played with love at my latest best 2016 podcast https://beta.mixcloud.com/nightlight/night-light-best-2016/

VINYL: http://bit.ly/1qMiKjK
BEATPORT: http://btprt.dj/OoZSsw
ITUNES: http://bit.ly/1g33V9x

Following EPs and 12”s on Wolf + Lamb, W+L Black, Life And Death, Bang The Box and their debut on Visionquest, PillowTalk present their debut LP, ‘Je Ne Sais Quoi’. As much a soundtrack to long nights as it is lazy days, there is something about the record that spans everything you want from the band: sun-splashed jams, peak-time party tunes and low-lit moments of intimacy.

The album has been a work in progress since the boys formed the group in their San Francisco studio and was recorded last year during a month at PDX Studios in Portland, Oregon, which sits overlooking the city and the gorgeous Mount Hood. It was a session that allowed the band to work communally, drawing from various ideas, as well as influences, which include the vast Americana of Bruce Springsteen, the wrought post dubstep of James Blake, the deep soul of Sam Cooke and the incendiary jazz of John Coltrane.

‘We All Have Rhythm’ is an anything-could-happen-tonight tune that you’ll want to be listening to at 11pm on a Friday; ‘Lullaby’ is the perfect dose of deepness for a loved-up 6am dancefloor; the off-kilter R&B ghetto tech of ‘4 Walls’ will fit the vibe at a woozy afterparty; and ‘LA To The Bay’ will rouse you and make you feel good the morning after as the sun comes up. This is music to suit all times, because that’s what PillowTalk is all about.

The broad nature of ‘Je Ne Sais Quoi’ came about because Sammy D (vocals), Michael Tello (producer) and Ryan Williams (multi-instrumentalist) pulled the record together from melodies thought up while on long plane journeys, impromptu jam throw downs in Berlin apartments and musical sketches created during long nights into early morning studio sessions sharing bottles of vodka. For instance, ‘4 Walls’ happened during a late night session, with the band throwing ideas around and with friends DOP and Navid Izadi. “We wanted to do something that wasn't a 122bpm 4/4 kick drum track, challenge ourselves musically and lyrically, so we made the song at 144 beats per minute but still gave it a soul vibe,” says Michael. The song took an hour and a half to write, whipped up in the heat and energy of the moment.

This organic way of working was what brought PillowTalk together in the first place. They formed after the three were mucking around on the baby grand piano in Ryan’s kitchen. A guitar and a Wurlitzer, some off-hand vocals, were thrown into the mix in true Doo-wop style. The EP, ‘The Come Back’, dropped on Life And Death in 2011 with their hit single 'Soft' and things started to roll.

Breakout hit ‘Far From Home’ on the ‘Far From Heaven’ EP in the same year was followed by the cheeky ‘Soul Edits’ 12” for Wolf + Lamb’s W+L Black imprint in 2012 which featured their classic remix of Bobby Hebb's, 'Sunny'. Then in 2013, the single ‘Lullaby’ backed with ’We All Have Rhythm’ dropped, giving a clear indication of how ‘Je Ne Sais Quoi' would sound: warm, lush and dreamy.

Though they’ve only been releasing records since 2011, the three have known each other for years. They met through djing parties and have been neighbors and even roommates. ‘Je Ne Sais Quoi’ sees them stepping into their own as a band, a statement of intent born from the highs and lows of their loves, laughs and heartbreaks thus far. 

CREW DOWNLOAD

PillowTalk - Slim's Night Out

Beresi - Formula (Forthcoming June 28, 2024)
Pre-Order on Bandcamp: https://tinyurl.com/y3bvz6td
Label: Pansa Records

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FORMULA [PANSA-010]

Pre-Order

Beresi - Instruccion

Crazy P - Something More

May You Never - The Very Best Of John Martyn

Sunshine's Better (Talvin Singh remix)

Love & Hate

Love & Hate (Leon Vynehall Love Rework)

teardrops (WOMACK & WOMACK COVER)

On My Own

Zero 7 - Don't Call It Love

You make me feel excited
Even though I hardly know
Anything about you 
I wanna get to know

I see the way you look at things 
With curiosity
Theres something behind those eyes
thats pulling in on me

There’s something so mysterious
in how you hold your gaze
makes me wanna get close to you baby 
to your embrace 

I wonder if you feel it too
Or is it just me
Theres so much more to you
I wanna get to see 

Sometimes you can just tellllll
A feeling unexplained
You’ve got me under you’re spell  
but I aint complaining  

Can we keep it personal 
Can we keep it close 
I wanna feel close to you baby 
I wanna get to know you
Tell me all your secrets 
Tell me all your dreams 
I wanna get to know you 
Do you get to know me 

Can we keep it personal 
Can we keep it close 
I wanna feel close to you baby 
I wanna get to know 
Tell me all your secrets 
Tell me all your dreams 
I wanna get to know you 
Do you get to know me 

A simple glance
My eyes are drawn 
Towards you
your something I ain’t seen before 

It may seem silly but 
I know you’ve done it too
Pictured yourself 
With someone you hardly know across the room

Prove to me why
You stand out  
Be the spark 
That I’ve been living without  

your something different 
Something new 
Theres something that makes me 
Wanna get to know you

Get To Know Me

Golden Age

Heartstring

Concrete Things pays tribute to a great visionary author & activist named Lorraine Hansberry; her voice & ideas are at the core of the track. Released in defiance of these dark times Concrete Things highlights the importance of using our cognitive gifts to move forward – to steer ourselves towards the proverbial light.

The world radio premiere of Concrete Things was broadcasted by Huey Morgan on BBC 6 Music, March 21, 2020 (who made it Beat of the Week). Gideon Coe has also played it a few times on BBC 6 Music. Featured on both Indie Shuffle and Amazing Radio too.

“The perfect tonic for a discordant mind.”
— Shell Zenner (BBC Leeds, Amazing Radio)

Words and speech by Lorraine Hansberry
Written, arranged, mixed & mastered by Seth Mowshowitz
Performed by Fold along with the following:
Horn Arrangements – Emma Johnson
Saxophones – Emma Johnson
Simon Dennis - Trumpet
Rosie Nicholl - Trombone
Violins – Kieran O’Malley

Concrete Things

Buy on Vinyl

Seeds in Sand

Key One

Love & Hate (Leon Vynehall Love Rework)

MichaelKiwanuka

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