Boston-based artist and producer Haasan Barclay couldn't have picked a better time to drop his new music. "Call My Phone" — released just before Valentine's Day, aka the darkest and coldest time of the year in New England — captures the emotional longing for connection during the pandemic. "The idea [of longing for romantic and platonic connections] has completely shifted for me during the lockdown," Barclay tells me. "I've had an interesting time turning that into art."
The result is a sultry and well-produced track that circles the drain of sentimentality, a feeling that many of us can relate to as we get ready to round the corner on an entire year in some form of lockdown from interpersonal relationships. It's the perfect anthem for those looking — and longing — to reconnect.
It only took Barclay a few months for him to record and produce the track from the comforts of his living room. "My buddy Dad Jeans made me a microphone with an old rotary phone," he says, which he used, in addition to old commercials, to add a nostalgic flair to the song. When it came to songwriting, Barclay embraced the flexibility of living and working in the same space. "I try to be very fluid about my songwriting process because a good idea can hit me at any point in the day," he says. "I could be walking to the bathroom or tying my shoe, and the inspiration hits me."
Besides keeping busy with Shaka Dendy and their hip-hop industrial outfit Camp Blood, Barclay says he's also working on more new music for a full-length solo project. We're looking forward to that — along with more daylight.
