Michael Tello, aka Lil’T, is a true powerhouse in the music world. As the A&R for New York’s PillowTalk Music and a key member of the electronic band PillowTalk, he’s got his fingers in all the right pies. Whether he’s DJing, producing, performing live, or teaching the next generation, Lil’T brings a fresh and exciting energy to the scene. His music is a thrilling mix of house, disco, R&B, soul, funk, world vibes, and indie dance. With over twenty releases and seven global tours under his belt, he’s making waves and getting major props from fans, critics, and festivals around the world.
Fresh off the release of his debut LP last month under his Lil’T alias, we caught up with him to discuss 2024 highlights, his track of the moment, and of course, all things ‘Back 2 The Future.’ Enjoy!
WWD: Hey Michael! Thanks so much for speaking with us. How are you?
What’s up, When We Dip! It’s great to be back in your spotlight, thank you for all the support over the years. I’m doing fabulous, It’s a new year, my solo album is coming out in February 2025, my new Brooklyn MAPA Studio is finally complete, and I’ve got some new PillowTalk music coming later this year. My daughter, Nina Rose is 3.5 now and is the absolute light and driving force in my life. I have an amazing family, friends, team, and peers who love me, and support my vision, dreams, and what I do. My team is top notch and I’m blessed to have my loved ones in my inner circle.
Underneath it all, like many artists, creatives, and DJs, I have been going through some mental health challenges. These experiences have empowered me to find the right balance through therapy, focusing on my overall health, and nurturing my spiritual well-being. I encourage anyone facing similar challenges to seek out mental health resources and talk to a friend or loved one. You are not alone—you deserve a happy life filled with joy and creativity!
WWD: How was your New Year’s Eve / Day? What did you get up to?
I got married on New Year’s 2016 so this day holds a special place in my heart. This New Year’s PillowTalk was invited to play at the Esmé Hotel Rooftop in Miami, this came two weeks after I did my Lil’T & Tone Of Arc “Eyes Wide Shut” record release party there during Art Basel, the crew, artists and I smashed both shows! I look forward to working more with this venue in 2025. Sammy Doyle and I then flew back to New York from Miami on New Year’s Day to play at a great new venue called, About Last Night in Brooklyn which was an intimate and fun way to wrap up 2024 and bring in 2025.
WWD: Any resolutions, aims, or goals for this year?
Resolutions are like farts, if you have to force it it’s probably shit, lol, JK! I’m really laser-focused on my solo, Lil’T project at the moment and the PillowTalk Music label. I aim to have a busy and successful album tour in 2025. I’m also re-launching my party brand, Housepitality in New York which has been on hiatus post-pandemic that I’m working hard on and would love to see this flourish once again, it’s been around since 1998. Lastly, my goal is to put out all the new and unreleased music that my team and I have been grinding on, continue working, mentoring, and doing A&R for new artists, sign to various imprints I’ve got my eye on, produce and write more music, and finally spend more time with my family.
WWD: What were the highlights of your 2024?
Some of the highlights of 2024 were reuniting the original PillowTalk band, Ryan Williams, Sammy Doyle, and me in my new studio for one glam slam weekend of writing, producing, and getting back that old-school magic that made our legacy catalog so special. The three of us have all taken offset breaks since our last album, All People, after each of us had our first kids who are all a year apart. We also invited PT members, Shane Duryea, Derrick Boyd (Tone Of Arc), Hannah Noelle, Greg Paulus, and Tate Masimore to contribute their talents to these new tunes. PillowTalk Music also hosted our first label showcase in which we debuted these new songs along with our 7-piece live band which was received very well by our New York community.
WWD: Tell us about your Lil’T alias. How does this differ from your Pillowtalk sound?
Lil’T is a moniker that came about when I decided I wanted to produce, write, and release my raw and uncensored music freely, separate from, PillowTalk and Michael Tello, where my family, my nephews, and daughter might not come across some of my explicit music and be like “WOW”, lol. It’s all fun and just flows, my sound is edgier than PillowTalk which is known for love songs and is sometimes considered fluffy.
I get to perform and sing my own vocals, write the lyrics, and do the instrumentation, compositions, and mixdowns as I hear them without the diplomacy of being in a band unless I’m collaborating with the various artists on some of the co-productions on the album or some of my new unreleased collabs. The “Lil” in my artist name pays homage to house music legends, Lil Louie Vega and Lil Louis to name a few who inspire me and my production style, and the “T” is for my last name Tello. Lastly, after rocking my new solo moniker for a while it dawned on me that a little “t” is also the symbol of the cross, growing up Catholic this revelation brought on a new meaning that connects me deeper to my higher power and spiritual beliefs.
WWD: You have an album that came out in February? Can you tell us a bit about it?
