We’ve long been fans of My Tiger My Timing, and we‘re not the only ones. In October they won the Beck’s European Newcomer; Anna Vincent, chanteuse for MTMT tells us about the experience and the bands plans.
The prize? To support Phoenix and the Ting-Tings, both of whom make music in a similar vein to MTMT, a sound Anna describes as “Interesting pop.” The icing on this cake was the chance to play in Germany, a country the band had been itching to get back to since an incredibly successful tour earlier in the year, something Anna described in an earlier interview as “one of the best things we’ve done as people, not just as a band.”
On arriving in Berlin they found a runner, Andre, waiting for them, a perk you sense they could get used to; “We got a little bit ‘do this, do that” says Anna, her inner diva raising its head momentarily.
As they arrived on the day of the gig, there was little time to make full use of Andre’s talents. They were whisked straight to the venue, The Station in central Berlin, and the realisation that it was huge. “We went in and took pictures of the venue and the size of the place sank in.” And although they were confident of their set, they played a shrunk-down version of the routine they’d used in a number of gigs this year, the 15 minute sound check, as opposed to their usual hour, did nothing to calm their nerves.
What did help was being able to chat to the other acts pre-show. All the dressing rooms were on the same level, so there was a lot of socialising, (and a cheeky beer) pre-show. Phoenix, says Anna were “Two lovely guys, understated and laid back“.
Anna and the boys had a chance to explore The Station prior to their performance, and saw a few early arrivals milling around. As support act, they were expecting two or three hundred people to see them perform, what they weren’t anticipating was for the venue to be full. They were told afterwards that there were about 3,500 people in the audience. This was a big deal for them, as they’re used to playing to crowds of at most 500 in much more intimate venues.
So does playing to such a large crowd, in a much bigger venue than MTMT is used to, change the dynamic of their music, or put it in a different context? “Totally,” Anna replies unhesitatingly “the experience of playing live is very different on one of those stages as you’re quite isolated, separated from the rest of the band.” In smaller venues, she says, the band feel as if they’re standing in the music, being a part of it, whereas when they’re performing on larger stages, the sound happens out in front, and what the band hears and feels is not the same as what touches the audience.
The crowd was incredibly responsive to their music; “I got people clapping!” enthuses Anna, “It’s always a gamble when you go for a clap, because you have a moment in a song when it’s broken down and you can potentially get clapping action to happen, but sometimes you can start and people don’t join in and you look like a mug.”
Anna from My Tiger My Timing
3,000+ crowd in Berlin
MTMT have always had positive experiences playing in Europe, and Germany in particular, I ask Anna why she thinks this is. “You can be a much bigger band out there. You come back here and you play to ten people.” Anna’s by no means disparaging the UK, “but when you’re a foreign band somewhere else you have a slight exoticism to you, maybe there’s a story behind you that you don’t get here.” Anna goes on to sing Berlin’s praises, extolling the virtues of it’s supportive attitude towards creativity. Anna believes that British bands enjoy a high level of support in Germany, and they’d be quite happy to spend more time there if their German fan base continues growing.
It sounds as if MTMT are still getting over the gig, and the enormity of their performance is just starting to sink in. Anna says that she had a moment walking down Old Kent Road, hood up against the wind, with no runner to drive her, when reality bit.
They’ve gigged since getting home, but are, “Having to share microphones, cramped onto a tiny little stage, having to schlep the gear in and out.” While Anna maintains that they love these small gigs, and will never turn their nose up at the chance to play the venues that have built their support base she concedes that doing them made the band feel like they’d taken a couple of steps back.
MTMT continue working on their album, which should be out in March. That they’re self-producing the record means they enjoy a degree of flexibility regarding timescales; the only real pressure Anna’s feeling is to get the tracks right. “The album’s coming, but we’ll only release it when it’s ready” she says “we’ve acted in haste and repented at leisure before; we don’t want to hear it a few months down the line and think we could’ve done it better.”
There’s a sense that MTMT is going places, that winning Best European Newcomer will open doors for them. She’s also hopeful that the interest generated by the competition will have won them a few more fans.
The real win from this experience is the boost its given the band, as Anna said as she signed off “This has been a real shot in the arm, it’s reminded us of the potential of the band.”
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