Getting to Know… Slomo Casino | Interview 🎤

For the long-awaited 200^th interview on The Musical Hype, we get the lowdown on Manchester indie/pop soul collective, Slomo Casino.

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irst things first! The Musical Hype is celebrating the 200^th interview in the Getting to Know… series! That deserves a shout out – yay us! Now, onto the interview itself, which wouldn’t be possible without the talents of self-described “blend of breezy indie/pop soul that combines falsetto vocals with an attempt at catchy, poppy melodies” Manchester collective, 🎙️ Slomo Casino (Jonny and Jack)! Slomo describes their genesis as a “camping trip gone wrong,” which is certainly a first for the Getting to Know… series.  As we always do on the Getting to Know… series, we get some awesome answers and great insight into the craft of this intriguing group.  So, without further rambling or ado, let’s let the boys fills us in, shall we? Here is the long-awaited, 200^th Q&A – 🎤 Getting to Know… Slomo Casino: Interview No. 200!

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Starting things off, for those who may not be familiar with you, what would you say makes Slomo Casino distinct or unique? How do you rock the audience’s socks off?

🎤 We’re a blend of breezy Indie/pop soul that combines falsetto vocals with an attempt at catchy, poppy melodies. Honestly, I’d say that we make a conscious effort not to take ourselves TOO seriously, which I think people find refreshing.

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Okay, let’s explore some juicy backstories. How did Slomo Casino form and what were some of the goals or the visions you had early on?  

🎤 We first decided to make music together on a camping trip gone wrong, where thunderstorms destroyed and flooded out sleeping arrangements, while we were out for a hike. Leaving us shivering under a camping table praying for morning to arrive… It was a good way to pass the time, and when the idea of making music came to fruition, really, it was all for the love and fun of writing that propelled it forward, and nothing more than that.

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Let’s talk more about goals.  Have your goals or your perspectives changed since first starting out? What do your aspirations or goals look like now?

🎤 I think mainly they have just become a bit more rounded and little bit more ambitious. Now that we have recordings that we’re really proud of, it makes you think ‘Ah, it’d kind of nice if some other people could hear this’… And that has motivated us to promote it as much as we can, and other than that really, it’s just the desire to get our songs on the road and perform them for the fun of it!  

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Everybody is influenced by somebody else. Who would you consider some of your biggest musical influences and how are they influential?

🎤 I think collectively, the music of acts like the Bee Gees and ELO were a real direct influence on our writing but also for me (Jonny) the vocal delivery. But also, Bill Withers, Otis Reading, Prince, Jeff Buckley, and a lot of classic stuff.

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Ah, the fun stuff.  What’s your craziest tour story or the wackiest thing that’s happened during a performance?  Feel free to be creative.  

🎤 [Jonny] Well, something that springs to mind during a performance is a festival that I played once in Germany. We were coming back on to do our encore and the organisers thought they’d leave us a lovely surprise of fireworks firing up from the stage during the final track. I (and no other band member) had any idea of this, and wandered a little too close for comfort to the point of release, almost got blown up and the shock of it practically gave me a heart attack… (I don’t like surprises). Didn’t play that last chorus very well!

Another that happened in the studio once was that Justin Bieber’s manager called up and asked if they could use the studio space that we were in (Parr Street, Liverpool) for the day, which we were happy to oblige. He turned up with his entourage in what was supposed to be a secret session, but word got out and the street outside was rammed full of Beliebers. When I came out with a hood on someone mistook me for the man himself as the crowd assembled, only to be bitterly disappointed when it turned out to be me…

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Wow! Up until this point in your career, what would you describe as your favorite song you’ve recorded or performed live? What makes that song special?

🎤 [Jonny] I’d have to go for 🎵 “Marshmallow” which is our upcoming debut single. Not only was it a lot of fun to write, but it’s so fun to play, and really, I’d say, it’s the simplicity of the song that makes it resonate so much with straight forward no nonsense poppy melodies that are a lot of fun to sing! 

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Is there anything else awesome, cool, or left of center the world should know about you? Secret talents or surprising tidbits?

🎤 Jack is a Michelin star chef with a specialty of Lobster, and Jonny, a world leading expert in the board game, Risk.

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Closing things out, what is Slomo Casino currently working on, promoting that you can share with us or want us to know about? We love secrets, but there’s no pressure.   

🎤 The title track from our debut EP, 💿 Marshmallow, comes out on September 17th on all platforms. From there, we will be putting out a new single every two weeks until the full EP release on November 12th! After that we’ve got some covers coming out of some of our favourite songs later in the year and back on the road 2k22!!!

Thank you so much for sharing taking the time to answer these questions, and best of luck moving forward. 

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🎤 Getting to Know… Slomo Casino: Interview No. 200 [📷: Brent Faulkner, The Musical Hype, Slomo Casino]

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