In an era where everything in the music industry has been digitized, it's rare to find musicians who still stick to their roots, focusing solely on analog productions and vinyl-only releases. Meet Payfone, London based duo of Phil Passera & Chieka Ononye, who's taken the disco scene by storm with their striking blend of electro disco.VICE Indonesia's Tim Laksmana chats to one half of the duo, Phil Passera, about vinyl revival, modern pop music and how Hillary Clinton gets them politically mad in their new EP, released on cult disco label, Golf Channel.VICE Indonesia: Please tell us about your new EP, "Justified/We Are Chains."
Phil Passera: The EP is political. I'm a very political person, for the last year I've been studying the US election closely. "We Are Chains" is actually my comment on modern life and the political system. It's a very bitter song about how bad things have gotten for us humans who aren't in the 1 percent.It goes " We are the chains, we are the slaves…" It was written with Hillary Clinton in mind.Wait… Hillary Clinton?
Yeah, she's one of the most despicable examples of a human ever existed! The Clinton Foundation has caused one catastrophe after another in the last decade. Where they've gone into poor parts of the world, raped the place and stolen all the money! I was very conflicted on November 8 when the election was over, because one part of me was horrified that Trump was in power, but the other part was delighted that Hillary wasn't in power.I definitely sense the feeling of protest in the vocals. Is "Justified" also political?
No, that one's different. The idea was to recreate a song that sounded like a live recording from a rave in 1988. Rave music back then was either really fast, 130 BPM, or quite slow. We went for the slow angle, "Justified" is like a tribute to UK warehouse rave era.How has Payfone evolved musically since your debut record, "International Smark?"
We started out as a kind of nu-disco thing, but then I felt there was a lot of nu-disco (music) coming out which were a bit too "sugary," instrumental, and repetitive. I'm more into the late 80s club music; simple analog & drum machine, no strong palette of synths, tracks which worked really well in clubs. I'm also keen to write original vocals in my music, because vocals give the music a purpose and identity. That pretty much sums up Payfone's music.It's also intriguing that, in the era of technology, you guys program and play your music with 100 percent original sounds without any samples.
When I was 17, I started DJing and making music with 100 percent samples. I had the name Kitty Bronx at that time [laughs], which went on for 10 years. Now going forward, 20 years later, I think I had enough of that and changed my ideology. Whatever I make now has to be 100 percent created by me. I don't sample other people's music anymore. I even have an 8-track tape machine now, it's unreliable, but as soon as I get it fixed, I'll be doing stuff 100 percent analog without using any computers.That'll be fantastic!
When you hear music with real electronic instruments, it has a whole life that you don't hear with those made of computers.Especially when played on vinyl with a decent club sound system.
Exactly! Comparing digital and vinyl is like comparing petrol vs diesel [laughs].What do you think about the vinyl-revival era where vinyl has become loved again in recent years?
It's become a retro thing. People like the novelty factor of it; they look good to put on the wall as artwork. Today I went to a local store, and was surprised that it had a whole wall of 12" records; from classics like Michael Jackson, Prince, The Ramones, next to the new Adele's, alongside classic reissues of Ella Fitzgerald, Chet Baker, Louis Armstrong… It was very tasteful! I also found out that there's a new era of album sleeves; they're now thinner and made of stronger cardboard. It's a totally new era of vinyl.What's your take on the current wave of music trend, especially the mainstream one?
I can't stand modern pop music. As adults, you don't watch children films and you don't eat children's food, so why do you listen to children's music?You've got the most talentless people on earth; Katy Perry, Drake, Ellie Goulding; what have they contributed to music? That's appalling, I cannot stand it!Listen to "Show Me How You Feel," by Kitty Bronx, Phil Passera's previous moniker, and download it below in this exclusive track offered by VICE Indonesia.
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Phil Passera: The EP is political. I'm a very political person, for the last year I've been studying the US election closely. "We Are Chains" is actually my comment on modern life and the political system. It's a very bitter song about how bad things have gotten for us humans who aren't in the 1 percent.It goes " We are the chains, we are the slaves…" It was written with Hillary Clinton in mind.Wait… Hillary Clinton?
Yeah, she's one of the most despicable examples of a human ever existed! The Clinton Foundation has caused one catastrophe after another in the last decade. Where they've gone into poor parts of the world, raped the place and stolen all the money! I was very conflicted on November 8 when the election was over, because one part of me was horrified that Trump was in power, but the other part was delighted that Hillary wasn't in power.I definitely sense the feeling of protest in the vocals. Is "Justified" also political?
No, that one's different. The idea was to recreate a song that sounded like a live recording from a rave in 1988. Rave music back then was either really fast, 130 BPM, or quite slow. We went for the slow angle, "Justified" is like a tribute to UK warehouse rave era.How has Payfone evolved musically since your debut record, "International Smark?"
We started out as a kind of nu-disco thing, but then I felt there was a lot of nu-disco (music) coming out which were a bit too "sugary," instrumental, and repetitive. I'm more into the late 80s club music; simple analog & drum machine, no strong palette of synths, tracks which worked really well in clubs. I'm also keen to write original vocals in my music, because vocals give the music a purpose and identity. That pretty much sums up Payfone's music.
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When I was 17, I started DJing and making music with 100 percent samples. I had the name Kitty Bronx at that time [laughs], which went on for 10 years. Now going forward, 20 years later, I think I had enough of that and changed my ideology. Whatever I make now has to be 100 percent created by me. I don't sample other people's music anymore. I even have an 8-track tape machine now, it's unreliable, but as soon as I get it fixed, I'll be doing stuff 100 percent analog without using any computers.That'll be fantastic!
When you hear music with real electronic instruments, it has a whole life that you don't hear with those made of computers.Especially when played on vinyl with a decent club sound system.
Exactly! Comparing digital and vinyl is like comparing petrol vs diesel [laughs].What do you think about the vinyl-revival era where vinyl has become loved again in recent years?
It's become a retro thing. People like the novelty factor of it; they look good to put on the wall as artwork. Today I went to a local store, and was surprised that it had a whole wall of 12" records; from classics like Michael Jackson, Prince, The Ramones, next to the new Adele's, alongside classic reissues of Ella Fitzgerald, Chet Baker, Louis Armstrong… It was very tasteful! I also found out that there's a new era of album sleeves; they're now thinner and made of stronger cardboard. It's a totally new era of vinyl.What's your take on the current wave of music trend, especially the mainstream one?
I can't stand modern pop music. As adults, you don't watch children films and you don't eat children's food, so why do you listen to children's music?You've got the most talentless people on earth; Katy Perry, Drake, Ellie Goulding; what have they contributed to music? That's appalling, I cannot stand it!Listen to "Show Me How You Feel," by Kitty Bronx, Phil Passera's previous moniker, and download it below in this exclusive track offered by VICE Indonesia.