In Control Of Their Own Destiny - The Ting Tings

When the Ting Tings released their single ‘Fruit Machine’ in 2007 (Limited-edition, 500-only seven-inch single on Legendre Starkie Records) it was available solely from gigs in Berlin, Brooklyn and Salford. The track came with hand painted artwork and a sense of community and potential eBay value was established. This, alongside the artist parties the band formed in at the now legendary Islington Mill, paint The Ting Tings of a somewhat different band to the commercial titans they are just twelve months later. Can a band who have come from a DIY background maintain their individuality amidst a sea of TV programmes and Apple adverts? “Well you can’t hand craft artwork for a hundred thousand album covers, it would be physically impossible. We’re more of an indie band than most indie bands actually. Those bands tend to work with a producer and get everything done for them. We do everything ourselves, from writing the songs to producing them and mixing them. Everything you see to do with our band we’ve had a say in it, we’re well aware that we’re signed to a big label and there is a huge machine pushing it out there but things are being done exactly the same was as if we were releasing it ourselves.”

Having a massive debut album is a blessing and a curse, the music scene is littered with casualties of the sophomore failure. Have the Ting Tings started thinking or working on album number two? “No not really. The thing is, we wrote the first album in about six months when we were nowhere near as busy as we are now. It’s so hard trying to live on the road and write songs as well. So what we’re planning to do is finish up playing here and in America then get into the studio and work for five or six months, see what we end up with and hopefully it won’t be a pile of crap.” Do you feel under pressure to produce a batch of twelve ‘That’s Not My Name’ in a bid to recreate the success of ‘We Started Nothing’? “No, not at all. Because we’ve had problems with record labels before (White and Jules Martino were dropped from Mercury Records when they went under the name Dear Eskimo despite having recorded an album) we are very insistent and precise with what we want. It’s actually written in our contract that the label can’t demand anything from the second album. I don’t think they would anyway though to be honest. Columbia (Ting Tings label) have some really good bands like Kings Of Leon, MGMT and Gossip and they know that each band are different and are going to grow in different ways. Are there any producers you would like to work with or artists to collaborate with? “We’re going to produce it ourselves again I think, we work better that way. As far as collaborations go I think we’d both love to work with David Byrne- we’ll have to hope he’s available.”

As the interview draws to a close I still remain puzzled as to The Tings Tings position in the UK music landscape. Before the interview I was one of those who believed them to be guilty of ditching their independent roots and chasing a quick dollar. The evidence stacks up against them, a television advert (Like label mates Gossip) propelled them into the public's conscious and also the fact that when their old label tried selling their remaining copies of an old 7” they issued a cease and desist order, depriving a struggling label of a much needed cash injection. On the other hand are we to blame them for changing tact and embracing their audience? In a time where there are just two successful out and out pop bands (Sugababes, Girls Aloud) and the whole ‘indie chic’ phenomenon becomes increasingly popular The Ting Tings seem to be the modern day equivalent of the manufactured pop groups of the 90’s. They are in no way created and moulded, not at all- they do however fit a very precise and current demographic. A large number of the people who bought ‘We Started Nothing’ also might own a Britney Spears album or the latest X Factor winners Christmas single.

By channelling the purest parts of the Talking Heads and Blondie aesthetics and launching it onto a market place gagging for a mainstream pop act The Ting Tings have struck gold. Where the band go from here is a mystery, the temptation to strike while the iron is hot will be hard to resist (You suspect however, a similar album to their debut would be ill received.) Whatever happens The Ting Tings remain one of the most confusing and challenging pop acts around.