Music Spotlight: Slow Shudder
Longtime Asymmetric favorite Slow Shudder released her debut EP Off the Rails a few months ago, and we’ve had it on repeat ever since. The 5-track EP spans pop, electronica + experimental genres and imbues us with cathartic lyricism + lush James Blake-esque production. The pop artist, producer, vocalist, songwriter + DJ has been actively playing live shows, DJ sets + her radio show Solar System. We sat down with Amanda, the mastermind behind the moniker Slow Shudder, to chat about vulnerability, academia + what’s in the works.
photos by Leah Perrino
Asymmetric Magazine: You released your debut EP a few months ago Off The Rails. Can you tell us what it’s all about?
Slow Shudder: I’d been working on the songs in Off The Rails for the past few years, but I didn’t know they were going to be my EP until last year. I shelved two EPs and an album in the process because I really wanted to make a statement about myself as a producer, a person and an artist. Additionally, I wanted to tell a story, so I waited until I had the right songs that fit together as a narrative. For me, the story is essentially traveling through the process of opening up to someone. Many of the people that inspired the EP were romantic relationships, but at the same time, it’s also about friendships, reconnecting with people you haven’t spoken to in a long time, and professional relationships, as well. There’s always this push and pull experience that I go through—and I think a lot of people go through—where you want to be vulnerable in many ways but also keep yourself protected in other ways. So, it’s about navigating that dynamic.
AM: Is there a track off the EP that you’d say you resonate with more than others?
SS: It’s hard to choose; I like them all for different reasons. The title track is probably my favorite because it’s one of those songs that I had been trying to write for a really long time. I started writing it in 2017, and I wrote countless songs similar to it in the past, but I never got them exactly the way I wanted them to be. The production is a combination of all the different things I like to do. It has a pop sensibility, which I’m naturally inclined to live within, but at the same time, it’s alternative and experimental in various ways—especially with the sound design.
AM: And as for your process, you produced the EP?
SS: I did! I entirely produced Off The Rails, Strongest Drug and Ideal Future, and I co-produced Replay with Cosmicosmo and Just As You Are with SAKIMA.
AM: You mentioned the EP was in the making for years. What was the first song you wrote?
SS: Strongest Drug was the first, written in 2016. It was the only track that survived the other EPs and album that I shelved during the writing process of Off The Rails from 2016-2019. I produced and wrote it at the same time, in about 30 minutes. It’s one of those songs that I didn’t think I’d do anything with at first. I wrote it to process my thoughts after a confusing night, so to me it feels like a photograph that's also a journal entry. I was dealing with a lot of conflicting emotions, and it illuminated a part of myself that I hadn’t been able to access before.
AM: We love all your lyrics, too! Do you have a favorite?
SS: Thanks so much! My favorite is from the second verse of Ideal Future: “Take the bricks of the wall around my regrets and lay the groundwork for what's all brand new”. It’s a confrontation and reimagining of the walls I often build in my head. I initially build them to feel safer—by being guarded, the walls keep me from falling too quickly for someone or an idea of someone. But when writing Ideal Future, I realized I was actually using that heightened emotion to open myself up to someone, essentially the opposite of what I'd intended! *laughs* And it was so much better that way. Once I was open to being deeply vulnerable, I realized I was creating a stronger foundation in my relationships, a foundation that was significantly more honest than anything I tried to build while my metaphysical walls were up.
AM: We’re obsessed with your cover art for the EP and pre-released singles. What was the vision for your visuals, and how do you think they complement the EP?
SS: I'm so glad you like them! The visuals were a real challenge for me. I brainstormed ideas for months while writing and producing, and I struggled to pinpoint exactly what I wanted aesthetically. It kept changing as time went on. Fortunately, when I got closer to the central concept of what I wanted to express, everything came together pretty quickly. My friends Liyv & Joel at Fluff Creative Studio, based in Portland, helped me bring everything from concept to reality. I'm super thankful for their guidance, expertise and skill with design and photography. Liyv helped me actualize my visual goal of putting vulnerability on display, making vulnerability tangible. The idea was to incorporate a flower into the photography for all the cover art—something that’s very delicate in many ways, but at the same time, incredibly strong. Flowers can grow out of cracks in cement, out of packed earth, out of rocks on a cliff that's frequently pummeled by tides. The same flower that you can crush in your hand survived all winter underneath a layer of snow to bloom in the spring. The power within vulnerability is beautiful.
The same flower that you can crush in your hand survived all winter underneath a layer of snow to bloom in the spring.
AM: You’ve been playing a few live sets, too. What’s your performance style? Do you have a favorite track to play live?
