Slow or DJ Slow (born Vellu Maurola, 1975, in

Vantaa Vantaa (; sv, Vanda, ) is a city and Municipalities of Finland, municipality in Finland. It is part of the inner core of the Greater Helsinki, Finnish Capital Region along with Helsinki, Espoo, and Kauniainen. With a population of (), Vantaa i ...

, Finland) is a Finnish DJ and

music producer A record producer is a recording project's creative and technical leader, commanding studio time and coaching artists, and in popular genres typically creates the song's very sound and structure.Virgil Moorefield"Introduction" ''The Producer as ...

. Slow is known for his

nu-jazz Nu jazz (also known as jazztronica, or future jazz) is a genre of jazz and electronic music. The music blends jazz elements with other musical styles, such as funk, electronic music, and free improvisation.Definition from Sergey Chernov, June 7, ...

style and for his production of commercial music for high-profile advertising projects for TV and cinema.

Career

Inspiration from hip hop acts such as

Run-DMC Run-DMC (also spelled Run-D.M.C.) was an American hip hop group from Hollis, Queens, New York City, founded in 1983 by Joseph Simmons, Darryl McDaniels, and Jason Mizell. Run-DMC is regarded as one of the most influential acts in the history of ...

, Public Enemy and Eric B & Rakim, led Slow to begin a career in DJing, later making music and remixing other people's tracks. In the year 1990 Slow met fellow DJ JA-Jazz when they worked together in the music department of a department store. With money from his evening job, Slow bought a pair of Technics turntables and some records. He participated in the Finnish DMC Mixing Championships and won the contest four years in a row: in 1992, 1993, 1994 and 1995, using two

Technics SL-1200 Technics SL-1200 is a series of direct-drive turntables originally manufactured from October 1972 until 2010, and resumed in 2016, by Matsushita Electric (now Panasonic Corporation) under the brand name of Technics. S means "Stereo", L means "P ...

direct-drive turntables and a DJ mixer, with musical styles ranging from hip hop to

funk Funk is a music genre that originated in African American communities in the mid-1960s when musicians created a rhythmic, danceable new form of music through a mixture of various music genres that were popular among African Americans in the m ...

and

jazz Jazz is a music genre that originated in the African-American communities of New Orleans, Louisiana in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, with its roots in blues and ragtime. Since the 1920s Jazz Age, it has been recognized as a major ...

. n 1995 Ja-Jazz introduced Slow to

James Spectrum James is a common English language surname and given name: *James (name), the typically masculine first name James * James (surname), various people with the last name James James or James City may also refer to: People * King James (disambiguati ...

, and the three of them formed a band called Pepe Deluxé, playing a mixture of big beat,

trip hop Trip hop (sometimes used synonymously with "downtempo") is a musical genre that originated in the early 1990s in the United Kingdom, especially Bristol. It has been described as a psychedelic music, psychedelic fusion of hip hop music, hip hop ...

, and hip hop. The band's first release was a 1998 EP entitled ''Three Times a Player'', which was chosen as Record of the Month by ''

Muzik ''Muzik'' was a British dance music magazine published by IPC Media from June 1995 to August 2003. ''Muzik'' was created by two former ''Melody Maker'' journalists, Push and Ben Turner. Push was the editor of ''Muzik'' from its launch until he ...

'' magazine. Pepe Deluxé's first full-length album, ''Super Sound'', was released in 1999 by UK's

Catskills Records The Catskill Mountains, also known as the Catskills, are a physiographic province of the larger Appalachian Mountains, located in southeastern New York. As a cultural and geographic region, the Catskills are generally defined as those areas cl ...

. Due to clearance problems with the samples, they had to produce a new version of the album with many of the tracks rerecorded with cleared samples or live instruments. The new version of the album was released in

France France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of Overseas France, overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic Ocean, Atlantic, Pacific Ocean, Pac ...

Italy Italy ( it, Italia ), officially the Italian Republic, ) or the Republic of Italy, is a country in Southern Europe. It is located in the middle of the Mediterranean Sea, and its territory largely coincides with the homonymous geographical re ...

