Telephoned
Sammy Bananas and Maggie Horn talk about their latest collaboration Telephoned
Sammy Bananas (no relation to Joe Bananas) and Maggie Horn are no strangers to the Brooklyn scene. Bananas is a successful musician and a producer for the record company Fool's Gold and Horn has offered her voice to bands such as Curses, Trois and Prince Paul. How two NYC powerhouses got together is easy to explain. All they needed was a bar, a bet and T-Pain. Now the two are Telephoned, whose first single “Can't Believe It” has been bombarding the DJ scene since it's release last year. We chatted with Bananas and Horn about their new project and the inspiration to work together.
HEAVE: Your version of T-Pain's "Can't Believe It" really kick started Telephoned, mainly because of it's original approach. What was the decision behind creating a song that's not quite a cover but not quite a remix?
Sammy: In all honesty the idea came from a joke between us (funny how
some of the best ideas come up this way!) We just dared each other into doing a
cover of this song we both loved, but in the process decided to interpret it
pretty loosely. In retrospect this really works because it provides the
listener a reference point (a song that your average radio listener knows) but
allows us to do some exciting things musically with our version and place it
within our own niche in dance music culture. It worked the first time, so
we decided to do more!
HEAVE: Both of you come from similar backgrounds musically, but what was
the final push to allow you two to collaborate?
Sammy: I think
that Maggie's singing on the Curses/Drop The Lime song "The Deep End"
got me really interested in working with her. She has a sort of detached
intensity on that track that I really like. The actually moment came
around one night when I was playing at Roxy Cottontail's Monday party at Sway
(an NYC institution!) and the two of us started joking about doing a cover of
"Can't Believe It". It was still a joke until I went home, made
the track and came back to Maggie saying "I actually made the beat, now
you have to sing on it!"
HEAVE: The record company Fool's Gold has a great reputation of
fostering equally great music. Sammy, now that you're an artist on Fool's Gold
and had previously produced for them, what are your insights on the company?
Maggie, what is it like being an artist on Fool's Gold?
Sammy: To me,
Fool's Gold is really a family. I've known both A-Trak and Nick Catchdubs
for about five years now, and I wouldn't want to be putting my music out
anywhere else! They both have impeccable ears and know what they like, but also
have the confidence to make it happen. A perfect example is the Kid Cudi
Crookers remix. It took Nick and A-Trak to connect this rapper they just
signed with some barely known producers from Italy and ultimately make both
artists famous! So being on a team with people with such insight is a
huge boon for getting your music into people's ears, which is obviously the
goal of this whole game!
Maggie: I have also known Nick Catchdubs for about five years. When they
started Fool's Gold I remember being so excited to see what they would do
with it. I watched the label grow and have the highest level of quality
control, innovation and foresight. I remember at the first year anniversary
just being so proud to see what they had accomplished in such a short time.
I've been front row at many a Fool's Gold showcase as a number one fan and also
a friend. I watched them break artists whose music I fell in love with. So to
be able to embark on something new with a label I respect so highly and with
people I consider as Sammy put it, family, is a dream come true!
HEAVE: Any big expectations or plans as far as touring, new recordings,
or anything really after your EP release party?
Sammy: The whole project initially started as a strictly studio thing, but after coming up with our concept for the Off The Hook mixtape, it seemed like there was an angle for live performance as well, something half way between a DJ set and a pop lounge singer act. The EP release party was a huge success and the live show smashed it, so I think more shows are definitely in our future! We have one coming up in Brooklyn at Music Hall of Williamsburg on Jan 30th with our pals Cubic Zirconia.
HEAVE: What's your dream song to work with next?
Sammy: There are
so many! We don't want to give away any secrets, but there's definitely
been talk about Young Money's "Bedrock" and Gucci Mane's
"Lemonade." I think one of our dreams is to have an artist ask
us for a Telephoned version of their song to promote it's release, in the way
that people often uses remixes.
HEAVE: I have a friend who is an audio acoustics student here in Chicago
that has an interesting theory. She says that you can't really know what
your music is like until you see people reacting to it - whether it's dancing,
thrashing, what have you. Based on the shows that you have played and the
audience's reaction, what do you think your music is like?
Sammy: I definitely buy into that theory. With dance music especially, there's something that happens when a room full of people are moving to the same beat that produces unexpected results. I think a real test of music is whether it can captivate a crowd and somehow sync them together. Our music is largely made for the dance-floor, so we've had the benefit of testing something out at parties before it's officially finished. If the EP release party is any indicator, I think Telephoned can sync 'em pretty darn good!
Telephoned's new self-titled EP is out now, and their mixtape Off the Hook is free to download here.
Posted by Amy Dittmeier on Jan 28, 2010 @ 10:00 am
