Payfone

Payfone bring a double header of NYC styled heat for the inaugural release on their newly launched Otis Records. Marrying modern boogie and classic R&B, with cosmic leanings and Balearic touches, Payfone manage to keep all the essence of the early days whilst bringing a contemporary swagger to the floor.Each element in ‘I Was In New York’ gets the space it deserves. Palm muted guitars and sashaying synth echoes flutter over the top of a strutting slap bass courtesy of Giulio Granchelli. A simplicity that sings – simultaneously giving your mind the space it needs to drift off into a daydream of sunsets over cityscapes. Introspective, meditative and innocent, Dayna Talley’s spoken word vocals lull listeners into memories of tranquil times. Set to be one of 2019’s standout songs, its refreshingly original and sure to cut through the noise.The B side, ‘A Prayer For Maya Angelou’ takes a Balearic boat out across calming seas. Gravitating around a metallic, pulsating synth, modulated to bounce at points and brood at others, mystic flurries drift in the distance, as pads wash across the horizon. Len Xiang’s melancholic tale reverberates throughout, with those sweet sax sounds from Billy Brooks Paul and a spring reverbed guitar riffing off into the ocean - elevating this into pure paradise.

Following on from their hard hitting previous release 'Quarantine', East London's Phil Passera & Chieka Ononye deliver their 4th release as PAYFONE on New York's Golf Channel Recordings.A side Catholic Central emerges from a dark street corner to bloom into a moody synth and bass heavy rhythm, before colliding with a disco riff that could have easily been borrowed from the master tapes of late 1970's Atlanta outfit Brick.Featuring the vocal style of Argentinian Pia Gonzalez Antar, who in confession recalls the dark dynamic of a relationship with a previous lover many years her senior.The room shaking B side comes courtesy of d'Marc Cantu's 'HAZE MIX' that delivers a pounding late night electronic soul voyage. Cantu has been releasing genre defying records since the late 2000's, and performs as one third of JaKbeat super group X2 alongside Traxx & JTC. Golf Channel every time!

From a basement studio in Hackney, East London comes PAYFONE's 2nd release on GOLF CHANNEL - QUARANTINE b/w PADRE, PRAY FOR US. Following on from 2014's extremely well received PARADISE heater, PAYFONE continue down a similar path for the A side QUARANTINE. Featuring once again 24 year old vocal powerhouse Louis Howard Jones, QUARANTINE is a semi auto biographical take on the hardships of a an underprivileged youth, set against a tough Phil Passera production that sounds more New York City 1984 than New Port County 2004 (Jones was born and raised in Cardiff). Cruising at 120 BPM, the dark funk guitar intro gives way to some heavy slap bass and deep synth that touches Michael Jackson's THRILLER before the direct and brutal vocals of Jones hit you right between the eyes.PADRE, PRAY FOR US is a bizarre Afro-Cuban inspired homage to Passera's Italian father Sergio ( who's telephone call can be heard on the songs intro). Featuring the lethal trumpet of former Cuban military private Eikel Venegas Hernandez, this instrumental takes you to the Pinata Party via downtown Lagos.