Spain , image_flag = Bandera de España.svg , image_coat = Escudo de España (mazonado).svg , national_motto = ''Plus ultra'' (Latin)(English: "Further Beyond") , national_anthem = (English: "Royal March") , i ...

The Netherlands ) , anthem = ( en, "William of Nassau") , image_map = , map_caption = , subdivision_type = Sovereign state , subdivision_name = Kingdom of the Netherlands , established_title = Before independence , established_date = Spanish Netherl ...

, the

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...

Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a Sovereign state, sovereign country comprising the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous List of islands of Australia, sma ...

, and

Germany Germany,, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It is the second most populous country in Europe after Russia, and the most populous member state of the European Union. Germany is situated betwe ...

. One track from the album, "

Woman in Blue ''Woman in Blue'' is an oil-on-canvas portrait of an unknown woman, executed in the late 1770s or early 1780s by the English artist Thomas Gainsborough during his fifteen-year-stay in Bath, Somerset. Some art historians have identified its ...

" (later renamed "Before You Leave"), was chosen to be used for a worldwide advertising campaign for

Levi's Levi Strauss & Co. () is an American clothing company known worldwide for its Levi's () brand of denim jeans. It was founded in May 1853 when German-Jewish immigrant Levi Strauss moved from Buttenheim, Bavaria, to San Francisco, California, to o ...

jeans in 2001. During this time Pepe Deluxe were also asked to do remixes for artists including

Tom Jones Tom Jones may refer to: Arts and entertainment *Tom Jones (singer) (born 1940), Welsh singer * Tom Jones (writer) (1928–2023), American librettist and lyricist *''The History of Tom Jones, a Foundling'', a novel by Henry Fielding published in ...

The Cardigans The Cardigans is a Swedish rock band formed in Jönköping, Sweden, in 1992 by guitarist Peter Svensson, bassist Magnus Sveningsson, drummer Bengt Lagerberg, keyboardist Lars-Olof Johansson and lead singer Nina Persson. Post-hiatus shows since 2 ...

, and

Eminem Marshall Bruce Mathers III (born October 17, 1972), known professionally as Eminem (; often stylized as EMINƎM), is an American rapper and record producer. He is credited with popularizing hip hop in middle America and is critically acclai ...

. After a lot of promotion and concerts around the world, Slow left the group to pursue solo projects. Between 1999 and 2001 he worked as Head of A&R at

EMI EMI Group Limited (originally an initialism for Electric and Musical Industries, also referred to as EMI Records Ltd. or simply EMI) was a British transnational conglomerate founded in March 1931 in London. At the time of its break-up in 201 ...

Finland, launching a new dance label called Nozle, which released singles from dance acts such as Campaus, Z-MC, and

Jori Hulkkonen Jori Hulkkonen (born 28 September 1973), is a Finnish DJ and a producer of house music, originally from Kemi, Finland. Hulkkonen started his career in the early 1990s when he worked with Jukka Hautamäki, Tuomas Salmela and Ari Ruokamo for the ...

's Step Time Orchestra. Campaus was a dance act Slow started with a Finnish producer Rauli Eskolin. In 2002 Slow formed SlowHill with Finnish saxophonist

Tapani Rinne Tapani Rinne (born February 2, 1962) is a Finnish musician, composer, record producer and sound designer, who is known for his experimental and innovative style with the clarinet and saxophone. It has earned him a reputation as one of the most ...

of the band RinneRadio. Fusing jazz sounds with electronic beats, their first album ''Finndisc'' was released on

Blue Note Records Blue Note Records is an American jazz record label owned by Universal Music Group and operated under Capitol Music Group. Established in 1939 by Alfred Lion and Max Margulis, it derived its name from the blue notes of jazz and the blues. Or ...

. In the same year, DJ Slow's single "Got to Funk" reached #1 in the Finnish dance chart, and peaked at #19 on the Finnish singles chart. The track was originally made for

Hartwall Hartwall Ltd is a beverage company based in Helsinki, Finland. It was founded in 1836. Its drinks range includes Jaffa, Pommac and Novelle waters. The company also owns the licence for manufacturing and selling PepsiCo's Pepsi, 7 Up and Mountai ...