SS: Yeah—I'm stoked to have been able to play Capitol Hill Block Party and to open for Golden Vessel and Instupendo last year. Honestly, when I play live, it’s always incredibly stressful for me compared to DJ-ing *laughs*. When I DJ, I feel at home. I can hyper-focus on connecting with the crowd through the musical selections and blending the tracks in interesting ways. There are a lot more moving parts in my live set—I'm playing out at least one element on a keyboard or my Ableton Push, I'm triggering the elements I'm not able to play simultaneously, I'm doing live effects over my vocals while I'm singing. It's a lot of multitasking, and multitasking is not something my brain enjoys or does naturally. But it's so fulfilling when I get it right. My favorite tracks to play live are my unreleased songs, which I often adjust on the fly with improv vocal work, such as creating a really lush soundscape using effects. Improvising in front of an audience inspires me deeply, and I often end up incorporating new ideas into my production as I'm finishing those songs.
AM: What musicians do you like to play in your DJ sets?
SS: I approach every DJ set with the hope of matching and enhancing the atmosphere I'm in, so it depends. I love popular music from all eras, so I enjoy playing mainstream club nights, private events, and corporate events. In the past two months, I've played a set of K-Pop and anime theme remixes at an anime convention and a set of 70s & 80s disco at a Studio 54-themed auction night. I was out of my comfort zone with both, and because of that, both were an awesome adrenaline rush.
When I'm given free reign to do whatever I want as a DJ, I love playing a mixture of pop, club, experimental bass music and rave. Musicians that come to mind whose tracks are often populating my sets are Nina Las Vegas, UNiiQU3, Sinjin Hawke, Hannah Diamond, Cralias, SOPHIE, umru, TROPHIE, Space Candy, and Murlo.
I recently did a guest mix for KEXP that I really love. I also host a regular radio show on datafruits, called Solar System, where I share my new music finds in various styles.
AM: What other musicians are you currently listening to?
SS: I can't get enough of 100 Gecs. I've been a fan of both Laura Les and Dylan Brady for a while and I am so beyond stoked about their success. I love the new Hannah Diamond release; she is a legend. Ravenna Golden, Banoffee, and underscores have been absolutely killing it. I'm also fortunate enough to have a partner and tons of friends who make amazing music: Cosmicosmo, Holliday Howe, SAKIMA, Liyv, Marcioz, Chong the Nomad, AObeats, and Madnap—among many others.
AM: You recently taught a production workshop in London. Can you tell us a bit about that?
SS: For sure. I'm so grateful to have had that opportunity. It was hosted by Omnii Collective at my alma mater, Goldsmiths, University of London, and hosted by PRS Foundation's The Open Fund for Organisations. My angle was production for songwriters. I started by going through basic production techniques for recording vocals for anyone new to producing, then I discussed songwriting for collaboration: different ways to think about writing demos, techniques for writing and producing at the same time, and guidance for writing over completed or almost completed instrumental tracks. Lastly, I discussed business and legal best practices, which I’m really passionate about. In the current music industry, you have to be savvy of so many different things: contractual agreements, splits, working with labels, sync licensing, how to protect your rights, how to protect your publishing—it’s all incredibly important. I’d love to develop a full course one day.
AM: Speaking of academia, we know teaching and school is super important to you and has shaped your career path thus far. Can you speak to that?
SS: Definitely. Getting my master's degree was a huge turning point for me, both in my career and as a person. I decided to apply because I felt creatively stifled—I was working professionally in music licensing and DJ-ing regularly in NYC, but when it came to my own songwriting and production, I didn't have the headspace or time to develop my craft. I was mostly self-taught as a producer, so I felt like there were a lot of holes in my knowledge, and I mainly wanted to go back to school to fill them. I never expected to meet such an incredible network of people and some of my best friends. Grad school opened up countless opportunities that the person I was five years ago would not have believed were even possible. I loved being able to develop as an artist equally as much as I enjoyed researching the interplay of music with artificial intelligence, gender studies, power dynamics and identity politics. When it comes to music and academia, I feel the lines are more blurred than they ever were before, and it’s a really amazing thing.
The lines are more blurred than they ever were before, and it’s a really amazing thing.
AM: You mentioned performing some unreleased songs. What’s next for Slow Shudder? Any upcoming releases?
SS: I have quite a few songs that are fully written, which I'm producing out now. I’ve been experimenting with different styles and approaches, and I’m excited about the new directions I've been trying. My next release is a collaboration with Cosmicosmo, coming out on his Superheart EP on February 28th via Palettes. I'm planning to release some singles and possibly another EP in late 2020 or early 2021.
// listen to Off The Rails:
// Listen to more Slow Shudder on Spotify.
