not-fucking-about sense to MTMT’s plans, from releasing their music themselves, to playing in the with the lights off to prove they can. Jamie: “We never wrote down a manifesto, but we should have. Focus isn’t a dirty word. We rehearse the set for hours and hours and hours, so we can play it the dark, which we do.” Anna agrees: “That’s what the single is about – that moment before you unleash something, when you know the fire is just round the corner.” Jamie: “Even our name is determined… Ferocious and precise. It was either that or Super Bingo Bingo Time, which I still think is a great name.” - Dummy (www.dummymag.com)

Back to London now and I’m (not so) slowly going around the world. My Tiger My Timing (era of strange band names) is from the south-eastern part of the giant capitol. Anna, the pretty vocal-synth girl has sent us their myspace-link from where you can download the songs.

I have been posting about a new type of indie dance music which born with bands like Foals and Friendly Fires. Somehow I feel that MTMT (Soulwax remix on the way?) is on the same wave. Not exactly cause they make it much more eclectic with afro-beat which is not my thing but I can’t really spot it here.

This is intelligent surreal-pop mixing up the elements of weird North-American indie and alternative dance to create something unique that vibrates and buzzes through the air, and if they are lucky, it’s gonna shape the future of UK’s indie. - Kunk (www.mykunk.com)

My Tiger My Timing are going to be huge. You just know this. Whether it’s because their debut single was produced by Andy Spence of New Young Pony Club, that the press are drooling all over them already, or, how quaint, you actually listen to the music.

Debut single This Is Not The Fire is a pure pop song with intelligence and darkness brooding just underneath the surface. Taking afro beat rhythms, choppy vocals and playful guitars, this really is a song for the summer... Or is it? Haunting is the word I’d use to describe this single predominately, once you get past the happy dancy façade and look that little deeper you’ll notice the dark bass line, lingering sustain on creepy guitars, oppressive synths and group singing all combine to give an unnerving underlying feeling, just setting you on edge slightly.

This lot know what they are doing, keep an eye out. - Noize Makes Enemies (www.noizemakesenemies.co.uk)

My Tiger My Timing are Anna and James Vincent, Jamie Harrison and Gary Drain, and although newcomers the foursome are already widely tipped in this industry o’ ours as something of a one to watch.

The band released their debut single proper earlier this month – visit your local record emporium to pick up ‘This Is Not The Fire’ (via Silver Music Machine) if today’s TotD tickles yr fancy bits. And if it ain’t there, well, everything’s online these days.

The track was recorded with Andy Spence of New Young Pony Club, which should tell you a little something about the MTMT sound – alternative pop with a dark heart that’s bursting with desire. - Clash Magazine

The art student enclave of New Cross quirky indie-pop combos at an alarming rate but My Tiger My Timing are the best for some time. "This Is Not The Fire', produced by Andy Spence of New Young Pony Club, is confident enough to abandon disco-punk in favour of something more buoyantly tropical, while still packing a chorus that CSS would kill for. Very cute. - Uncut Magazine

Proof once again that the fabled New Cross scene is thriving (hey – one band every two years [Bloc Party, Art Brut, Klaxons] counts OK?), let us introduce 2009’s brightest hopes from the creative hub and aesthetic bumhole of London: My Tiger My Timing.

Peddling a vaguely tribal electro like a south London Gang Gang Dance, MTMT have been making friends in all the right places. NYPC produced their debut ‘This Is Not The Fire’, Joe Hot Chip is doing the album, and they’re support at Filthy Dukes’ single launch soon (among a handful of dates across the country – details on MySpace).

Plus they’ve dived right in to the usual part-swapping remix orgy, having had their debut redone by Django Django and Tronik Youth and even turned dubstep by Example DJ and Chase & Status collaborator Sam Wire (in a version that admittedly stretches the term to breaking point). This mix is done by the band themselves. - NME.com