's Upcider drink commercial, but due to positive reception, was eventually released as a single. In 2003 Slow worked on various remixes such as The Crash's track "Star", and TV scores for Finnish television. In 2004 Slow released his debut album ''This Is Now'', and began broadcasting a weekly radio show, ''Burner'', on Helsinki's Groove FM with hip-hop artist Paleface. In 2005 SlowHill released their second album ''Fennika'' on Plastinka Records, and remixed BWO's "Sixteen Tons of Hardware". With

, Slow also wrote the score for Finnish movie ''Koti-ikävä'', which was nominated for a

Jussi Award The Jussi Awards are Finland's premier film industry prizes, awarded annually to recognize the achievements of directors, actors, and writers. History The first Jussi Awards ceremony was held on 16 November 1944 at the Restaurant Adlon in Hels ...

. In 2006, Slow played a set at Midem International Music Market's 40th anniversary opening night in

Cannes Cannes ( , , ; oc, Canas) is a city located on the French Riviera. It is a commune located in the Alpes-Maritimes department, and host city of the annual Cannes Film Festival, Midem, and Cannes Lions International Festival of Creativity. The ci ...

. He also released his second album ''Pronto!'', and later that year the album was also released in Japan by

Columbia Records Columbia Records is an American record label owned by Sony Music, Sony Music Entertainment, a subsidiary of Sony Corporation of America, the North American division of Japanese Conglomerate (company), conglomerate Sony. It was founded on Janua ...

. He also played at ''

Wallpaper Wallpaper is a material used in interior decoration to decorate the interior walls of domestic and public buildings. It is usually sold in rolls and is applied onto a wall using wallpaper paste Adhesive flakes that are mixed with water to pro ...

'' magazine's design awards in

London London is the capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary dow ...

, the Artek pavilion at Milan's furniture fair, and the Klara Festival in

Brussels Brussels (french: Bruxelles or ; nl, Brussel ), officially the Brussels-Capital Region (All text and all but one graphic show the English name as Brussels-Capital Region.) (french: link=no, Région de Bruxelles-Capitale; nl, link=no, Bruss ...

, and produced music for

Nokia Nokia Corporation (natively Nokia Oyj, referred to as Nokia) is a Finnish multinational telecommunications, information technology, and consumer electronics corporation, established in 1865. Nokia's main headquarters are in Espoo, Finlan ...

IKEA IKEA (; ) is a Dutch multinational conglomerate based in the Netherlands that designs and sells , kitchen appliances, decoration, home accessories, and various other goods and home services. Started in 1943 by Ingvar Kamprad, IKEA has been ...

, and

Finlandia Vodka Finlandia is a brand of vodka produced in Finland. It is made from barley distilled into a neutral spirit in the village of Koskenkorva in Ilmajoki, operated by Finland's Altia Corporation. The distilled alcohol is then transported to a prod ...

among others. In 2010 SlowHill returned with their third album, ''Muzak''.

Discography

Albums

*2002 ''Finndisc'' (as SlowHill; Blue Note) *# "Slowjazz" *# "Super Blue" *# "Positive" *# "Fishbass Fusion" *# "Just A Phrase" *# "Valo" *# "Yesterday Star" *# "Small Stone" *# "Fragonardo" *# "Song For eetu" *2004 ''This Is Now'' (as DJ Slow; Tiger Helsinki/BMG) *# "These Jeans (R Way 2 Hotta!)" featuring L.A. Skin *# "Feel The Vibe" featuring

Jungle Brothers Jungle Brothers are an American hip hop trio composed of Michael Small (Mike Gee), Nathaniel Hall ( Afrika Baby Bam), and Sammy Burwell (DJ Sammy B). Known as the pioneers of the fusion of jazz, hip-hop, and house music, they were the first hi ...

*# "Got To Funk" *# "(I'm Over You) Pablo" featuring

Teemu Brunila Teemu William Brunila (born 24 November 1976, in Turku) is a Finnish singer, songwriter, musician and producer. Brunila became known as the lead vocalist and songwriter for the pop group The Crash. During their career, the band released four stud ...

