motel void

MOTEL VOID: You released your first two singles this year. What are your plans with your new project?

SLOW CODE: Yes, Slow Code is just a couple months old right now so I’m focusing on writing and recording new material, putting each new track out as it becomes ready and then giving it space to breathe. I’m working steadily but at the same time, trying not to rush the process. What’s most important to me right now is to build a sound that interests me, and to remain open minded as to where that sonic palette might take the music. At some point if it makes sense to release material as an EP or even an album, I’ll do that, but in the immediate future, I expect to have another single released within the next few weeks.

MOTEL VOID: Where did you play before “Slow Code”?

SLOW CODE: I’ve played guitar and written music as part of several bands in the past, but in the last few years I became more and more interested in production, and especially during the pandemic, most of the innovation I was hearing in music was coming from the electronic world so I zeroed in on that for a while. The project I was focusing on prior to Slow Code is called “Robo Advisor” — I released a handful of material under this name, and I also scored a feature-length movie called “Plantasma”, which is playing at some film festivals now.

MOTEL VOID: I haven’t found much information about you on the internet. Could you tell us more about you and your music and where you’re from? Are you part of any “music scene”?

SLOW CODE: I don’t typically worry about my internet presence unless I’m approached (perhaps I should though), and instead I try to focus mostly on writing and recording the absolute best material I can, and minimally on promotion. That said, I’m infinitely appreciative if and when my music finds an audience, and it would be nice to reach more and more people with it —but I want it to be because the music truly connects with someone and not because it’s being thrown in their face. It’s a struggle and a contradiction, I know. We’ll see what happens.

MOTEL VOID: Could you describe the process of writing and recording your songs?

SLOW CODE: I try to remain as open as possible to the process being fluid — I know that’s a healthy creative practice, but the truth is I’m first drawn to rhythm and melody, and usually not words. My day job is working with words (I name things) so perhaps the escape for me is in the non verbal elements of music. Working with words on a daily basis has shown me both their potential power, when used well, but also their rigidity and limitation. Music can and should transcend language, which is precisely why we perceive it as magic. I first try to explore melody and rhythm as freely as possible until I find a kind of essential feeling in what I’m playing — could be a guitar chord change, a drum pattern, or even just a sample I like. From there, I try to really listen for where the track “wants” to go (it sounds supernatural but those who’ve experienced this can confirm that it’s a very real feeling).

MOTEL VOID: What is the biggest inspiration for you right now?

SLOW CODE: Slow Code is going to evolve by design, but if it’s about one thing, I think it’s vulnerability. The first musical inspirations that blew my mind were bands like Nirvana and singer-songwriters like Conor Oberst (artists that were both incredibly innovative and deeply vulnerable). More recently though, I’ve been fascinated with electronic artists like Burial, Nicolas Jaar, and of course, Aphex Twin — because of their ability to create simply otherworldly sonic environments. Right now, I’m obsessed with exploring the idea of combining what I love about all these artists, and hopefully tap into something both new and familiar to myself, and hopefully some other people out there.