Today, Brooklyn's Slowdance releases their Boyfriend
/ Airports 7" on White Iris Records. The two tracks reveal the group’s dulcet
yet compelling indie pop tendencies, equal parts New Order and Hardy. “Boyfriend,” the single’s A-side is a sparkling pop number infused with a sunny vintage feel. Its B-side,
“Airports,” is a sultry, swelling lounge track led by frontwoman Quay Quinn-Settel's winsome
croon.
What makes the band unique is actually very simple. Initially formed in 2009 by a collection of friends— bassist Thomas Quigley, keyboardist Luke Fox, guitarist Kyle McKeveny and singer Quay Quinn-Settel— its purpose is to make music its members would like to hear. “We all agreed we wanted to try for pop melodies,” Luke says. “But beyond that we didn’t want into go into it with any kind of set rules or influences. We just wanted to see what would happen when we started playing together.”
Slowdance spent its first year discovering what
its members' mutual influences and disparate individual styles could combine to create. While
Quay sings both in French and English due to her childhood split between Miami and
Paris, the songwriting is completely collaborative. “It all comes from jamming around
during practices together,” Luke says. “We all give each other input. It makes each song
stronger in the end.”
From the beginning, Quay wanted to sing half their songs in
French because, as she says, “I speak both, why not sing both?” The other
band members whole- heartedly agreed, “especially since we love old French pop
music”, says Luke. Artists such as Françoise Hardy, France Gall, Marie Laforêt
and Catherine Ribeiro heavily influence them.
The group, which has received accolades from SPIN and Nylon among
other press, continues to fine-tune their collaborative vision in
an ever-expanding repertoire of songs. And, in the end, the imaginative,
engaging music that emerges could only come from one place: friendship.
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