“Telopono” is the first single from One Click Straight, the Parañaque City pop-rock quartet, consisting of three brothers Sam Marquez, (frontman and lead guitar) Toffer Marquez, (vocalist and bassist), Tim Marquez (drummer and producer), plus their friend and “spiritual brother” Joel Carter, also known as Jpapi (vocalist and guitarist).
Drawing inspiration from the “telebabad” culture of the 2000s, “Telepono” also serves as a personal love letter penned by Sam, reflecting on his own relationship with his significant other, adjusting their body clocks to sync up during late night calls — which add an endearing layer to the song’s theme. Writing a song about late-night phone calls might seem cheesy, but the sentiment behind it is deeply heartfelt.
The sibling duo, Tim and Sam, shared their insights with Rolling Stone Philippines. Tim explains: “Sometimes we make music that boils down to our personalities — the Tim and Sam OCS [One Click Straight] dynamic. We love things that excite us. Let’s say this is the normal place to go; we always find ways to go, “KABLAM!” Biglang may scratches doon, biglang may ibang take on this whole nostalgic, dreamy sound thing.”
“Telopono” features sparkling guitars, tongue-in-cheek vinyl scratches, and Sam’s signature nasal vocals — elements that fans have come to expect from One Click Straight. However, the track takes a slightly more experimental turn with clipping static, drum machine-programmed fills, and fuzzy rhythm guitars. Sam elaborates on the creative process.
“On paper, if you’re looking at it technically, usually the roots and origins of fuzz, it comes from a background of heavier music or rock n’ roll or grunge.” Sam explains, “The way I see it sa personal life ko, pag ako [ay] kinilig, may feeling ako ng jittery na feeling e. Tim’s idea was, ‘let’s distort something,’ and it has this fuzzy feeling na you know it actually sounds sweeter, which is a juxtaposition if you look at it by the book na parang fuzz? DJ scratching? Love song? What are you trying to be a soft Limp Bizkit? Pero hindi eh, parang what happens is it became a Woo! Woo! Kind of thing!” Sam and Tim have a knack for translating their inner feelings into sonic emotions, and “Telopono” perfectly captures the butterflies-in-your-stomach sensation.
However, with all the anticipation they’re getting with the endless teasers of “Telepono” in months before its release, Sam constantly reminded himself that their passion for writing music as earnestly as possible came from their do-it-yourself spirit. “That’s how it started since 2016 pa, na may certain sound, may certain visuals. We didn’t know anybody at that time who could achieve it, so we tried to study different types of art to create it.” Sam also gives credit to photographer Shaira Luna, video editor Steven Victor, and production house Creative Kartel for turning their vision into a reality.
Sam added more emphasis on the importance of the DIY attitude as a way of organically building a community. “‘Its not extra pogi points or swagger [for us] na, yeah, we can do this ourselves. ‘di lang siya statement for us at this point,” he says. “Ang sarap lang na merong people who believe in us so much, na game sila to collaborate. And when we collaborate, doon magkaroon ng magic. Parang vice versa na-i-inspire.”
