Slow State is producing songs that soothe. We caught up with the artist himself to break down his glistening debut EP, track by track.
Do you ever listen to music that is so stunning, so immaculate that you don’t even know where to begin to make sense of it? It’s not so much a song as it is a landscape, one that ushers you in and leaves you feeling nourished. Slow State’s debut EP falls into this echelon.
A collection of five sweltering sojourns, SlowState is an album to rest your head on in the most exhausting moments. Resonant synths submerge you in cooling waters, while cascading bass washes you to shore. It’s a collection that’s infinite and comforting all at the same time. Fresh off the release, we caught up with the artist himself to chat through the meaning behind each of his stellar songs and the glistening collection that is his debut.
The Wing Is Bending
Have you ever stared out a plane window and had this existential moment. I’m sure it’s a normal feeling: being 30k feet in the air and realising that you have to just submit to these feats of modern engineering and faith in the skills of the pilot. The wing appeared to be bending and I thought, “If this all just falls apart, this is the end of me.” It felt great! Like, this beautiful sunset behind this wing, apparently my impending death, delirium from 30 hours of travel – why not write a song?
The Silence We Create
If space is the breath of art, silence is the breath of sound.
This song was a gift, a moment suspended in time (one for the Underoath fans). I took her to my favourite spot up on Greenmount Hill, we sat alone in the dark and watched the Perth skyline shimmer and she ended up writing a poem about it, The Silence We Create. The poem was so pure, I thought I could try and find the sounds that fit the words. I’m not sure I did it justice but all you can do is try.
Leavin’
Melbourne artist Yeo released a song called Leavin’ on his 2017 album Discovery Path. I had previously met Yeo on an Angus Dawson tour which I played drums for. He heard a remix I did for Angus and asked me to remix his tune. I was feeling pretty lonely post-breakup vibes, so I kind of focused in on his I’m Alone lyrics as a cathartic remediation. Sometimes, that reverse psychology gets ya good!
What came out was so different to the original, Yeo just said, “This is so unique you should just release it yourself.” And so, I did.
Jasmine
This is a song about Princess Jasmine, where she’s in the market for a night and her and Aladdin are, all of a sudden, a thing, then all, of a sudden, they’re not.
I think this idea of impermanence, unfortunately, doesn’t transcend relationships; we all want them to last forever but nothing can right? And we’re so aware of that fact, yet we still fall in love for a night, even when we know it ends the next day.
Fire Burning In The Rain
I used to have a poster on my wall, one of those motivational poster memes back when that was a thing. It was of a tree which had grown sideways from being hammered by the wind and underneath it wrote; “Adversity. That which does not kill you only postpones the inevitable.”
Ocean Eyes (Billie Eilish cover)
I was staying up at my parent’s place for a period of time and we had a small bonfire one night. I have this memory of a moment standing with my head against the glass door, staring at a fire burning in the rain; a perfect example of adversity. And I thought, “f**k that poster on my wall!” Death is inevitable, sure, but these experiences which would otherwise kill us, only give us more will to live.
Have a listen to Slow State’s debut album below:
