Q&A: Slow Joy Represents His Culture in “Mi Amigo Slow Joy” EP
SLOW JOY MENTIONS MISSING THE TEXAS SUN — as he talks over the phone while recording at a studio in Springfield, Massachusetts. Formally known as Esteban Flores, the Dallas-based alternative artist had just unveiled seven tour dates across North America in support of his new EP, Mi Amigo Slow Joy.
Flores mentions his excitement and the continued opportunity to connect with others. Yet that resonance has already taken shape. It’s not only the millions of views on TikTok for 2022 singles like “Crawling” and “Soft Slam” — that killer, shoegaze rock sound is nostalgic euphoria — but it’s the artist’s acknowledgment of the moving impact music can hold. He’s proud of who he is, a Mexican American musician showing off his culture and making space for himself in the alternative scene.
“I grew up listening to rock music, and there wasn't a lot of people making rock music who looked like me,” Flores confides. “I didn't have the heroes who shared my experience.”
He mentions playing shows in Philadelphia and his hometown in New Mexico. Hispanic fans had thanked him for his musical ambition. Flores became a familiar face to those who would, at times, still feel unrepresented.
“I want to be a person that people can say, ‘Oh, well, if he could do it, then I can do it,’” the artist shares.
On Mi Amigo Slow Joy, that feeling remains true. Flores’ introspective lens highlights his roots through emotive grunge rock.
In celebration of the EP, Slow Joy sat down to tell us more about the project, his musical inspirations, representation within the scene, and what it's like being on tour.
LUNA: You’re about to release a new EP. It’s introspective while making room to showcase your Hispanic heritage. What more can you tell us about the theme of this project and what you wanted to share?
SLOW JOY: A lot of the early music was dealing with a specific event — grief, and how that related to my life and my mom's passing. For this EP, it started, like, “Let’s try on some different stories and narratives and start focusing on other elements.” So sonically, it's a lot bigger and more mature. From a subject standpoint, it's telling different stories and different experiences.
LUNA: You have this great mixture of emo grunge with a shoegaze vibe. What was the process of producing for this project?
SLOW JOY: Well, this is the first time I have worked with a real-deal producer. I worked with Mike Sapone, who’s done an incredible amount of records I love. It was entirely different in that there was so much freedom to experiment, but also [in being able to hone] in on … the specific elements of the song [that] are important. I wanted to get songs good enough to work with a producer I respect. So I focused on the songs for a while. I think this shows through the work, too — as far as how many elements are in there. Sonically, the songs are pretty bare, but they're all on purpose.
LUNA: What artists inspired you while piecing together these sounds?
SLOW JOY: For this one, as well as the next record, I didn't want to listen to just all the bands currently making music. I felt like you get a derivative product that way. I tried to find the source, and I went back. This was the first time in my life that I listened through all the Nirvana records, Pixies and The Smashing Pumpkins. Listening to these innovators in alternative rock in the 90s shaped my sonic palette. That’s essentially what we're all just emulating. So I was like, “Let’s go back to that.”
LUNA: How do you feel this EP documents your growth as a musician?
SLOW JOY: The last EP was written by myself. Now, [I’ve] started to co-write with other fantastic writers. I came in with an idea of a story that I wanted to tell or an idea that I wanted to say, instead of saying lines that fit. I focused on lyrics and made sure that they had the caliber that I wanted them to be, and I’m continuing to try to [hone] in on that.
LUNA: I would like to dig a little deeper. It’s very moving that you're making your mark in rock music as a Mexican American. It highlights the importance of representation and how it’s been sparse in the past. How would you say that experience affected you and your music?
SLOW JOY: I grew up listening to rock music, and there weren't a lot of people making rock music who looked like me. It was a tougher thing for me. I didn't have the heroes who shared my experience. That has affected how I've presented myself at best. I want to be a person [who] people can [see and] say, “Oh, well, if he could do it, then I can do it.” I was playing a show in Philadelphia and this guy came up to me. He had been working a job there. He was from a boarder town in Texas. He and I were the only two Hispanic people in the room. He was like, “Do not stop doing this, because we didn't have this growing up. You have to keep this going. They did not just give this to someone — you had to work to have that.” I think about how I'm a second-generation American, and my grandpa came here to give his family a better life. If I didn't proudly showcase how they tried to give someone a good life, I think it would be a disservice to my heritage.
LUNA: That is true. If you grew up listening to rock music and going to shows, you might look around and observe some things.
SLOW JOY: I think there is a huge cultural wave in general. Right now, everybody's more free to do what they’re doing. I'm thankful that is the way that it is. I played a show in New Mexico and several people came up and said, “Thank you for doing this.” I had never thought about it that way. I was showcasing what was important to me. It’s cool to see that it's having a positive impact on people.
LUNA: With that being said, you’ve embarked on a tour. How are you feeling and how did you prepare?
SLOW JOY: It’s just the emotional preparation because it is hard out there. You’re constantly moving, and I love it, but you have to get to a place where you're physically and emotionally in the best shape you've ever been before. It rewires your brain because in no other job do you get this insane dopamine rush every night that is consistent. That’s a huge blessing.
LUNA: Once fans take a listen to the EP, what do you hope they learn about you and your music?
SLOW JOY: I hope they get whatever they're looking for. Once the music leaves me, and once the art leaves my grasp, it doesn't belong to me anymore — it belongs to them. A lot of people will take meaning in songs [when] maybe I didn't take a lot of meaning when I wrote them. That’s the beautiful thing about music — it lives with them now. It’s not mine anymore. It was mine when I was making it and it was mine when I was shaping it, but once I released it to the world, it belongs to everybody else.
