Living The Dream | Slow Hands/ No Regular Play/ Ballin' Oates on The Roof

One of the main proponents of the current slow-mo and sultry house revolution, Slow Hands aka Ryan Cavanagh is an organic specialist. His rich yet languid style bares all the hallmarks of the classical and compositional training he has had, whilst everything from jazz to blues to trippy electronica inform the New Yorker’s well honed production palette.

Having emerged on the now landmark Significant Others EP (with his track ‘Fast Tongue’ released by inimitable New York stable Wolf + Lamb in only 2009) he’s gone on to thread sunny melodies and steamy bass lines for More or Less as well as Gadi’s boutique, vinyl-only label Double Standards; Permanent Vacation and more.

There have been remixes and high-profile covers (Sade’s ‘Sweetest Taboo’) along the way, too, whilst dance floors across the world have all fallen under his charmingly seductive spell. Of course, Wolf + Lamb’s legendary Marcy Hotel is one of those places, and has been since the start, whilst Slow Hands is also resident DJ for boutique NYC promotion and web-zine, Autobrennt.

“The thinking is to always do something as different and musical as possible” says Ryan of the sounds he has been making – in various forms – since being a child. Aiming to elevate electronic music to wholly new and rewarding creative planes with his approach to writing songs, not tracks, Ryan continues: “I want my music to be made for all places, and atmospheres.”

Slow Hands is about emotion, about warmth, about creative freedom. He makes music that gets you thinking and feeling as much as dancing, and also does so alongside friend John Paul Jones (Tom Croose) as Worst Friends, and friend Nick Dalagelis (One of Them) as Male Madame. So, too, will the future see him develop his live set. However you digest him, then, you’ll do so with a smile on your face and a glow in your heart.


No Regular Play are a duo equally at home in the rehearsal rooms of Julliard as in the main room of Fabric. Emotive and unapologetically organic, their fluid approach unites more than a lifetime of influences. Their impressive live show, which features Paulus' inimitable trumpet and vocals alongside DeBruyn's masterful manipulation of the rhythm and soundscapes bridges the gap between the indie arena and the heartbeat of the dancefloor. Watch their set at Boiler Room Berlin http://www.youtube.com/embed/CS17vmYvWyI Greg Paulus and Nick DeBruyn met as 8 year olds growing up in St. Paul, Minnesota, bonding over an early mutual love of hip-hop and jazz legends such as A Tribe Called Quest, J Dilla, Miles Davis, John Coltrane and Herbie Hancock. This deep-rooted connection allows them to understand each other in a rare and profound way. Paulus performed trumpet at local jazz clubs in his teenage years and went on to study jazz/classical at the Manhattan School of Music. Together they later traveled to Cuba's Havana to study Afro-Cuban rhythm, music and culture. But the seeds of their evolution were really sewn in 2006 when they attended a Wolf + Lamb party in NYC that blew their minds. Thrown at the Marcy Hotel, a space featured in The Guardian newspaper it propelled DeBruyn to join Paulus in Brooklyn and begin experimenting with electronic music. They naturally formed a very close musical and personal relationship with Zev and Gadi of Wolf + Lamb and their first output, a deep and cerebral string of EPs, was released on the W+L label in 2008 alongside artists such as Soul Clap and Nicolas Jaar. No Regular Play became integral to the Wolf + Lamb family when they took up residence in the Marcy building, a melting pot for creative minds. This move allowed a more fluid approach to their productions and new collaborations were formed. Subsequent material from the duo has shown up on a slew of respected labels including No. 19 Music and Supplement Facts. Never to be tied to one breed or style, in 2012 they released the track "Rain (All Day)" on Cut Mistake Music, which was reconstructed and performed as a 25-minute piece by Paulus and his father for improvisation/ electronics with the Minnesota Orchestra. Greg Paulus has also released solo material on Double Standard Records and Wolf + Lamb, respectively. He has worked and toured with critically acclaimed indie band Beirut and, more recently, Matthew Dear's live band over the past two years. The duo still watches over the infamous Marcy Hotel, and tour regularly performing their incredible live sets at some of the world's most cutting-edge clubs. Fall 2012 will see the release of their debut album, "Endangered Species", out on Wolf + Lamb Records. Typically jammed with new collaborations, the album features The Real Live Show, a New York based Hip-Hop collective, and Eliot Cardinaux, a fellow alumnus of Greg's from the Manhattan School of Music. The album was mixed by Francis Harris and mastered by the legend, Joe Lambert, who has also worked with the likes of Animal Collective, Washed Out and Dirty Projectors. The project fully demonstrates their dexterity in creating depth, structure and rich song based formulas in the electronic realm.