Yes, my debut Lil’T album, ‘Back 2 The Future’ was released on February, 21st, 2025 on PillowTalk Music. The album is a cumulation of old and new music from 2010 to 2024 that sonically came together nicely while also telling a story that showcases my diversity and production. The older songs got vocals added, live accompaniment, and mix updating. This process inspired new material that was influenced by some of my favorite artists Disclosure, Little Dragon, and The XX to name a few. I can’t put a single genre to the album, it’s a story rooted in electronica that has Dub, House, Indie Dance, Garage, and Deep House tracks sprinkled throughout. Each song has vocals that were co-written and performed by me, Hannah Noelle – who is the main featured vocalist on my album – along with my soul brother, Derrick Boyd (Tone Of Arc), Sammy D (PillowTalk), Aquarius Heaven, Big $exy, Jowil De La Vega, and even my wife does a small cameo under her moniker Lionize. I wanted to feature the people I love and have been working with during my career to keep all in the family.
WWD: What gear was used to make the album? Any favourite toys that we should look out for?
The brain of my studio is a Midas Venice F32 which allows me to get an analog sound by multitracking, recording, and mixing directly into Ableton. My Neumann TLM103 is my go-to mic for recording vocals, the Novation Ultranova and Roland VT4 for vocoders, the Korg MS2000, Polysix, Juno-106, again for that warm analog sound, and the Arturia DrumBrute Impact for drums.
The Pioneer Toraiz SP-16 has become an essential part of my studio, drum programming, and creative process. This clutch device acts as a sampler, drum machine, and midi sequencer, and I actively use it on every track. I love the built-in Dave Smith filter and “Drive” it gives my drums color, movement, and texture. This pairs nicely with the Toraiz SQUID which also clocks very well and allows for superior step sequencing and randomization.
WWD: What’s the scene like in New York at the moment? Is it ever changing and evolving and if so for better or worse?
New York is an epicenter for electronic dance music. That’s why I moved here from SF in 2013. There is something for everyone, every single night! You have the world’s biggest artists, DJs, and bands playing each weekend, local vinyl-only nights at various Hi-fi listening bars/venues, hidden speakeasies, some of the best electronic nightclubs, and a thriving underground and after-hours scene. I feel like New York is constantly evolving by breaking new sounds, genres, up-and-coming artists, and labels. It’s a place where the electronic underground dance community can express themselves freely without the conformity of what IDM and the various House music subgenres try to define our sound to be. There is music here in New York and out in the world that doesn’t agree with my taste but as long as it’s presented authentically with the emphasis on art I see it evolving for the better.
WWD: What are your three current essential records to play out?
WWD: What do you guys listen to outside of the electronic spectrum?
I listen to a lot of Jazz, Soul, old-school Salsa and Latin music, Reggae/Dub, and Rare and classic disco. I’ve also been digging on Soundcloud and Bandcamp for deeper cuts when it comes to edits and new and unreleased gems.
WWD: What was the last record that blew you away?
Lil’T, Tone Of Arc – Eyes Wide Shut (Tom Moulton Mix)
Funny you should ask, I’m not one to get sentimental, but when my best friend and collaborator, Tate Masimore said, “hey, Tom loves your song and wants to do a mix of it,” I just about fell to the ground. What a great honor to be recognized by Tom Moulton who is the originator of the remix, the breakdown section (“Disco Break”), and the 12-inch single vinyl format!
When Tom shared the first draft of the mix, I was very surprised that he kept the same arrangement, but he had mixed the instruments and vocals tighter and more drums and instrumentation more in the pocket…he also nudged Greg Paulus trumpet as he heard it which wasn’t bad, but threw me off. I called Tom, and we spoke for 2 hours about the song, how it came about, music, mixing, and remixing, we nerded out and I felt good about the next draft I would receive. Then I got back a second draft and his mix was starting to blow my mind, when I got to the end of the track the trumpet was still not quite what I had expected, they were still shifted and placed differently, and I was like “Ohhh nooo”. I knew that I had to surrender to the fact that this was TOM MOULTON, if he hears the horns this way who am I to dispute or give him notes?
Months passed, the mix drafts were MP3s, and when it was time to submit the record I kindly asked him and my team for the premaster. NOAM and I earlier that week got into an argument where he said “Who gives Tom Moulton back mix notes, are you insane? How could you expect to get him to make changes when he works in all analog and it’s been months since he last worked on it, you would be lucky if you got the premaster at this point.” The next day, I kid you not, I look in my inbox and there is a premaster WAV from Tom, I was so freaking nervous before I listened in the studio, but when me and PillowTalk Music label manager, Rob Grega listened back it was like being hit with a ton of bricks, it was perfect from start to finish, I got “All the feels”, the vocal mix was unlike anything I could have ever heard or imagined, the drums and instruments were tight, punchy and clear and the effects on the skanky guitar sounded like a 80s record, when we got towards the end of the song when the trumpet comes in I braced myself and when it played back as I had dreamed of and what I had requested it BLEW MY MIND! This was a moment in my life I will never forget, I feel incredibly lucky to be one of the many legendary artists who has Tom do a mixdown. Thanks for letting me tell this story, I’ve been dying to share it, and thank you to el maestro, Tom Moulton for the mix, it’s an absolute pleasure working with him. I hope to share many more fun stories with you and everyone in the future.
The ‘Eyes Wide Shut’ single is out now and can be listened to and purchased directly at here.
Shoutout to When We Dip for the interview, I wish everyone a wonderful 2025 and beyond!
WWD: Amazing story, amazing track! Thanks for the chat 🙂
‘Back 2 The Future’ is available here
Photo credit: Sasha Charoensub