Wes Doyle of Slow Loris is doing what every lo-fi indie artist dreams about. Creating music on your own terms while organically building a following without pretense or forced promotion. Slow Loris has seemingly come out of nowhere to receptive indie bloggers across the country. From California to the East Coast and everywhere in between, the positive vibes are turning Wes and his indie bedroom-produced anthems into the next big thing out of Madison.
The fuzzy layered guitar riffs of Slow Loris are sonically based in a 90’s motif with just enough lo-fi sparseness and reverb to keep things pure and honest. Comparisons to Pavement and Built to Spill abound. Wes has been pumping out the new material over the last 18 months. His latest album "Routine Glow" came out in June.
Yes, this is starting to turn into a familiar story. Zola Jesus and Julian Lynch kept the indie lo-fi fires burning in Madison. Walled away in apartment studios, writing, producing and recording their material into digital masterpieces and sharing them across the Internet through music blogs and social media outlets. Total control over the creative process that ten years ago would have been impossible to duplicate without substantial money or traditional music industry backing.
Today, it’s much easier to garner grassroots buzz online that can lead to bigger and better things. Zola Jesus is now in Los Angeles about to release her break-through album "Conatus" while Julian Lynch returns to Madison from a European tour and critical acclaim for his latest release “Terra.”
Now, there is a new groundswell of blogosphere goodwill for Slow Loris and it’s not manufactured hype. Wes Doyle writes great material and that's really the bottom line. We wanted to know more about this guy Wes and his recording habits.
Where are you from originally and how did you end up in Madison?
I grew up in a small town in Delaware and moved to Madison in 2009 a year after college for work. I love Delaware, and before that time I never really imagined that I'd move to the Midwest. I lived about thirty miles from Philadelphia, and still miss the arts and music scene there. I've heard people describe Madison as "comfortable," which seems about right, for better or worse. I think it's a great city and a beautiful place to live.
How did Slow Loris form?
At some point during college, I began experimenting with recording using a drum machine and a cheap computer microphone. I spent a lot of downtime just making noisy loops and recording covers and stuff. Eventually I began piecing together songs and writing lyrics. One of the benefits of moving to a new city by yourself is that you inevitably end up with a lot of free time, so I found myself writing more and more music after moving here.
What is the recording environment like for Slow Loris? Step us through the recording process for a song.
Like a lot of people these days, my recording environment is just a space in my apartment. Each song comes together a bit differently, but typically I might record a drum loop and a bass line before adding layers of guitars and vocals. Recording solo can become a tedious process. More often than not, I'll spend all day working on a song before realizing it just sounds horrible. It's easy to become disinterested in and get frustrated about a piece of music that you've spent all day working with. It's kinda like suffering from a musical version of semantic satiation, where you feel totally drained and the music just loses all meaning. That's the worst feeling.
For the most part, I've found that the ideas that come together relatively quickly are the same ideas that end up on a record. Nonetheless, I usually save all the bits and pieces of unfinished recordings, too, because sometimes they sound totally different months after being forgotten.
Do you collaborate with anyone on writing songs?
I haven't collaborated with anyone on the Slow Loris stuff, although it's something I'd like to do some day.
Madison seems to be a hotspot for indie lo-fi musicians. Zola Jesus and Julian Lynch both follow a similar DIY recording ethic that gives complete creative control to musicians. What do you think of the Madison music scene in the time you’ve been here?
Zola Jesus and Julian are both extremely talented musicians, both of whom have rightfully attracted the attention of a much larger audience outside of Madison. There are plenty of other great bands living here, too. I've found the crowds that go to the local shows in Madison are generally small but receptive.
For what it's worth, my impression is that the city is far more enthusiastic about football and college sports than independent arts and music. It would be fantastic to see more organized and active DIY show promoters emerge here so that the local groups could have the opportunity to open for larger touring acts.
Where can we see you play a live show?
Although work keeps me busy, I've played a few shows at the Project Lodge and various houses. I'm looking forward to getting a band together and playing more shows throughout the year.
Who does the Slow Loris videos?
I've pieced together all of the videos for my music, although someone from Argentina named Maria made a cool video for the song Apartment Crux last year using some old super-8 family-footage. (http://vimeo.com/17622487) . I'm working on an animated piece for a new song, but it's taking a long time. I think that the music video is slowly becoming a bit of a lost art. I have vivid memories of music videos from the 90s, particularly those like Blind Melon's "No Rain," The Pharcyde's "Drop," and Beck's "Loser;" so much so that images from those videos are inextricably linked with the music in my head. There was a crucial self-awareness and quirkiness to music vids during most of the 90s that's missing now.
