Slow Dance '24

Within the grassroots circuit of London and beyond, the release of the Slow Dance Records curated compilation at the start of each year is more often than not an indicator of what's to come. Set on uncovering the best new lo-fi, experimental and alternative music from London and beyond, the compilation not only represents a label with its ear constantly to the ground, but also predicts new avenues, and key artists from various scenes and spaces outside the industry. Celebrated by the likes of BBC Radio 6 Music ("Compilation of the Month") The Quietus, actor Cillian Murphy, The Line of Best Fit, So Young Magazine, Hard of Hearing and Still Listening, alumni of the compilation have gone on to sign and release with a plethora of labels, from Ninja Tune, 4AD and Rough Trade. Notably, it’s also given the first outings to bands and solo projects from black midi to Black Country, New Road; from Otta, Goat Girl and Martha Skye Murphy to Drug Store Romeos, Sorry, Folly Group and Fat Dog. True to this growing reputation, Slow Dance ‘24 is as diverse, as lovingly curated, and as on the pulse as any of its predecessors. Among many tantalising debut outings, highlights from this year’s edition include the return of 80s underground icon, Princess Demeny, who presents here her first new material in over 30 years. There’s also the long awaited new music from indie-folk quintet pencil, a debut release from British Actress Esme Creed-Miles, and side-projects from hotly tipped duo most things, namely, Xmal and Birdfeeder. Rolling out a single each weekday until the compilation’s full release on 13th February, leading the line is the debut release from London-based emergent electronic trio Pearl2. Out today (20th Jan), and featuring members of Hank and Moreish Idols, ‘Watered Down’ is an intoxicating weave of acid house and psychedelic-pop, set against the low-light haze of cigarette smoke, club lights and 90s nostalgia.

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Export Import

EXPORT / IMPORT

Export Import, a 10-piece ensemble from Canning Town, has carved out a peculiar niche in London’s underground music scene. Known for hosting “Life Passage Ceremonies” such as weddings, funerals, baptisms, and exorcisms, the group performs at venues like Venue MOT, Colour Factory, and The Windmill, as well as unannounced appearances on London’s streets. The project operates under two contrasting identities: Export and Import. Export is rigid and intense, delivering a punishing blend of sharp rhythms and angular compositions. Their performances are known for their unrelenting energy, often teetering on the edge of discomfort, creating a sense of organized chaos that leaves audiences divided—some exhilarated, others overwhelmed—and with reports of audience members even being hospitalized. Import is the opposite: free-flowing and meditative, resembling the open-ended structure of spiritual jazz. These performances offer a quieter, inward experience, at times stretching for hours and focusing on a looser, more organic approach to sound. Export Import maintains a secretive presence, appearing unpredictably and cultivating a mystique that blurs the line between art and obsession. Their audiences have been seen wearing capes and conical hats fashioned from London Underground advertisements, as part of a "transmutation." Their latest guise as a 50s ballads ensemble in Soho jazz clubs and cocktail bars, which they’ve declared their self-proclaimed “final formation,” feels like another ironic twist in their unpredictable evolution. Whether this marks a genuine new direction or is just another phase in their multi faceted master plan is still a mystery. With a debut double album set for release in February on Slow Dance Records Export Import continue to evade categorization. Whether they’re visionaries or provocateurs, their blend of ritual, music, and philosophy challenges the conventions of performance, drawing in curious onlookers and skeptics alike.

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Aga Ujma

345

345 is a collection of experimental pop songs by aga ujma, written singing out loudly while: (1)riding on motorcycles, (2)cycling on lime bikes, (3)hiking in Polish mountains and Indonesian volcanoes. Aga accompanies herself with: (1)a prepared harp, (2)toys, (3)a ship-like East Indonesian zither called a sasando, and (4)a percussive brassy shimmer of a xylophone called a gender barung that belongs in the gamelan ensemble. Aga’s vocal experiments extend from (1)pop runs to (2)whistle tones, from (3)whispering into your ears to (4)screaming from the top of her chest, all garnished with (5)stacked harmonies. Lyrics, written while falling in and out of sleep, examine: (1)dancing with ghosts, (2)courage, (3)cowards, (4)finding and losing homes, (5)wet dreams, (6)Tarkovsky, (7)spending time with your inner child, (8)desperately and unsuccessfully trying to follow the thread of your own dreams, (9)dealing with snake people, (10)paying invoices, (11)waking up in unexpected places, (12)peas.

