“Music is some spiritual shit, you know? It’s like alchemy. It’s a great outlet…”

Throughout my journey as an explorer of the countless unique sounds blossoming out of the Mother City, none had me captivated as much as the works of Broken Telephone - an artist filled with sonic brilliance.

I had first heard of Broken Telephone once I had noticed one of my personal favourite lyricists, Jarry Pitboi, was scheduled to perform a show alongside him. Unfortunately, I was unable to attend the show and felt even worse for missing out once I had seen clips of the duo shake the room with a fresh new sound I hadn’t heard before. I had never heard Jarry perform on such eccentric instrumentals, crafted by the mind of Broken Telephone.

I was instantly intrigued and once the virtuoso reached out to us about our thoughts on his then release, titled “He Not A Man”, I knew an interview was needed to further understand who exactly this enigma is, the story behind his distinct sound, and his opinions on the state of the culture and the music industry.

I just told you about my journey as a writer and how it led to the birth of VERVE. Could you tell me more about yourself?

“Well, it’s interesting what you do because I’m also a copywriter. I couldn’t afford to study, so I kind of had to just figure shit out and work with what I had.”

“I did illustration because you don’t need a degree for that shit. I did an internship, and that was the first thing the CEO told me: that I didn't need a degree. He didn’t give a fuck where I studied, he liked my portfolio, and he’d tell me to ‘make this mural and figure it out’.”

“So, I did that, but I got over it around COVID time. I struggled because sometimes I’d get creative blocks, and when I made shit, it wouldn’t be at the standard that I wanted. But I had always been into writing. A friend suggested that I try copywriting at the time.”

Very interesting. Where are you from?

“I am from all over, dude.”

“I actually grew up in the Western Cape, but in the smaller towns. I’m talking places like Wellington. But I grew up in the Eastern Cape as well. Most of my family is from that side. My mom was staying near Port Alfred side, but she’s now living in Alexandria.”

“But yeah, I’ve been moving around a lot. But mostly the Western Cape.”

So, when did you move down to Cape Town and why?

“I’d say 2022ish…When COVID happened, I went to the Eastern Cape to stay with the family, but I was saving up there. The Eastern Cape is beautiful, man. But in terms of music, the infrastructure and opportunities are just not there, unfortunately.”

“Before Broken Telephone, I had a band, PXLS. I was the lead singer and rhythm guitarist. We did pretty well, I think, and we played at some festivals like Endless Daze, but COVID obviously fucked that up.”

“I still had those contacts from back then, and in terms of practicality, it made sense to come here. All the homies were here.”

Making the move to Cape Town, have you seen more opportunities come your way?

“Yeah, for sure. There’s just more of a scene, you know? There’s more of a community, even though it can feel a little cliquey and ‘boxed’ in, which is something I’m trying to fuck up a little.”

“Sometimes, you’ll see three bands playing that all sound similar. Watching shows like these makes me wonder why they couldn’t have had a band, a rapper, and a jazz band and mix it up, you know what I’m saying?”

“You see, man, with Broken Telephone, we’re almost trying to force that shit, in a way. It’s almost like a loose collective. That’s why you see people like Jarry Pitboi, e.im, M V Z, Indibano, and Ryan Stopforth involved.”

“We’re not necessarily seeing what we want to, so we’re trying to create it. We’ve kind of got one foot in the Rock scene and one foot in the Hip Hop scene, which I’m pretty stoked about.”

Broken Telephone alongside Jarry Pitboi & M V Z - Shot By @erindeswardt.photo

What’s the story behind the name ‘Broken Telephone’?

“I literally chose the name from the children's game, broken telephone. I’m trying to be like the sonic equivalent of that. I love music in a broad sense. Whether that’s Hip Hop, Rock, Electronic, whatever.”

“This is going to sound embarrassing, but the first CDs I bought… Definitely not stuff I still listen to now, but it was Eminem, Coldplay, and Green Day. Now, I see those as kind of foundational.”

