Mi Amigo Slow Joy

Slow Joy – the solo project of Dallas based Chicano artist Esteban Flores – has announced the release of new studio EP titled Mi Amigo Slow Joy, to be released on June 7th, 2024 via Mick Music. The EP was produced by Mike Sapone (Oso Oso, The Front Bottoms, Grouplove) at New Jersey’s Barbershop Studios and along with the news, Slow Joy is releasing the “Pulling Teeth” single and music video which can be streamed below. The song is the first from the forthcoming new EP, Slow Joy’s first new music of 2024 and Flores describes the “Pulling Teeth” as “basically an apology to my wife for me not being the easiest person to deal with all the time” along with being an expression of gratitude for her patience and support. “It’s one of those songs where it's like, ‘Please don't give up on me; I know I'm taking a little bit.’”

Mi Amigo Slow Joy is the second EP for Flores and follows 2023’s Wildflower EP. The passion and heart that Flores pours into Slow Joy shine even brighter on his second EP. The arrangements are crisper and each instrument is more defined within the simmering mixes, leading to poppier moments as well as more sonic highs and lows that are bigger and more emotional. Flores credits Sapone for helping him get there. “I'm such a creature of habit when it comes to creative things, that I'll just keep reproducing the same thing in the same room,” Flores said. “It was good to be in a different spot entirely.” Sapone fostered an encouraging environment and working with a solid team at the studio allowed Flores to focus solely on the creative process and pushed him to refine his songwriting. “I had never gotten to a place where I had the time to experiment—or felt safe to experiment—in a nice studio,” he explains. “This time, it felt really open.” His growth as a songwriter and musician can be heard on new single “Pulling Teeth” – a Foo Fighters-meets-Pixies track with towering choruses.