By Keith Walsh
Roberto Montoya (Icons Of Industry, Betamax Dub Machine) has teamed up again with his friend Connor Williams, aka RHYS, for this inventive video of the song “Alone” from their ‘Surrender’ EP. I first heard the EP when it was released last summer, and listening again I heard some favorite influences in Montoya’s vocal style. William’s beats are generated inside the box, or rather are composed using computer-based sounds.
The tune flirts in and out of a major and minor mode, which is haunting enough by itself. Coupled with the effective stage setting and cathode ray displays in the video, it’s a cool looking sonic experience. As Montoya explains in our interview, he’s influenced by the vocals of Thom Yorke and guitars of Jonny Greenwood of Radiohead, while Williams admits that he is inspired by the sounds of Afterlife. Montoya and Williams are from Austin, Texas.
Popular Culture Beat: How was this song initially constructed? Words and melody first, then beats?
Roberto Montoya: The music was produced first. Connor sent me a few melodic techno tracks to see if I could add some vocals and other textures to them. This was one of them and we ended up releasing an EP called Surrender with this track and 2 others.
Popular Culture Beat: I know Connor likes to use in-the box synths, but in the vid there’s lots of hardware. Please explain!
Connor Williams: No hardware synths…. Yet a Moog Subsequent 37 is in my future though.
Roberto Montoya: The hardware in the video is Connor’s DJ and FL Studio controller. He used these to play the track during the video shoot. There’s also a modded Gameboy and another device that were on the table as props.
Popular Culture Beat: Connor, what hardware do you use and how does it shape your sound?
Connor Williams: Technically my DJ controller shapes my sound. I produce and arrange with live play in mind. Long intros, pauses before drops, etc… I arrange similar ‘dj mixes.’
Popular Culture Beat: I see at least two guitars. How can the qualities of a guitar spark creativity?
Roberto Montoya: Yes, I used my ocean blue Les Paul and a pink pearl Duesenberg that I just got. The Duesenberg has really inspired me because it has a tremolo system and this is the first guitar that I’ve had with one. This pushed me to learn how to use it and it opened up new sounds to explore. I have an unboxing video for it on the Icons of Industry YouTube channel.
Popular Culture Beat: The video production is beautiful. How did you find the producer, and what did the design process involve?
Roberto Montoya: The video has two cinematographers that I chose specifically for the vision I had for it. This is the first video that I’ve done with 2 different cinematographers. Zoe Jimenez from Smoko Films has a unique lo-fi style that she produced with her vintage camcorder and compositional approach. She did the entire intro and I left it exactly as she edited it. The HD footage was shot by an award-winning cinematographer named Quenne Eric. His style is very polished and I wanted that contrast between his style and Zoe’s. The music is modern but also has influences from more classic music so I wanted the visuals to represent that. We shot the video at Austin Cinemaker space and an electronic music venue named Dadalab.
Popular Culture Beat: The images on vintage TVs are amazing. How technically difficult was this to achieve?
Roberto Montoya: The set design with the televisions was done by a DIY tech artist named Boddah. He creates amazing art pieces using old CRT’s and other obsolete components that most people just throw away. He’s done installations for other music events like Levitation in Austin but this was his first music video. The modded Gameboy on the table is his personal device and brought it for the shoot. We met earlier this year at an electronic meetup at Dadalab. He makes a cameo appearance in the video when his face appears in his own televisions.
Popular Culture Beat: Are you guys fans of Radiohead? I hear some affinity with their electronic phrase, even in the beats and Roberto’s soprano voice.
Connor Williams: Gonna be completely honest — I can’t name a single Radiohead track. Any influences for my melodic techno sound come from the Afterlife camp.
Roberto Montoya: I’m definitely influenced by Radiohead, especially Thom Yorke and Jonny Greenwood. I also draw from more classic vocalists like Jon Anderson from Yes.
Roberto Montoya on Instagram
Roberto Montoya at Retro Synth Records
Roberto Montoya at Spotify
Icons Of Industry dot org
Icons Of Industry Interview At PCB
Roberto Montoya ‘Cedars Of Lebanon’ Interview
Roberto Montoya at Bandcamp
Connor Williams, aka RHYS on Instagram
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