“The songs have pulled me through some really tough moments” explains Esteban Flores on his passionate solo project Slow Joy.
The Dallas-based artist has recently released his urgent new single ‘King Cowboy’ alongside a new music video. Slow Joy’s upcoming EP ‘Mi Amigo Slow Joy’ is set to be released on June 7th via Mick Music with ‘King Cowboy’ as the second track.
Flores has previously said his music was inspired by a therapist who recommended he uses music as an outlet. He comments on the emotional pull of his music today compared to when he began making music, “I would say it’s deeper now as it’s lived with me for this long and been my saving grace for a bit. I feel like my love for this thing continues to grow. Also, from seeing it through the eyes of people who really care about it and meeting people. I’ve done a little bit of touring in the States and it’s been really important meeting people in person who really connect with this thing and the people online who connect with it.” He continues, “it just continues to grow my love for it. I’m just as passionate as the first day if not a little more.”
From the chords and melodies to the lyrics, Slow Joy’s music tends to be uplifting and freeing, not just for listeners but for Flores himself. “Last year I played a show on the anniversary of my mums passing” he explains. “It was really hard leading up to it and I wasn’t sure if I would be able to do it but the moment I got up on stage and performed those songs I realised oh that is what these are for. I felt a lot better after that, just processing it in a communal way with people who are also connected to the music and its one of those things where I just have a deep thankfulness for the music.”
He also clarifies the opposite angle where sometimes it’s best to take a step away from his past. “I’ve realised now I have to get away from a bad day and go back to it if I need it. Sometimes I expect too much out of writing and sit down on a bad day be like I need to create something that helps me when really, I need to just go outside and take a walk” he chuckles.
Flores expresses his opinion on TikTok blowing up his music after working so hard to create and promote it. “Honestly I’ll take it!” he begins. “Obviously I don’t like co-operations controlling the means to get your art to people, especially when an algorithm changes and then suddenly the thing that used to work to connect your music to people doesn’t work and you have to change how you do things. I don’t love that but I do love the fact that you can connect to someone instantly.”
Flores is keen for Slow Joy’s creations to be shared in any way that will help people discover them. “I’ll take it because anything that gave me a community is valuable for me and that community is really important to me. If I would’ve made fans on club penguin I would have done that.”
Adding to the idea of TikTok helping artists reach potential fans after promoting their music for years, Flores shares his thoughts on how not giving up helps you grow as an artist. “If you keeping plugging away, you keep whittling down to what is the reason why you’re doing this thing. I’ve had other years where I was making music in other bands but I don’t think the music was 100% me, it was more a pursuit to do it. Once I’d given up music as a career choice and just made it for me that’s when it was unique and it mattered.”
“People can sense honesty in music I really believe that” he states assertively, “I was finally honest with myself and people can really feel that. I’m not the indie rock wanna be guy like in the past. So that is a testament to years of never giving up, trying to make yourself a better artist and trying to understand yourself.”
Depicting how his music has changed and evolved, Flores discusses the themes and ideas that have flowed through his music. “At the beginning of slow joy the music was specifically focused on one event so it was really about dealing with the grief. As I kind of begin to grow and begin to get some years away from the grief I’ve released there’s other stories that need to be told because they are just as important.”
He further explains the new stories he wants to tell through music, “A good artist can put themselves in different stories and tell those stories and that’s something that has grown in me. I’ve continued to work on expressing these stories in an important way that matters to me and will matter to other people. I’m continuing to learn to have that open palm mentality and if this goes away, I’m still me and still happy.
In today’s music industry it’s easy to get put down by numbers, something Flores try’s to ignore. “Because everything is quantifiable with Spotify numbers going down you can have a bad day as an artist which is ridiculous. It’s so silly in the grand scheme of things, that’s not something that should matter. There’s days that really affect me and I have to keep an open palm because the connection with people who care is still there.”
In much of Slow Joy’s tracks honesty and rawness are obvious in the lyrics and vocals especially in tracks like ‘Pulling Teeth’. “It was pretty difficult” Flores starts describing the process of finding his voice. “It begins with believing in the words you’re singing. It came from a lot of effort my voice is something that I’ve been the most ashamed of. I was not a very good singer for a long time and I was always around people who were much better than me which I thought that was a bad thing like forever. It wasn’t until recently that I realised oh this is something that is important to me and if it’s not perfect that’s great. He giggles, “I’ve learnt to embrace the non-smoothness element of what I do and it’s something I’m really proud of.”
Slow Joy’s newest single ‘King Cowboy’ looks at living in a capitalist society with economic challenges. The song is one where Flores wants to tell stories from a character’s perspective. “Now a days artists can get on some preachy music which is like, we’ve heard it we know! You don’t need to tell me that the world is messed up cus I know that. So, I was interested in that dialogue but from a fresh perspective. Kind of an MGMT esque where you talk about being a star and then at the end it’s like we choke on our own vomit. I wanted to do that in a way that critiques things that I think are messed up.”
Flores homes in on some particular themes, “I think the typical American dream isn’t a great dream, it holds people back and if I just said that it’s a preachy thing but if I created a world where this guy believes so deeply everything he’s doing is the best, he’s not a cowboy he’s the king cowboy, to me that was interesting.”
As for the upcoming Slow Joy EP, there will be more stories, perspectives and personal topics. Flores reflects on the EP, “It’s definitely a shift from ‘Wildflower‘ and the music before, it’s a lot less shoegazy. I mentioned earlier there’s a song about me putting myself in the perspective of my dad going through a divorce and another one where I’m critiquing society and things along those lines but they are never from a point your finger kind of perspective. They are from a I’m trying to understand it view.”
Tv shows, movies and games have inspired Flores before but on this EP, he looked to 90’s bands for ideas. “I had never kind of gone back to the heroes of alternative rock but for ‘Mi Amigo Slow Joy’ the reason it feels like a big step away is for the first time I looked at big heroes.” He mentions Pixies, Nirvana and Modest Mouse who “paved a way for so many sub-genres to exist.”
Flores will be hitting the road with his band in June for a North American tour that includes headline shows and festival sets. His touring band tends to be ever changing and it seems that he’s not in any rush to firm up a touring band. “I just like being around my friends but at the same time when you ask your friend to leave for a month and not see their family it’s kinda tough so I need to keep it fluid so they can have the ability to say no and it not be detrimental to anyone.” It’s abundant that Flores wants to look after his friends, “I want them to be where they wanna be.”
In June, Slow Joy’s new EP will be released ahead of tour dates in the US. As for the prospect of a UK tour Flores admits it’s a dream of his and despite his flight anxiety he’d love to travel over and perform in London. “as soon as I get the call I’m going.”
Look for Mi Amigo Slow Joy on 7th June 2024 via Mick Music.
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