Providing you with any pre-formated kind of thing is not the principle of the house (I mean ours). As the late Miles Davis said, there are solely two categories of music : the good and the bad. And it's exactly the case about this attaching adventure between Denish producer, Morten Varano (head of Murena Records and one half of the Pudu Varano outfit) and British songstress, Lady Z. Expect almost everything from this pair united under the Slow Train banner on a fine selection of various influences inherited from folk to nu soul with a bit of jazz, electronic, house, cinetic vibes, atmospheric downtempo, classical and the kitchen sink. And you gotta believe this, what a sink ! More about it with Mr Varano…

"Ethno ? A very misused word. The fundament of all music though…"

How did you meet ? The starting point of this collaboration ? What did you see on each other that has motivated you respectively to give birth to this project ?
I meet Z in London approx. 2 years ago. At that time I had been living in London for a few years and had a studio there. I was introduced to Z through a friend of mine who was the drummer of the band she was perforning with on that night. Z was doing a monthly club on a sunday at that time and I saw her performing and thought she was awesome. I got in touch with her and asked her to do vocals on some Puddu Varano tracks and we ended up doing "Blue Sky White Sand". She then joined us for some guest appearances on stage and after a concert at the Roskilde fesival in front of 7,000 people, we've decided to do a project together where we wouldn't just work as a singer-songwriter and producer but as a band and that was the birth of Slow Train.

Which station(s) do you intend to carry the listeners to ?
We see the album as a journey where it slowly builds up and takes the listener to different emotions and musical stuff that we like : from soul to hip hop, jazzy breaks and caribbean influences.

Is the "Slow" as a first part of your moniker supposed to be an indication for what the listener may expect in terms of rhythm ? If so, don't you fear being in the obligation to stay in this area on further projects ?
It has been a pleasure to work on more downtempo stuff, but I don't see the album as a dewntempo thing. I see it as the most sober prouction I've ever been involved in. To me, that's something I'd like to explore more and more. Workin' around less elements to find the essential part of the song and give emphasis to that…

Your french press release tends to introduce you as a sort of nu soul act. What do you think of it ?
It's great coz' we don't see it as an electronic album, but more as an organic record with jazz and soul influences.

I would see you somehow as a sort of spiritual sons to Soul II Soul, due to the fluidity of your music ; this with a modern if not futuristic approach mixed with this typical scandinavian state of mind, allowing you to have very atmospheric soundz while twisting the perspectives.
I hope it is possible to hear the scandinavian touch......

A deliberate climate of intimacy is noticable while listening to some denish productions, on April Records for instance or the Bliss Album on Music For Dreams, not to mention the numerous compilations of its head of, Kenneth Bager. Do you recognize yourselves somehow there ?
I really like the productions on April and MFD. We are working closely together with them so i am happy if there's a connection in the music.

What does Denish Pastry suggest to you ?
We love it!!!

Thereafter some noticable flavours emerging from your effort. Your comments on each of'em ?

Ambient.
Good if it's got an edge. Bad when used as functional music....

Contemplative.
.........

Electronica.
Covers everything and nothing at the same time... but we like it !

Cinematic.
Pictures need music and music creates pictures !

Classical.
Will always work.

Folk.
Our background.

Ethno.
A very misused word. The fundament of all music though…

Groove.
Can be turned into a song… if you make an effort !

Nu jazz.
Maybe a little misleading. It has opened a lot of people's eyes to jazz. But has at the same time failed to push boundaries as is the core of jazz. You could say that it has got a formula. That's it.

House.
Will allways survive !

Message In The Music, as said by The O'Jays. What are yours ?
Come on a journey with us......

What is your view of today's life in the so called civilized world ?
Civilized, you said ?

The things you would like to see changing ? Anything in reference to the title of your album ?
The Danish Goverment needs to change the politics concerning the foreigners. Illegal Cargo is referring to illegal immigration which needs to be treated differently.

Your future(s) ?
Keep on doing music. What else ?

SLOW TRAIN Illegal Cargo LP (Murena Records)
(more info : murenarecords.com)