High Praise: New Englander JJ Slater Keeps Tumbling Down With Latest Single “All My Ashes”
In our current moment in time, we’re all taking an extra second or two to think about how we got to where we are now and how to move forward. This comes with the help we got along on the way that is a figure of the past. When I mentioned listening to “All My Ashes” is like getting a hug through your headphones or speakers, Slater wants you to feel that we’ve all gotten to where we are with things that may not be in our lives anymore. And that’s totally okay. Whatever mixed emotions you may have with your own contemplation, allow JJ Slater’s music to guide you.
We go through life where not only people come and go, but so do places we’ve lived, occupations, and even dreams. The fine balance of accepting moving on and leaving behind things to grow can make or break us. If that’s tricky for you to put it into words, allow JJ Slater to spell it out for you with his new single “All My Ashes” off his upcoming EP.
Born and raised in New England, singer/songwriter JJ Slater applies being an observationalist to his songwriter. Being from the Northeastern part of the US, he can truly craft songs and moods that reflect all for seasons. The passing of each season can be a metaphor for all the people and things that pass through our lives, a common theme in Slater’s music. You can catch Slater bringing these songs to life with influences ranging from funk, jazz, and folk.
With plans on releasing a new EP in early 2021, JJ Slater released the single “All My Ashes” to promote it on November 20th. Recorded at Sleeper Cave Records in Western Massachusetts, Slater received discounted recording time after being brought in to tune a piano for the studio. A lot of the songs date back to 2018 where Slater had written them deep in the woods of Goshen, MA, by a river where he would practice his instruments for hours at a time (and sometimes crash for the night). The sighing harmoniums, birdsong guitar shimmers, and trickling pianos that overlay what started as a “busking set-up” EP seem to paint a picture of this sanctuary.
“All My Ashes” is a folk-driven tune that sounds like you’re getting a hug through your headphones or speakers. With acoustic instruments common in folk and an electric piano, JJ Slater commands with infectious vocal melodies that weave seamlessly through the instrumental. With the recurring lyric “tumbling down” Slater’s message with “All My Ashes” is about when your door is first opened to the world and you move through personal relationships, apartments, jobs, and dreams, it becomes difficult to sense even one foot on the ground. The track is an introduction to the EP’s overall theme of “a lot of what you leave behind- shadows of yourself, things you’ve used up, places that no longer hold you”.
In our current moment in time, we’re all taking an extra second or two to think about how we got to where we are now and how to move forward. This comes with the help we got along on the way that is a figure of the past. When I mentioned listening to “All My Ashes” is like getting a hug through your headphones or speakers, Slater wants you to feel that we’ve all gotten to where we are with things that may not be in our lives anymore. And that’s totally okay. Whatever mixed emotions you may have with your own contemplation, allow JJ Slater’s music to guide you.
Below is our exclusive video interview with JJ Slater: