Last Friday, DJ Sun revealed his latest collection of tunes which, as its name suggests, served as a love letter of sorts to the sounds and styles of the ’60s. With vintage textures and references to the soul music of that era, Loveletter also feels like a love letter to the DJ’s hometown of Houston, with his peers in Khruangbin consistently helping to shape his music in various capacities, while the album’s closing track “Pan Am Flight 1701” features a verse from rapper Fat Tony, another product of the Texas city’s rich music scene.
“In Houston, I own The Flat where I DJ on Friday nights,” DJ Sun explains of that song’s title. “We call it Flight 1701 because the door guy sees so many passports, as Houston has grown into an international hub of diversity.” He goes on to explain how the track was originally an instrumental recording (debuted by Khruangbin on a BBC radio takeover) before Tony rapped over the song at a live show and later came into the studio to record an official take. “He came up with the most beautiful, uplifting message about biding one’s time in this process of life.” Adds Tony: “I’m impatient, impulsive, and passionate, so I created a mantra to myself to not get in the way of myself, to use my gut and my instincts, in order to get to the place I wanna be.”
Today, the vision for the track is further being realized with a brand new video directed by Justice Tirapelli-Jamail which sees Tony balancing the most fulfilling moments of tour life against the meaningful intimacies of home life. “It didn’t take more than a half a dozen eyes-closed listens through the song while lying on my back on my couch at home for the story, the idea, and the feeling to present themselves to me,” Tirapelli-Jamail explains. “The video is about the places we make for ourselves to dream in, the warm comfort of home, and magic of adventure when you leave it, and how both spaces require one another for them each to hold their own importance and enhance one another in that way.”
Check out the video below, which sees Fat Tony making the most of his time at home with his partner in LA’s Highland Park before being thrust out onto the road for several nights of shows (including a stop at Austin’s Oblivion Access Festival, featuring a few cameos including Kam Franklin of The Suffers and Kris Esfandiari of King Woman, the latter of whom he later cops a couple of cowboy hats with) only to return back home at the end. You can also stream the full record here.