“At the moment, Broken Telephone is basically either hip hop, loud, aggressive shit or chilled melodic stuff.”

This is my first time interviewing an artist who isn’t a Hip Hop, Pop, or R&B kind of artist. However, listening to your discography, I still can’t pick up what exact sound you’re going for with its dark and mysterious tones…How do you describe your unique sound?

“Dude, I kind of think of Broken Telephone as Experimental Pop. Because I think Pop can be anything, you know what I mean? There are popular Hip Hop songs, and there are popular Punk songs. All kinds of different but popular music.”

“But that’s also one of the reasons why I love hip hop, it’s like all kinds of genres spliced into one. You’re going to find traces of everything in it.”

“I would say my shit is weird and catchy. I’m almost always trying to do some weird, catchy shit with my music. Broken Telephone sort of started as a lockdown project. The very early stuff is basically the sound of me figuring out how to be a producer.”

“And I think because of that lockdown energy, everything was just dark and frustrating. I guess that’s why you hear it in my sound.”

“But I also like pretty, chill things and shit that’s very in your face. Like I said before, I grew up liking Punk music and stuff. And I think Hip Hop and Punk, conceptually, are kind of the same thing. I guess the Hip Hop project with Jarry is kind of like an outlet for that in a way, because that shit is pretty aggressive and fuck you kind of vibes. The work with Jarry is actually called TelephonePitboi.”

“My one homie who was helping us out, he’s in New Zealand now, he goes by M V Z, and he was instrumental to the creation of the first tape.”

You also produce all your music?

“Yeah, pretty much. I sample, of course, but I also sample myself. Like, I’ll write a song on guitar, and I’ll end up chopping it up and using that as a sample.”

“When it comes to learning how to sample, it basically comes from my love of Hip Hop. I was obsessed with Mass Appeal's "Rhythm Roulette” series, and just from being so obsessed with that, it made me want to try that shit for myself.”

“In lockdown, I was using GarageBand, and I was fucking around with that until I saw this beat pad at Cash Crusaders, which I bought, and that’s when I really started getting into it.”

“Eventually, I thought it’d be cool to actually play this shit live, but I didn’t want to use my laptop because I have a MacBook from 2012, so using that is risky as hell. I also use it for work, and you know how shows can get rowdy. Shit gets knocked over all the time.”

“I saw that a tattoo artist of mine was selling his SP, and because he’s a homie, he gave it to me for a really good price, even though he got better offers from others.”

“It’s a 555, so it’s a really nice one. He got better offers from other people, but he checked out their beats and thought they were so trash, and he told me he thought I’d make some fire with it. He sold it to me at a cheaper price, under the condition that I had to use it. Shoutout to that dude. (@porcelainboyyy)”

Broken Telephone Performance at ikeepitbutter Show - Shot By @ikeepitbutter

I see you also put yourself out there as a model. Relating to that, was putting yourself out there as a musician an easy thing for you to do, too, or did you find that an anxious thing to do?

“Oh yeah, absolutely! I released stuff with my old band, but that was different because it was like a team sport. It’s all about the team's confidence, if you know what I mean.”

“But when it’s just you, it can be scary as fuck. I mean, it’s all you creating this shit, and if people think it’s ass, you’re going to feel like an idiot. But a big inspiration for me conceptually is David Bowie because he also kind of did everything genre-wise, and he would always say one shouldn’t play to the gallery, or be afraid to display your shit. I took that to heart.”

“Also, showing your work to your homies helps a lot, and they’ll encourage you. In the Eastern Cape, when I was starting out making beats, Mandla (M.Phasis) would help. When it was lockdown and I’d just be in my house, I didn’t have anyone to show it to.”

“When things started chilling out, I showed them to him, and he was like my biggest cheerleader. You’ve got to have those homies. That was a big thing for me.”

“But I also think failure is part of everything. You can’t be afraid to fall. I got to a point where I was like “fuck it, I worked hard on this and I’m proud of this for what it is now”. It’s a reflection of your progress.”