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Uma

Nothing Without You

Catalonian-born vocalist/producer Uma is pleased to share her first new single of 2024, ‘Nothing Without You’, in collaboration with Slow Dance Recordings. Recorded in Uma’s home studio in the rural town of Catalunya, near Barcelona, ‘Nothing Without You’ pairs hypnotic R&B percussion with understated vocals: a beguiling introduction to a year in which we’ll hear plenty more form Uma. “’Nothing Without You’ is about going through the highs and lows of loving someone,” Uma says of the track. “Feeling happy by yourself but choosing them every time.” Having relocated to York from her Spanish village to study contemporary classical music, Uma – who is of Thai/British descent - parted ways with the genre in the pursuit of more “free” avenues through which to exercise her creativity. “If you’re gonna do something that’s creative and unpredictable and has no financial security, then you might as well enjoy it,” she reasoned. Eschewing traditional genre boundaries in favour of freedom has remained something of a theme throughout Uma’s output, with stripped-back Spanish folk, electronic beats and sweet, earworm melodies all leaving fingerprints upon the artist’s treasure chest of tracks. Also central to her ethos is collaboration. Uma’s Can Obert home studio (or ‘open house’, in English) has grown into a hub of creative activity since her mother purchased the then-dilapidated building decades ago. Artists including Puma Blue, Nilüfer Yanya and Rosie Lowe have spent time at Can Obert, with Uma contributing writing credits to the latter’s new album during her stay. Today, Can Obert is a haven where artists from all backgrounds can sleep, eat and, crucially, make music in the sleepy Catalan countryside.

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Sarah Meth

Save It For The Rave / Computer Love

From forthcoming Midnight Snacks Vol. 2, Save it for the Rave explores the whole mixtapes theme of friendship. Specifically how the differences between two people can be the very things that draw them together, and how those differences can create a tension that causes friendships to grow and also fall apart.‍

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The New Eves

Astrolabe

Drawing inspiration from lovers across the centuries; from the love letters between Heloise and Abelard in medieval France to Bonnie and Clyde's romantic partnership in crime in 1930s America, the New Eves bring you something that feels both modern and ancient. The songs’ refrain, ‘Many are the stars I see, but in my eyes no star like thee’ can be found on a 17th golden ‘poesy’ ring that is housed in the British museum, once given as a love token. The line embodies the feeling of the song, of a love that is both fated and cosmic.

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Slow Dance '23

Now into its 8th edition, the release of the Slow Dance-curated compilation at the start of each year is usually an indicator of what's to come. Uncovering the best new lo-fi, experimental and alternative music from London and beyond, the compilation predicts new avenues, and key artists from various scenes and spaces outside the industry. Alumni of the compilation have gone on to sign and release with a plethora of labels from Ninja Tune, So Young, 4AD and Rough Trade. Its notably given the first outings to bands and solo projects from black midi to Black Country, New Road;, from Otta, Goat Girl and Martha Skye Murphy to Drug Store Romeos, Sorryand Folly Group. Receiving press praise from the likes of BBC Radio 6 Music ("Compilation of the Month") The Quietus and Hard of Hearing, Cillian Murphy is also a fan. The actor spun The Guest's debut single (AKA Isaac Wood, BC,NR) on his BBC show back in October, as featured in Slow Dance '18 This year's edition represents the label's longest and most ambitious yet. Spanning 18 tracks, Slow Dance '23 returns to the ethos of bedroom recordings, whether that bedroom is on the stage, or cucooned in flats around the globe. Featured here come the lo-fi experiments from London live-circuit mainstays Cuckoo Spit, Plutoz Beach and Hank; baroque Gothic theatrics come from Velvetine and Jesus and The Zealots. There's intimate watery vocal productions from FLOCO and feeo, which take the compilation deeper into ambient electronics. LIPWORMS' acidic electro-punk drills the tempo towards the club, while Suzy Clue band-member HORNET’s shoegaze impresses with washed out urgency. Nukuluk founder Luke Kulunukis and GG Skips of Glows and Sorry also release new solo material on the compilation.

