Talking Passion and Parties with PillowTalk's Shane Duryea

Passion is a pretty overused term. It’s the number one word you’re told not to write on a job application. It’s almost become a bit of a dirty word. We’re here to reclaim it.

As a music and sound agency, here at Pitch & Sync we’re known for our passion for music. It’s our raison d’etre, the very thing that makes us who we are. By working so closely with talent who are also passionate about what they do, this got us thinking about all of the little things that make an artist who they are. Be it their first record or a newfound hobby, inspiration can come from all kinds of sources. Given that we work so frequently and so closely with some of the industry’s finest, we sought to give them a platform to share their passions. Enter the P&SSION Series! 

After much thought, we figured the best way to commemorate this series was by throwing a good old fashioned knees up! Like the parties of yore, we wanted to throw a party rid of all pretence. Just down and dirty partying in its most basic form - the very essence of passion. 

Shrouded in secrecy from the start, we spread the word around to our nearest and dearest, slowly revealing more details to those in the know. With world renowned DJs PillowTalk and Artwork in the mix, taking over the basement of East London nightlife institution Dalston Superstore, it was truly a night to remember. Particularly given the recent closures of many venues in East London, specifically those favoured by LGBTQ partygoers, we wanted to create a safe space to allow people to be unapologetically themselves and let loose. After all, that’s what partying is all about. With PillowTalk and Artwork going back to back, filling partygoers insatiable appetite for floorfillers, it was truly a night to remember. 

For those of you who missed out, fear not! DJ Shane One from PillowTalk will be making an appearance at the acclaimed Houghton Festival in August and Artwork is gearing up to headline at Ministry of Sound this Saturday as a precursor to his festival, Art’s House. You’d be mad to miss out on any of these!

We caught up with Shane from PillowTalk to talk about our secret party, his passions and how they feed into his music.

P&S> The phrase ‘pillow talk’ is already linked to the idea of secrets, how do you feel that a PillowTalk party relates to this same idea? 

Shane> More than just secrets, I’d say PillowTalk is about intimacy. It’s about vulnerability. I think it’s an openness that we try to convey with our sound. Maybe it’s secrets or maybe it’s just sweet nothings whispered in your ear, but either way, it will be nice. We want people to have a personal relationship with our music and I think the best way to do that is to make it personal to us. We really tried to do that with our recent album, All People. Sammy, Mikey, Ryan and I have all been friends for a very long time and come from completely different musical backgrounds, so our process in the studio is an ever-evolving collage of influences. When we all bring our points of view to the music, something special happens. We try and write songs instead of tracks and actually share something with our audience and touch people.

P&S> Passion plays an integral part in music as a cultural practice, at what point did you realise that you had a passion for music?

Shane> There is no doubt that all of us in PillowTalk have been obsessed with music our entire lives. Personally, it was all I ever wanted to do for as long as I can remember. I was born and raised in NYC and my parents had some musician friends who insisted they put me in some sort of music classes when I was three or four-years-old and by the time I was five, I was studying classical violin and piano. I was in some sort of pretty intense musical training or performing all the way through high school - music theory, jazz composition, voice training. It was a lot. By the time I got to college, I was pretty burned out and I needed to step away and just be a teenager and experience everything that goes with it. However, there was never a point where my musical appetite was not exhausting. I was always obsessively collecting records and playing out as much as possible. I started mixing records in my teens and right out of the gate I was fully on board. I went and got myself a job in college at a record store on the Upper Haight in San Francisco. At the end of every day, the owner would pay us either $10 cash or a record, for every hour we worked. A dangerous proposition for those with an itch. Way too often I would walk away with 6 or 7 records and $10 for dinner. Turns out, that’s not super sustainable.

