Slow Joy (aka singer-songwriter Esteban Flores). Photo: Courtesy Stunt Company PR
Dallas-based Chicano singer-songwriter Esteban Flores — who performs under the musical moniker Slow Joy — is gearing up to release a new EP, Mi Amigo Slow Joy, on June 7, via Mick Music.
The four-track effort, produced by Mike Sapone in New Jersey, follows his debut EP, 2023’s Wildflower, and features the lead single “Pulling Teeth,” which Flores described in press materials as “basically an apology to my wife for me not being the easiest person to deal with all the time.”
“It’s one of those songs where it’s like, ‘Please don’t give up on me; I know I’m taking a little bit,’” Flores said in a statement.
KXT listeners got a taste of Slow Joy’s style on The Local Show earlier this month, when host Nilufer Arsala played the track “I Don’t Hate You,” a one-off single Flores released last year.
TikTok helped catapult Flores, who began releasing singles under the Slow Joy name in 2020, into the spotlight: “Soft Slam” and “Crawling” racked up millions of views on the social media site, and Flores found himself in an unexpected position: budding rock star.
“I only shared my music because I wanted people to hear it, not because I was trying to get a career,” Flores said in a statement. “Lo and behold, the universe then let me have a career out of it.”
Mi Amigo Slow Joy, according to press materials, is also designed to put Flores’s Hispanic heritage at the forefront.
“Naming it Mi Amigo Slow Joy is like, ‘Hey, this is rock music. It’s serious, and it’s important, and it’s me,’” Flores said in a statement. “And one thing that is me is being a Mexican-American person, and being proud of that culture, and showing it off.”
Flores has a handful of dates scheduled — a trio of Colorado shows at the end of March, and a Louisiana gig in early April — but as of yet, no North Texas dates scheduled in support of Mi Amigo Slow Joy.
Preston Jones is a North Texas freelance writer and regular contributor to KXT. Email him at [email protected] or find him on X (@prestonjones). Our work is made possible by our generous, music-loving members. If you like how we lift up local music, consider becoming a KXT sustaining member right here.
