TMN Exclusive Interview + Don't Make Me Wait (Original Mix)
If you’ve been following our dance related posts over the years, we’re certain that you’ve come across house & disco benders, The Golden Pony, more than a few times. One of the most consistent production teams in dance music, TGP’s rise in the past year has been nothing short of meteoric, and after we’ve gotten the chance to get to know them over the past three years, it was high time we got to sit down with our favorite couple of Afro-Thunders and shoot the proverbial… well you know. Read our entire transcript below, and be sure to check out The Golden Pony’s latest original “Don’t Make Me Wait” out now on Enormous Tunes sub-label Enormous Chills on the player above.
The Music Ninja (TMN): First off, thanks so much Tim & Tom for taking the time out of your busy schedules to answer a few questions for The Music Ninja! We’ve been following you guys for YEARS since one of your first remixes, the Daft Punk “Doin’ It Right’ remix to be exact, first careened through our monitors. In the roughly three years since, The Golden Pony has evolved its sound constantly with every passing release including a handful of addictive originals. I know it’s a bit cliché, but could you guys give us theabbreviated story of how you went from a couple of lone-wolf afro-wielders to the formidable and nationally touring duo that you are today? Did you both have a background in music and have solo projects before TGP? Was there a serendipitous event that led to you guys deciding to go forward as a team?
TGP (Tom): Honestly by banging our head against every wall and wrong direction possible until something clicked! I have a background in classical music and was playing piano and writing (somewhat) intellectually interesting but unlistenable electronic music when I started going out to see acts like Gigamesh and Goldroom, and just got totally sucked into the culture and sound of the dance music world.
(TMN): How about we get into the actual music side of things. Clearly, The Golden Pony has come light years in terms of sonic nuance and building heavy grooves. What have been some of your tunes or remixes that you could mark as a step in the direction of you guys becoming one of the most sought after acts in the U.S. underground scene?Do you both ever go back and listen to some of your older stuff and maybe laugh or say, “what the hell were we doing there?”
TGP (Tom): I think that our remix for the Chainsmokers was a real turning point for us. It was the first time that I felt our sound really crystalized both in terms of being dancefloor-ready and musically interesting. That said, there’s absolutely some moments in our older tracks that I have no idea where we were coming from!
What are the three TGP tunes that you would play to someone who had never before heard you guys to try and capture your essence the best?
TGP (Tom): Snoop Dogg – “Drop It Like It’s Hot” (The Golden Pony Remix), “Die Inside Your Dance” Feat. Savior Adore and Simon & Garfunkel – “Sound Of Silence” (The Golden Pony Remix)
(TMN): All excellent picks, and tunes we covered as well! You guys first made your mark on the blog side of things doing unofficial remixes at first, giving away a lot of your music for free in the beginning while racking up millions of online plays, social media fans and more in the process. Obviously, that was a move that has been paying off more and more as of late. Lately though, we’ve been privy to a couple of label-backed releases on Big Beat, THRIVE and Enormous Chills. How are things different compared to when you guys were just throwing ideas off the cuff and rolling with them, to having an actual label and deadlines etc.? Has it been a smooth ride for you guys in that regard?
TGP (Tim): Well we actually had to take most of our Bootlegs off of Soundcloud because of getting “Stirkes” for posting unauthorized remix’s! Its also a natural progression to start releasing on labels. It is a little tricky though when you don’t have control over what your releasing. For instance we normally shoot for releasing something every 1.5 months or so, but with our last official remix and original we didn’t get to release anything for 3 months, and then the two separate labels somehow picked the same day to release both tracks! We got them to move the releases apart by a week so one wouldn’t overshadow the other, but its kind of funny how things work out.
(TMN): What else is coming down the pipe for the rest of 2016? Any tours, music, exciting things in your respective personal lives?
Tim: More releases on labels, playing some cool festivals (Mystyerland, Elements, Boogaloo), and we have a lot of originals with great singers we are wrapping up!
(TMN): Alright, those questions were mostly to satisfy my own need as a fan of The Golden Pony, so let’s get into a little bit more riffy type stuff! I actually got to come out to Brooklyn this past Halloween and catch you guys play at the BangOn! ‘Warehouse of Horrors’ party with The Juan Maclean, Hayden James and more. I couldn’t help but notice you boys were putting the beverages away (and still somehow maintaining your sixpacks and unfettered hair). What are both of your drinks of choice while playing?
Tom: Modelo /whiskey!
Tim: Tecate / Any tequila
Tom: André. The champagne of ballers on a budget.
(TMN): Whether it was an art exhibit at the MoMA, concert or play, what was the last show/event you actually paid money out of pocket to go see and what were some highlights?
Tim: Future Islands Live! They rock it so hard, and the lead signer has amazing charisma, so worth it. We both here a ton of electronic music so its great to go see some good ol’ rock music with a great vocalist.
Tom: Well look, we’re being honest here. So I’ll say it. Insane Clown Posse.
(TMN): Okay, let’s play desert island. You’re stranded in the middle of the ocean and won’t ever be rescued. You can each pick: the one food you could survive on for the rest of eternity, three records, and three movies throughout the history of time to keep your sanity. What are they?
Tim: Records: Tom Waits “Rain Dogs”, The Pixies “Doolittle”, Jimi Hendrix “Are you experienced. Movies: Cool Hand Luke, Starship Troopers, Chinatown
Tom: Records: SBTRKT S/T, Wu-Tang Clan – “Enter The Wu-Tang (36 Chambers), The Strokes – “Is This It?” Films: Blade Runner, Jurassic Park, Stop Making Sense
(TMN): You’re both pretty savvy music nerds from what we’ve seen. Have either of you had a favorite records tore of all time? Doesn’t matter if is now defunct!
Tim: Mysterytrain Records in Boston! (My uncle owned it so I got discounts)
Tom: Rough Trade in Brooklyn for sure……impossible to find electronic 7” everywhere
(TMN): And finally, is there anything else you’d like our readers to know about you guys before we have to depart?
Tim: I’m not cutting my hair for at least 1 year from the day this article comes out. It might be a nightmare but I will stick to it.
Tom: We’re only going to play Wham! Remixes for all of festival season.
(TMN): Hahahaha, that is some groundbreaking stuff guys. Thanks so much, we know interviews can get very repetitive so we tried to keep things fresh! Thanks for answering! Keep an eye our for The Golden Pony to touch down on a dance club near you.
