Hit duo Ting-Tings find voice in off-season resort

Ibiza is synonymous with pulsating electronic music but when the British duo The Ting-Tings went to the Spanish island, they took inspiration not from the sweaty dance-floor but from the off-season oddities.
      
The Ting-Tings had enjoyed runaway success with two New Wave-ish songs marked by sassy vocals and funky bass -- "That's Not My Name" and "Shut Up and Let Me Go" -- but after a lukewarm reception for their follow-up, they went to clear their heads in Ibiza's winter.
      
"It's quite a fascinating island because in-season it's known as one of the clubbing capitals. But in winter, it's full of odd, eccentric characters. It's a very random place," vocalist and guitarist Katie White told AFP.
      
Among those random Ibiza encounters -- White and her bandmate, Jules De Martino, bumped into Andy Taylor, the former guitarist of 1980s British pop giants Duran Duran.        

The Ting-Tings didn't recognize the older musician at first but quickly found common interests. They wound up spending 15 months with Taylor as he produced the duo's third album, "Super Critical," which came out late last year and will be accompanied by a North American tour that kicks off in late March.
      
In Ibiza, The Ting-Tings frequented the clubs but realized that they had little desire to venture into electronic dance music. "It's just not in our souls, like New Wave and disco and punk are," White said.
      
Taylor helped acquaint The Ting-Tings with the sounds of late 1970s New York -- the raw reverb of punk clubs such as CBGB as well as the disco-era Studio 54 where Diana Ross would sing from the DJ's table.
      
"When we saw it, we said that's exactly what we're trying to do," White said. "The idea was of a...