DJ sloslylove

When I met Feng Meng Vue, he mentioned that he had never found a real electronic music scene in Eau Claire. It’s possible that’s all about to change. Vue – who releases music as sloslylove – just put out Tendencies, a ten-track tape and digital album that carries a level of polish that is nearly unmatched among local, short-run releases.

Tendencies moves deftly between modern production and throwbacks to the glamorous 80s, with heavy synth lines, shimmering transitions and Phil Collins-esque drum fills, and mostly maintaining a steady, danceable pace. But sloslylove is just as good in his more ambient, emotional moments, such as album closer “*summer is forever.” Voice samples from old TV shows or audio books are peppered throughout the record, adding a cinematic feel to the tracks. Vue began making music – not counting earlier attempts at piano lessons – in 2005 in his senior year at Memorial High School. “At the time I started, I would make really bad melodies and resample them and slice them up to recreate new ideas and melodies,” Vue said. “From there I started sampling found sounds from other sources.”

Since then, sloslylove has put out a variety of digital releases (many of which are still available for free download) leading up to Tendencies, which is digital and on cassette tape. “I put it on tape because I wanted to see if I could do it,” Veng said. “The designing, beat making, printing, folding, ordering blank cassettes, dubbing, all that stuff. It’s definitely not easy doing it all yourself.” And that design is another perk for Tendencies. The casing of the tape –and the tape itself – are beautifully orchestrated and match the jovial music inside. Besides sloslylove, Vue also plays in a new Minneapolis based project, Vandaam. “It’s a different sound from my current project, but it still holds many of the same elements I use.” Currently, sloslylove isn’t active as a live project, but Vue says there could be shows in the near future. As for recording, Vue will keep busy. [Volume One]