You seem very passionate about what you do, and I love to see it. What kind of feeling do you get from making music?

“Music is some spiritual shit, you know? It’s like alchemy. It’s a great outlet.”

“I think it’s one of the purest things in the world if it’s done right. You can always hear bullshit in music, so I think it’s cool that the craft forces you to be as honest with the audience or yourself as much as you can. I think that’s special.”.

“Also, playing live is probably the most free you can possibly be. If I’m playing a show, that’s like me doing shit in my bedroom when I think nobody is watching, to now doing it in front of everyone, and the people are actually hyped.”

Cameo question from Vuyo: In your journey, what has music taught you?

“Damn dude, that's a good question. I think being true to yourself, following your heart, and not giving a fuck is the best way.”

“I started playing music when I was twelve. And I mean seriously starting and actually properly trying to learn and play music. That’s when I was staying with my uncle in Wellington, he’s like my godparent, and I lived with him for about two years. Before that, I was in the Eastern Cape with my mom.”

“So Wellington is a pretty conservative Afrikaans community. They’re not big on the arts. It might be better now, but when I was there, it didn’t seem that way. My peers were not fucking with that shit; they were into sports, and I wasn’t.”

“I didn’t care that they were into sports, but that’s also why I didn’t have many friends. That’s how I got into music. My uncle also plays guitar and stuff.”

“I guess when you’re small, you wonder why people don’t like you, and you wonder what you’re doing wrong. Getting into music actually taught me that there was fuck all wrong with me, but more them, because I didn’t reject them, which is important. I guess music gave me that self-assurance.”

Throughout your journey as a Capetonian creative, what challenges have you had to face?

“Man, firstly, Cape Town is a stupidly expensive city. I suppose you get what you pay for, but dude, my rent for a room here is the same amount my mom pays for a house! It’s mad.”

“So yeah, just the financial shit, I guess. I work three or four different jobs. I do the copywriting, I still do illustration, and a bit of videography. It’s just hustling and finding the time. I guess also being an artist, I feel like it’s something that doesn’t get respected. People will look at you and be like, “Oh, look, this kid is dreaming”. That gets a bit annoying, but I kinda use it as fuel.”

So with the music, is it more of a hobby or is it something you really want to push to do full-time?

“It’s what I want to do. It’s what I would love to do. It’s very difficult to do, though, especially with streaming. That shit is a scam, basically.”

“To me, the music industry is fucked. It’s absolutely fucked. It’s crazy, and no disrespect to sports, but athletes are highly respected and well paid. Fair enough, they’re putting their lives and bodies into that shit. But music and art in general are not seen the same way. It’s almost like a disposable thing.”

“If you remember in lockdown, when people couldn’t do anything but stay home, it was music and films that kept people sane. Without that, people would have gone crazy. It’s strange to me that there’s that separation with how art is viewed, to me.”

“But yeah, hopefully we’ll figure something out.”

How do you think the industry could improve then?

“I think artists would need basic rights, you know? A basic standard performance fee, maybe even health insurance, and a workers' union kind of vibe.”

“But in terms of gigs and such, I think in Cape Town, shit is really starting to bubble up, especially with mixing genres. When I was with my first band, that wasn’t really happening so much, but I’m slowly seeing improvements happening in the city.”

Reflecting on this interesting chat that was had with Broken Telephone, I felt that much more hopeful for what the future holds in store for the many Capetonian musicians.

Although the fascinating virtuoso has gone through many trials and tribulations as a creative, the passion for his craft has had him continuing to forge his name in the music world, and his powerful words expressed how confident he truly is.

Check out the works of Broken Telephone, available on streaming platforms. And keep an eye out for his exciting performances around the city. I was fortunate enough to make it to one of his shows and it does not disappoint!

Distorted Conversations With Broken Telephone

A Glimpse Inside Kristi Lowe’s Mind