When Gordon Hyland decided to assemble a new band named Disaster Pony, he did so with the wherewithal to make it something special. You see, Hyland can play many instruments, like reed instruments and keyboards, and he’s got chops as a composer, too. It also didn’t hurt that as a desired session player, he’s built up a network of connections with some of the finer Canadian musicians he could recruit to play in his band.
So Disaster Pony could have been any of a lot of things. Hyland chose to make it a meld of jazz with hip-hop and EDM, approaching this hybrid by making their own ‘samples’ instead of sampling from other artists. That gives Disaster Pony running room to improvise as they groove just as hard as their contemporaries, and play Hyland’s slightly off-kilter songs. Acoustic instruments are not only allowed here, but are welcomed alongside the electric ones. Stanton Moore’s Flyin’ The Koop is the closest comparison I can think of.
In the nifty video bowing above (directed by Adam Fainman of Moonlite Media), “Dead Neon & The Noon Sun” does possess a lot of wholesome organic qualities missing from a lot of jazz-kissed electronic music. It’s impossible not to notice Andrew Roorda’s dominant bass line over Adam Hindle’s hip-hop beat, put way up front to nearly steal the stage from Hyland’s overdubbed sax section. Hyland himself gets in a convincing solo moment before the tune morphs from mostly jazz to mostly electronica.
“Dead Neon & The Noon Sun” is part of Disaster Pony’s self-titled debut album, due out on March 15, 2024. It’s coming to us from Lovetown Records.
Stream Disaster Pony here.
- Ernesto Cervini’s Turboprop, “When I Fall” (2024): Video premiere - March 15, 2024
- Disaster Pony,“Dead Neon & The Noon Sun” from ‘Disaster Pony’ (2024): Video premiere - February 27, 2024
- Christopher Hoffman, “Farewell Forever” from ‘Vision Is The Identity’ (2024): Streaming premiere - February 19, 2024