*# "Sunshine" featuring

Max C Max or MAX may refer to: Animals * Max (dog) (1983–2013), at one time purported to be the world's oldest living dog * Max (English Springer Spaniel), the first pet dog to win the PDSA Order of Merit (animal equivalent of OBE) * Max (gorilla) (1 ...

*# "Top-20 People" featuring L.A. Skin *# "Start To Pray" *# "Get Down, Give It Up" featuring L.A. Skin and Élancy *# "Keep Moving" featuring

Midnight Sun The midnight sun is a natural phenomenon that occurs in the summer months in places north of the Arctic Circle or south of the Antarctic Circle, when the Sun remains visible at the local midnight. When the midnight sun is seen in the Arctic, ...

*# "This Is Now" featuring L.A. Skin and Christa Renwall *2005 ''Fennika'' (as SlowHill; Plastinka Records) *# "Come Back As A Butterfly" *# "Fundador" *# "Riekko" *# "Everyone Is A Star" *# "La Noche En La Isla" *# "Ammulla/Illalla" *# "Thursday" *# "Fennika" *# "Lost Friends" *# "Niko's Dream" *2006 ''Pronto!'' (as Slow; Plastinka Records) *# "Suite No. 431" *# "Little By Little" *# "Back In L.A." *# "Sambesque Tin-Tin" *# "Track Down Pronto!" *# "Fall Upon Love" *# "Again And Again" *# "Carnivále Mystique" *# "Lullaby At 8:45pm" *2010 ''Muzak'' (as SlowHill; Universal Music) *# "Tenho" *# "Parasol" *# "Finnlite" *# "Pohjalo" *# "Shine" *# "Le Vapour" *# "Toiset Meistä" *# "Saunatheque" *# "Utu" *# "Sshhh"

Singles

*2001 : SlowHill : "Super Blue" (Blue Note) *2003 : Paleface with DJ Slow : "Wannabe MC" (BMG) *2003 : Paleface with DJ Slow : "Til The Break Of Dawn" (BMG) *2003 : DJ Slow : "Got To Funk" (Tiger Helsinki/BMG) *2004 : DJ Slow : "These Jeans (R Way 2 Hotta!)" (Tiger Helsinki/BMG) *2004 : DJ Slow : "Keep Moving" (Tiger Helsinki/BMG) *2004 : DJ Slow : "(I'm Over You) Pablo" (Tiger Helsinki/BMG)

Compilations

*2005 ''Various Artists Eat&Joy vol.1'', mixed and compiled by DJ Slow (Plastinka Records) *# SlowHill : "La Noche En La Isla" *#

Husky Rescue Husky Rescue is a Finnish electronic music band from Helsinki, formed in 2002. The group consists of Marko Nyberg, Johanna Kalén, and Antony Bentley. History 2002–2010 Husky Rescue was formed by Marko Nyberg, who began composing under the n ...

: "Rainbow Flows" *# ToneKroup : "Mood Division" *# Lightman : "Oil On Canvas" *# ACCU : "Out Of the Blue" *# Teddy Rok Seven : "Feel" (featuring Okou) 4:36 *# Korpi Ensemble : "Everything’s All Right" *# Infekto : "Beautiful" (Instrumental) *# Ro*danmaa : "Track 7" *# Quintessence : "Friday" *# Jazzgangsters : "Feeling Sad Tonight" *#

Uusi Fantasia Uusi means "new" in Finnish and may refer to: *New Student House, Helsinki, student house in Helsinki, Finland, also known as ''Uusi'' *Gunnar Uusi Gunnar Uusi (June 23, 1931 – August 7, 1981) was an Estonian chess player who won the Estonia ...

: "Fantasia"

References

External links

Slow.fi
– official website
Slow
at Myspace
Slow
at

Discogs Discogs (short for discographies) is a database of information about audio recordings, including commercial releases, promotional releases, and bootleg or off-label releases. While the site was originally created with a goal of becoming the la ...

''Slowhill'' album review on Suomijazz page
{{DEFAULTSORT:Slow 1975 births Living people Club DJs Finnish electronic musicians Nu jazz musicians Remixers