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n.o Art Ensemble

Kolosseum / War n.d

n.o. Art Ensemble is a recording and performance collective based in London. Their debut release, Death and Entrances, started as a lockdown project, after which they have organised a series of gigs performing their music. They hosted a 50th anniversary concert commemorating Tony Conrad’s legendary Outside the Dream Syndicate, as well as staging an experimental opera they wrote, boasting a 50-piece orchestra. Their newest record E V ER Y RU N G O N TH I S L AD D E R TO G OD, featuring Charlemagne Palestine (a close collaborator of Conrad), was recorded over the last year in different bedrooms and studios in London and Glasgow and is rooted in exploring the possibilities of drone-based music.

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Sarah Meth

Steps

STEPS EP is set for release 14th November 2023 via Slow Dance. The EP co produced with Louis O Bryen - member of the London band Sorry, as his debut production role. Following her previous EP ‘Leak Your Own Blues’ and accompanying film & mixtape under the ‘Midnight Snacks’ monkier, Sarah steps out of the blue to face the wind. STEPS is the 23 year old Londoner’s third EP and features six new tracks that recollect her personal experiences of sexual trauma, albeit painted and portrayed with unexpected splashes of colour, character, and Sarah’s ability to own those experiences through her own strength and power. She explains further, “STEPS EP is about moving forward into the unknown. I never intended to create a project around sexual trauma, but making these songs at the time played a big role in helping me process a way of accepting and taking ownership over some things that have happened. I hope it brings a distinct vulnerability and perspective to the subject matter….Steps is ultimately about ‘making it through’ to define new versions of ourselves after such experiences. “I initially thought it was going to be a self-produced project but ended up taking about half of the songs to my friend Louis [O Bryen], who I feel very grateful for providing a space to elevate those songs in the way we did. My production and recording style for this EP was similar to my Midnight Snacks’ project of demos - made singing into my laptop microphone tucked up in bed. However, it felt necessary to have some of these songs, such as ‘Fucktoy’ ‘Sister You Said’ and ‘Red Hands’, production elevated in a way that could explore new sounds whilst also making these songs feel less discreet, in a “saying them with my chest” sort of way. I hope this project can make people feel seen in what they can relate to from it, or in a non-threatening way, gauge people to ask questions of themselves upon listening.” Musically, STEPS EP dips colour into the noirish, shadowy hues of her Leak Your Own Blues EP. It recalls, in part, the instinctive rawness of early Cat Power recordings, with a loose, lo-fi charm that portrays Sarah’s words with emphasis, feeling and meaning. An important, impressive release by a smart, tactile young songwriter.

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Sarah Meth

Steps

Steps, the new single from the forthcoming EP of the same name, is about moving forward into the unknown. "I never intended to create a project around sexual trauma, but making these songs at the time played a big role in helping me process a way of accepting and taking ownership over some things that have happened. I hope it brings a distinct vulnerability and perspective to the subject matter….Steps is ultimately about ‘making it through’ to define new versions of ourselves after such experiences." STEPS EP is set for release 14th November 2023 via Slow Dance. The EP co produced with Louis O Bryen - member of the London band Sorry, as his debut production role. Following her previous EP ‘Leak Your Own Blues’ and accompanying film & mixtape under the ‘Midnight Snacks’ monkier, Sarah steps out of the blue to face the wind. STEPS is the 23 year old Londoner’s third EP and features six new tracks that recollect her personal experiences of sexual trauma, albeit painted and portrayed with unexpected splashes of colour, character, and Sarah’s ability to own those experiences through her own strength and power.

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