Pillowtalk is Sammy D, Ryan Williams and Michael Tello. Just a couple of short years ago, they burst onto the scene with their refreshing take on house and techno that fuses elements of classic r&b, disco and funk into a trademark sound that can’t quite be placed. They’ve had releases on Visionquest, Life & Death and Wolf + Lamb. Their next single ‘Lullaby’ is out on the 9th September, and they’re following it up with an appearance at the Crew Love party at Village Underground on the 14th. In anticipation of this, we tracked them down to see what the trio had been up to recently, and to try and find out a little more about just why they're in worldwide demand year in, year out...
Hey guys, thanks for taking some time to talk to us! You’ve had a busy summer touring so far, any highlight gigs that have stood out so far?
We have had a bunch of amazing shows this summer. I think one of our overall shows that stands out was, London - XOYO. Great staff and club. They had an amazing sound tech that really got the best out of us, and the crowd was particularly off the hook as well that night. Crew Love at Sonar was one of the dopest shows, hands down, we have ever been a part of!! New festival in Belgium called “We Can Dance” was quite a success for their first event. Really, there were so many amazing shows this summer.
Do you think that compared to DJing alone, a live set-up gives you guys an upper hand when performing? You interact with the crowd a lot, would you say that is a big part of it?
There are pro’s and con’s to both. Playing live is really hard work and it takes a piece of your soul everytime. You are prone to make more mistakes and it takes great focus and concentration to really hold an audience, especially one that is used to seeing a Dj. With that being said, when it works, there is no greater satisfaction than having that kind of intimate interaction with the crowd. We love to Dj as well, and on those lucky nights when our agency is able to pull it off, you can see both;)
What’s your equipment set up when you perform live? Are there any bits of kit you couldn’t live without?
At the moment we are running the Novation MiniNova, Impulse and Ultra Nova. The Arturea MiniBrute, TC Helicon Voice Touch, Fender Bass and Guitar and a sweet as Guatemalan shaker! We could not live without that shaker man.
How did you three start making music together, and what were your initial inspirations?
We started writing music together just hanging out after shows and after parties. We have all been around the dance music scene in San Francisco for better part of the past 12 years. That’s how we met and became friends, hanging out in the same circles. We were inspired by everything happening around us and the music we grew up with.
Why ‘Pillowtalk’?
Why not? It was actually part of Sammy’s drag name...Raven “PillowTalk”. She was created and came to life during these alternate Burning Man parties called “Floating Man” which consists of a close knit group of friends who have gone to the burn for countless years and decided it should be on water.
My own favourite of yours has to be your version of Marvin Gaye’s ‘Sunny’… are there any more classics you’d love to add your own personal touch to?
To be fair, it’s not Marvin Gaye although he did cover it. It actually is Bobby Hebb, and that is the version we edited. We really like the Stevie Wonder version...sounds great on 45 pressing if you can find it? Bobby wrote the song the day after his brother was murdered and president Kennedy was shot..,,so there are some deep emotional feelings attached that song. There are and is an unlimited amount of old jams we would love to re-touch but at the moment we are writing new material. I’m sure we will dust off an old classic and try our hand at it in the near future.
I’ve heard a little about your motto ‘DAG’ (destroy all genres). What is it about attaching music to a genre that you disagree with?
Our idea of creative freedom is contingent upon us not being labeled to a particular genre. Phases changes rearranges nothing stays the same. We feel genres divide and hinder artists from true growth. Music keeps evolving in so many directions and sometimes it’s best to just close your eyes and listen, rather than try to put it into words.
You’ve found yourselves firmly amongst some of the most prestigiouslabels in dance music – Visionquest, Wolf & Lamb, Life & death etc… but the music you make seems far more organic than a lot of these labels outputs. I’m sure your influences are far stretching, but what do you guys generally have playing when you’re just going about your day?
It’s such a broad range of music but I’m pretty sure we don’t listen to loads of dance music if we are away from the club, party or an extremely large sound system. Listening to “The Stark Reality” at the moment while this interview is being done....Acting, Thinking, Feeling = Jam
What encouraged the move from San Francisco to Berlin? Do you plan to move back home?
We don’t actually live in Berlin. We just use it as our home base hub for the summer. We share 2 booking agents and our EU agents get us in the summertime because of all the festival demands and club gig’s available throughout Europe. We usually head home end of August.
We’re seeing more and more artists utilising a far more human/musical emphasis in recent years on our dance floors with live sets, instruments and vocals accompanying and sometimes completely replacing any processed elements. Why do you think this is?
Like we said earlier.....” Phases changes rearranges nothing stays the same”. To be honest, it really is nothing new and has been going on as long as since we have been in this dance scene, since the late 80’s. We think it just resurges every now and again like bell bottoms or jean jackets.
Tell us a little about ‘Lullaby’ – your new single forthcoming on Wolf + Lamb…
It’s a lovely tune built firmly around live elements and a sweet serenading lullaby. I don’t want to say too much about it and spoil the surprise, but if you are a music lover at all, it should be nice on the ears.
Lullaby is out on Wolf + Lamb on the 9th July 2013
by James Ellis