Even though it was a huge part of my life, it was deliberately not a full-time gig. It took a long while before I was ready to really step back into writing and performing music live. I think it was 15 years of toiling in the trenches as a side thing before I fully walked away from a career at a major gaming company and a nice steady paycheck to do music full time. Surprisingly (or maybe not) it was only when I did that, and decided to pursue my passion for music full time, that things really started to take off. I think music, like many creative endeavours is very much reciprocal. The more you put into it, the more you get out both artistically and professionally. These days it's hard for me to imagine doing anything else for a living. I hope I never have to. It’s the only thing I ever really wanted to do and part of me can't believe I ever tried to do anything else.

P&S> Is there anything outside the world of music that inspires you? 

Shane> I’m lucky that a big part of my job involves travelling, as that is a constant source of inspiration. Kind of an uninspired answer, I know, but let me elaborate! I live a great majority of my life on the road, and as much of a pain in the ass it is to constantly be on the road, being out and about in the world constantly opens my eyes and reminds me that not everything is terrible. Especially when we are bombarded with what feels like constant bad news and that the world feels like it's collectively losing its goddamn mind, it’s good getting out there and realising that not everything is totally fucked. Perspective is everything. I've been spending a lot of time in Istanbul working on music recently and the place is absolutely dripping with culture that is so completely different to where I come from. Watching it emerge musically and artistically is crazy inspiring. 

P&S> Passion can come from all kinds of sources, what is your secret (non musical) passion? How did this begin? Why do you think you connect with it so much?

Shane> This is a tough one but only because it’s hard to choose just one!

If I must, it would probably be fashion. For anyone that knows me it’s probably not a secret. My dad is probably the most stylish man I have ever known and I’d like to think it rubbed off on me - at least a little. When I was a kid, he worked as a buyer in the early days of Polo Ralph Lauren. He was the epitome of that classic rugged American gentleman aesthetic that the brand was built around and his love of clothes and style was something that we definitely share. I was the 8-year-old that wore three piece houndstooth suits. Actually I’m a little bummed that one doesn’t fit anymore! It was amazing! Growing up in NYC, style was everywhere. My friends all make fun of me because I am chronically overdressed. It’s always a challenge when I’m going on tour and I need to travel as lightly as possible. I have a bit of a tough time leaving my closet at home. I mean come on… who doesn’t like getting all gussied up?

P&S> What’s your favourite record that you’ve never played out and why? 

Shane> I honestly don’t think I have one. What’s the point of having a record if you aren’t going to play it?! Every tune has a perfect time and place. It’s just a matter of figuring it out. I just really like finding out-there tunes and then finding just the right place to allow those poor little guys to fulfil their musical destiny. Or something like that… ;) 

P&S> Whilst you’re known for mixing genres across disco, boogie and indie dance, there must be some music that you love that would take others by surprise. What’s a record that people would be surprised to know you love?

Shane> Again, for people that know me, I’m not sure there is anything that would surprise them musically. Diversity is kinda my thing. When I play out, I tend to cover a ton of ground musically. I love playing outside-of-the-box-type-music in places that surprise people like mixing a Perry Como song in a disco set with a bunch of old school hip-hop because it works. Mixing Debbie Deb with Depeche Mode. Stuff like that. Shit, I even played Dueling Banjos in a set before. 

I do think though that people might be surprised to know how much I still love classical music, but even more than that I love Opera. As a kid, I was always singing, so my parents took me to the Metropolitan Opera for tryouts on a whim when I was nine or ten. I got super into it and actually ended up singing professionally at The Met in the children’s chorus for four years until I outgrew the costumes. It was actually kind of a shocking reality check about the nature of show business. One day, they wanted me and the next day they didn’t. I had sung in about 20 different operas and at the time, I thought I was going to be a professional opera singer forever. The whole thing was nuts. I have a ton of favourites when it comes to Opera, but number one would probably be a recording I found years ago of Mozart’s Die Zauberflöte where Sumi Jo absolutely crushes her arias as The Queen of the Night. It might be one of my favourite records ever. Still blows my mind. 

I’ll figure out how to play it someday...

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