Premiere: S. Product, "Waste Your Time"
Today on office, they premiere “Waste Your Time,” a nearly 170 BPM belter of a tune, while simultaneously announcing their signing to independent music darling, Terrible Records (Solange, Le1f, Kirin J. Callinan, Miya Folick). Accompanying the single is a string of grainy footage featuring youthful partygoers, heralded by the nonpareil jack-of-all-trades, Reggie Watts, all of which visually harkens to a scene on the well-worn floors of Hurrah or Danceteria. S. Product spoke with office on the duo’s origins, the shortcomings of genre-labelling, and producing music videos under $200.
Share with us the genesis of S. Product. What’s the meaning behind the name?
Kyle—We had met years before while working at a record store in Hollywood and both were inspired by each other's music tastes and musical worlds. Mel had been playing in a band that had just broken up and both of us had just come out of relationships but wanted to keep our musical momentum moving forward. We had been playing with a few different band names that never really felt right. Ultimately, we were inspired by SPK’s approach in changing up what their name meant on every record they put out. "S. Product" felt like a way to leave it up to interpretation and allow us not to fall into any archetypes of what people perceived our name to be associated with, musically speaking.
Describe in your own words S. Product’s sound? Are there any descriptors you have found/would find annoying?
Kyle—I find music descriptors increasingly more dangerous, at least when it comes to this project. Like our name, our music also shifts depending on what feels right at the time of recording. "Waste Your Time" is the first single for this EP but really, nothing else on the record sounds quite like it. There's a kind of industrial/acid track on the record, there's a synth-pop sounding track, and there's like a funky, playful, 80's dance track. Even with the seemingly chaotic amalgamation of genres, I do feel that there is a constant thread to each song that ties them all in a cohesive and natural way. How exactly that thread can best be sonically described is up to the listeners.
Melissa—Throughout musical history, all genres seem to be completely bastardized after 20 years. What did R&B become? How has techno progressed? What about house music? What is the definition of post-punk anymore? Unfortunately, I hear it used as a blanket statement to describe mainly dark wave bands now, but what happened to the fun of post-punk or the amount of disco influence in its formation? In my opinion, the existence and actualization of true 'Post Punk' has not been heard or seen since Mark E. Smith died. Understanding the history and impact that a genre made during the time period in which it was popular is crucial to preserving its integrity and is consequently what makes me hesitant in claiming association with one.
Reggie Watts is featured in the music video for “Waste Your Time.” Is he a fan of S. Product?
Melissa—He is. He is also a great friend of mine. I met Reggie when he approached another project of mine to do a remix for him. We became buds as we have a mutual love of dancing together. More so, he is just that homie that always wants to create and down to clown, so I asked him to be the host in the music video idea that I had, which required someone just like him.
Kyle—Melissa calls Reggie a patron of the arts which I 100% agree with. He really does a lot in supporting artists and friends, a lot of whom are still a part of the underground scene, all without expecting anything in return. That kind of genuine love for a community, and desire for the people in that community to thrive, is something I don't often come across and is something I subscribe to and admire deeply.
How did the music video for “Waste your Time” come to pass?
Melissa—I have always wanted to have a music public access show since I was young. I used to watch Night Flight as a kid and episodes of New Wave Theatre used to come on—it was an old L.A. Public Access TV show from the early ‘80s. I didn't grow up in LA, I grew up on the East Coast, and thank god for Night Flight. I basically had the idea for the look of the show to resemble a classic New Wave Theatre set, but wanted the audience dancing behind the band like they used to do on another public access show from Chicago called Chic-a-Go-Go. We hadn't really had plans for a music video yet, but when Alfredo Lopez, who had previously seen us play, reached out to us telling us he liked our music, he offered his talents as a director. We shot it at Non Plus Ultra, the best space in LA.
Kyle—Alfredo, Melissa and I managed to make this whole video for under $200. It was the help of everyone else involved that really made this happen. Friends, and friends-of-friends came out to offer their help by dancing for four hours, filming, helping create the set, advising, and lighting—just for the sake of creating something fun and memorable. I've never felt such a strong sense of community as I did that night. I’m eternally grateful for everyone that was involved in the making of this.
Despite most folks loathing quarantine, what have you found to be most rewarding and/or enjoyable?
Kyle—It's interesting to be given the time to better understand what you are capable of as a human being, how easily you can adapt to challenging times, understand how healthy your methods of coping are, and what you can do to keep yourself as optimistic as possible in what is otherwise an unprecedentedly, devastatingly frustrating, and frightful time for so many people. Free time wasn't really a luxury that was easily available to me before this pandemic, so I just try to stay grateful for the amount of time I've been given.
Melissa—I rediscovered “It’s-It” ice cream sandwiches: real game changer in the gratitude department!
If you could throw a live show tomorrow, who would be your dream audience and co-headliners, and what would be the most ideal atmosphere/venue?
Kyle—Honestly, I really miss the warehouse scene here in LA. It doesn't always happen, but there's a unique energy that's created when a large dark room at 3 AM is full of people dancing to your music, it’s really indescribable and a feeling I greatly miss—that's all assuming the promoter ain't skimping on proper sound! As for headliners, a dream show would probably consist of a weekend-long festival worth of co-headliners: DAF, Suicide, Nitzer Ebb, Factory Floor, and Golden Teacher would all be on that list due to the role their music has played in my life. Tragically, not all of the members of these bands are still alive today, they're just a few of many other bands currently still playing, and not, that continue to leave an imprint on me.
Melissa—Even though I have always started in a small community of DIY warehouses and venues, I really love playing festivals due to the professional lights & sound. In a dream world, I'd love to rip an S. Product set and run over to see Iggy Pop, Nine Inch Nails, Depeche Mode and Brian Eno playing separate stages, and end the night crying because Spacemen 3 reunited and played ALL their records in full.
