Photo credit: Ardalan Abbasi
“Okay, here we go.”
The breathy phrase kicks off the intro track of Hotline’s self-titled album, launching into a bit of retro sampling followed by six minutes of a part-soul-part-galactic-mission instrumentals. If this track, “Call Now (Intro)” is any indicator, this is a band looking to take you on a journey.
Hotline hails from Raleigh, North Carolina and is comprised of members Ryan Trauley, Avery Sullivan, Tim Matthews, and Frank Meadows. The foursome are no strangers to the city; they are signed to Baltimore-based Friends Records. They will make the trip up to the Inner Harbor again this weekend for their performance at the renowned Artscape free music and arts festival, an event sure to draw both local and visiting crowds.
The band will play on the Johns Hopkins’ Station North stage, giving you an opportunity to see the self-described neo-soul group live and in full swing. Members of the group have played in the same circles since high school, but began performing as a unit in the fall of last year.
“I think we’re fun to watch live. We’re all sort of restless so we bop around on stage and push at the edges of the songs. I try and honor the role of front man and make a spectacle of myself,” says Ryan Trauley, lead vocalist.
As fearless as they appear on stage, Hotline is equally bold in their production of a debut album that feels both worthy of being in a movie soundtrack and simultaneously from a deep cuts collection.
Trauley’s voice has a tantalizing quality to it, the rockabilly twang of a bygone era, injecting life into songs like “I Get Paid”, a track heavy on falsettos and bluesy interludes.
All of the tracks off of the album, released March 25th of this year, certainly show signs of the bands’ musical inspirations.
“I was listening to a lot of Prince and D’Angelo when we wrote the record, both of whom have a certain intentional affectation in their voice. I was going for that!” said Trauley. “On the last [tour], we listened to a lot of Joni Mitchell. I love all those records: “Blue”, “Court and Spark”, “Hejira”. She’s one of the baddest artists of all time. I try and channel her influence for vocal harmonies.”
“Violets” is another song that shines off of the album, highlighting all the best funky, sultry bits the band has to offer. Hotline’s sound toes the line between R&B and a little something extra, the proof being in the track’s recently released music video, in which the group seems right at home in an antique store, dressed in silk and denim and stoically lounging with a disco ball.
This is music you can move to, with both vocals and instrumentals strong enough to carry you along through a car ride, cocktail party, or summer day cookout. Or-if you’re lucky enough- this Friday afternoon at Artscape. Appropriate for the far-out sounds wails and keyboards of Hotline, this year’s festival theme is space, using the tagline: “Explore What’s Out There.”
The group goes on at 3:30PM on the 15th.
“My favorite song we play live is “Do Me Like You Do”. I just think it’s a lovely song. As soon as we get some new songs into the set, those will probably become my live favorites because they’ll be fresh and little riskier”, says Trauley.
Those unable to see Hotline this weekend should keep an eye out for coming music, which Trauley indicates will keep with that same funky, slow-journey sound.
“New material is percolating. I’ve spent the past few months obsessively tinkering with two new songs. One is called “Hairdresser” and the other is “Stuck On U”. They are both 6+ minutes. It feels like I’m touching on something more sprawling, like the back half of “Aquemini” or “Stankonia.””
After the performance, you’ll have to venture out beyond Power Plant to run into the group, something students should consider given the members clearly have a finger on the pulse of all things hip (the proof is in the silk shirts, OutKast references, and 80’s-movie worthy interludes).
“Last time I was in Baltimore we played at the Crown and I was psyched to discover the “Koreatown” area that’s around there—I studied abroad in Seoul in college. After Artscape I’m hoping to take all the guys to a Korean Spa,” says Trauley.
With music so fresh and so clean, we’d follow Hotline anywhere.
Check out the video for “Violets” by Hotline:
Listen to the full album “Hotline” here and here: