Slater Manzo

with Red Farrow

Slater Manzo

Dance/Electronic artist Slater Manzo is bringing a new sound to the industry scene. Making music since the age of 12, the musician, through his impressive 24 singles and 2 EPs, showcases a distinct vibe - one the artist wants to hear, or, as Manzo says, “the one no one’s previously made”. The artist’s work is wonderfully experimental, combining dance pop beats with a wide array of digital sounds and effects. Manzo has collaborated with a number of artists, one being fellow musician Red Farrow on “Wake Up” and “Need Ur Luv”.

Besides being a collab partner, Farrow serves as both Slater’s co-producer and a flight attendant— an interesting lifestyle that is reflected in his work. The artist grew up in a family church choir and used his love of harmonies to spark his initial music career. He too is a pioneer in his own right, creating a truly unique soundscape within his music. Together, the two form IIKINGS, pronounced “two kings”. They currently head an eponymous project that serves to celebrate queer producers in Toronto. We recently spoke with the duo about their music style, creative process, and more!

How did you get started making music?

Slater: I first fell in love with electronic music at such a young age. As I continued to explore the genre, I couldn’t find the exact sounds I wanted to hear— so twelve-year-old me said, heck, I can make this myself.

Red: I grew up in a family church choir and was always enamored with harmonies and the construction of music. I came back to this love for writing when I was searching for a creative outlet. It felt like finding the perfect pair of jeans.

IIKINGS: As a duo, we began jamming, unsure of where it would go. Working between a vocalist and a producer, you translate between your worlds and often fall into a groove; But when it's two producers you never really know what will come out of it. Luckily, that 12 year old beat maker and the little choir boy ended converging effortlessly and all of a sudden dance music was reborn.

Which artists have had the greatest impact on your music style/career?

Slater: Woah, this is a big question but here are a few. A-Trak was my gateway to house and hip-hop beats. I realized he was producing for artists that I had been listening to. Seeing how talented he was at such a young age made me feel like this could be something attainable for me. Deadmau5 was another huge inspiration for me. ‘I Remember’ was their first track where I began conceptualizing what “my sound” could be. I remember thinking that I wanted to make music that could make people resonate the same way. 

Red: This is always a good question because we draw from so many artists during the formative years of developing our sound and skills. One earlier group would probably be Basshunter. The Swedish really know what they are doing. I remember hearing “Dota” and “Boten Anna” and having to show everyone that I knew. I burnt CDs for all of my friends and realized I wanted to make people dance the same way I did in my living room. A later influence was a group called Honne. Their rich sounds and warm soundscapes resonated strongly with me and helped shape me as a vocalist and a producer. 

Red Farrow

Where would be your dream venue?

Of course, we would be honored to play in any of the famous Toronto venues such as the Rogers Centre or the Sony Centre. However, following in the steps of artists like Rufus Du Sol and Lane 8, we would love to have a remote outdoor show somewhere super scenic and beautiful like Joshua Tree or Banff. It would be amazing to incorporate nature since it plays such a big role in our production. 

Your Spotify bio reads “I started making music because no one was making music I wanted to hear.” Can you explain what this quote means and how you mean to describe your music to a new listener?

This quote is exactly how I feel. Since getting into electronic music at such a young age, I've been exposed to all types of styles; trance, techno, electro house, dubstep, and ambience— but nothing really satisfied me enough. When I learned about Garageband, I wanted to give it a try for myself. After throwing in 300 samples and making a mess of an 8 minute song, I was the happiest I had ever been. Since then, that childish excitement stuck with me with every song I finish, even with the projects Red and I jam on. Every one of those genres growing up have definitely influenced the sound I have today. The special sounds of ambient electronica, the drive of electro house, the feels you get from trance with the rhythm house and techno give you. Music is an experience and that’s what I strive to give with every bit of myself I put into my music.

Favorite non-music activities?

All forms of art and technology interest us. As long as we consider video games to be technology. Music is most of our lives. If we are not making it, we are discussing it, sharing it, buying new production toys, working on sets, and creating visuals. We both love travel and eating and we will hopefully have some shows booked soon so we can combine all of our interests in one. 

Talk us through your typical songwriting process.

So we actually do a really interesting and unique process that works well for two producers and combines our abilities in a creative way. We call it the hot potato. Red usually starts with a half an hour time limit and lays down the chords and arrangement that we will use. We usually pick a restriction or a theme, such as only using self-recorded samples, only using stock plugins, or even as far as pulling a tarot card to base the production around. Limits inspire creativity in that they force you to think fast and don’t allow you time to overthink or doubt yourself. I then take the next turn and within the same time limit, I lay down beats and start on sound design. We continue to pass back and forth the track over Splice—an awesome platform for sharing projects—and then within three hours we usually have something we are proud of! It’s actually a blast. 

Any future projects?

This is the exciting part where we announce the IIKINGS project that we have been working on. After seeing what type of sound we organically make together, we recognized quickly that the dance music we made was in a genre separate from each of our own. We came up with the name IIKINGS based on two suits of the Tarot deck that we each associated with; Cups for myself and Wands for Red. These images give light to the way our styles merge and compliment each other. Through this brand, we will be launching dance tracks on a regular basis. After placement on a few major Spotify playlists (Mint Canada, Fresh Finds, Bangers, New Music Friday), we have been amazed at the response already. Going forward, we are excited to plan some really unique shows that utilized various instruments, spaces and technology. Following each of our separate successes we will continue to make our own tracks as well, but always while bouncing ideas back and forth. Red has a track “Home” coming out on the 30th that I helped with. We also have an official remix for French artist, Eli Rose, coming out on the 3rd of July. After that, we have two excited dance bangers headed your way for late July, early August.