Slow Hands Interview: tempo has little impact on my production

Exhibit has had quite the opening run of events since it started last year. Bringing cutting edge talen from the house music arena to Manchester, they’ve balanced that out with a smorgasbord of local and up and coming artists with deft aplomb. The roll call of previous guests reads like a who’s who of the underground house music cognoscenti; Dj W!ld, Nick Curly, Luca Bacchetti, Butch and many more, all encased in some of the most intimate venues of Manchester.

Their next event encapsulates this formula further, with Wolf + lamb’s doyen of the dropped down groove Slow Hands playing live alongside Liverpool’s Lauren lo Sung, taking place in the delightful confines of 2022NQ. Looking ahead to the event we caught up with the NYC based Slow Hands to discuss the show, the origin of his name and the tribulations of using a guitar in a world of electronic music.

Hey, thanks for speaking to us. So where does the name Slow Hands come from?

Heya, no problem. The name was a derived from Eric Clapton’s nickname, and eventual album title, Slowhand. He was a childhood hero of mine, and the name seemed fitting for my musical style. At the time it was my thought that it was appropriate due to the music having the guitar as a pretty constant centrepiece, but apparently “slow” seemed a bit more definitive when describing me as time went on.

It’s interesting you say that, because your music tends to drop below the usual fast pace of dance music. What is it about a slower groove that appeals to you so much? 

You can fit more notes in when the kick drum hits are farther apart, haha.

Honestly, tempo has little impact on my production. I write across the board, as will be seen in forthcoming releases, and can currently be heard in the live set that I do. That, and 125-130 bpm is a pretty saturated market, don’t you think? Luciano, Villalobos, Deadmau5, Calvin Harris, those guys make a lot of money doing that, so to break into that market is much harder :)

How has 2013 treated you so far in terms of shows and music?

It’s been good so far. I have been working in the studio a lot, which is really my first love. Practicing a lot of guitar, practicing singing, piano, musical styles, etc. As far as touring has gone, the DJing has slowed down quite a bit, but the live show has picked up a lot. So that means I have to carry a lot more stuff, ha, but it’s worth it when it goes off!

You’re due to play in Manchester shortly for exhibit. Have you played in the city before? And are you a fan of UK gigs in general?

I DJed at Sankey’s years ago with No Regular Play on the second floor. It was a really fun gig. My good friend Sam (Deetron) was playing downstairs, so it was a family affair, which was really nice!

UK gigs are always good fun, I can’t say I have ever had a bad one

You’re playing live at the show; how effective do you think performance is for engaging the audience with your music and how do you utilise the medium to showcase it?

Using the live medium to engage an audience is a constant learning process. Bringing the guitar into it about a year and a half ago really changed the game. People (especially in a scene where it’s so scarce) really respond to seeing a person play an actual instrument. 

With DJing it’s easy to switch a record and change the vibe if things are going wrong. That’s much harder in a live environment. More often than not, people think I am playing guitar over a DJ set, which is frustrating. But, I think that this scene is veering much farther into a proper live setting, so I think the fans will begin to understand more of what’s happening in the coming years.

It’s really a strange turn in the music world that DJs are idolised like guitar gods were in the 60s and 70s. When and if I have children, if they come up to me and say “Daddy, I want to be a DJ”, I will hand them a guitar or piano or xylophone and say, “learn this proficiently, and then you can be a DJ”.

Current generations can name all the members of the (former) Swedish House Mafia, but don’t know who Miles Davis and John Coltrane were . . . that is insane.

You’ve got a strong connections to Wolf + Lamb. How important has their backing been in your development as an artist?

Massively, we are a family. That comes with all the ups and downs of a family, but it’s important to have the foundation and support. They let me do whatever I need to and want to do artistically, it’s amazing.

Where else have you looked to for inspiration musically over the years within the world of electronic music, and where outside of it?

Man, this sounds super cliche, but I really don’t listen to a lot of electronic music. I find most of my inspiration comes from films, or Folk, Country, Blues, and Rock music. I guess I will just name a few records that have inspired me the last few months . . .

I’ve been into Father John Misty Fear Fun, First Aid Kit’s The Lion’s Roar, Kanye West Yeezus, Tame Impala Lonerism, Mayer Hawthorne Where Does This Door Go and Sampha’s Dual. I am listening to the King Krule record 6 Feet Beneath The Moon while I do this, which is really nice.

Finally, what else can we look forward to in the future from you?

Tanner and I have been chipping away at this album, which is going much slower than anticipated, but is going in a really nice direction. I have and EP coming out with my Male Madame group on Tigers on a Leash pretty soon.

A remix by my group with Tom Croose, Worst Friends, coming out on Gop Tun Records out of Sao Paulo. And I had a solo EP coming on W+L, but it was nine tracks clocking in at 35 minutes, so they asked me to just make it into an album, ha. So that!

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