De Sluwe Vos delivers a solo album, officially joining the ASW Family

After a period of producing a lot in collaboration with other artists, De Sluwe Vos returns with a solo album. Full of new, more introverted music, Now I Understand is different from what the world is used to from the Dutch DJ and producer. The album will be released on Friday 5 July on Carl Cox's label, Awesome Soundwave. It was preceded by the single of the same name two weeks earlier.

After an exceptionally busy period in 2019, which included the release of the ‘Dancing Glass Figures EP‘ and an acclaimed performance at Lowlands, the corona pandemic and all the accompanying obstacles felt like a solid kick on the brakes for Robert Vosmeijer, who hides behind the pseudonym De Sluwe Vos. Forced, but also urgently needed, he swapped the fast-paced DJ life for one in which he found the balance again. He moved back to Deventer, the place where he grew up. There he moved in with his girlfriend and old friendships blossomed again. In this regained peace and regularity, the aptly titled album ‘Now I Understand’ was born.

Before the album was completed, Vosmeijer worked with former Nobody Beats The Drums member Sjamsoedin on the project Intercity 106, he made the EP Virtual Excursion with iconic hip-hop centipede Kubus on the self-founded label Native Swamp, and he released the Terraforming EP on his own. “˜When I was done working on my other projects during the day, I freed up time at night to make new music without pressure or tight deadlines,” Vosmeijer says of the creation of the songs on ‘Now I Understand’. "I shared a studio with a good friend of mine. One day he was there, the next day I was there. So there was never really a fixed set-up. I really had to grab a synth and then start making music with that. That eventually resulted in a very simplistic approach to production. Here and there a plug-in, but the basis comes completely away from that one synth."

The idea of releasing these tracks as an album came when he was approached by Awesome Soundwave, the label of pioneers Carl Cox and Christopher Coe. “I was mega busy finishing other albums and honestly had no immediate thoughts of embarking on a new megalomaniac project,” says the DJ laconically. Still, Vosmeijer regularly sent some tracks in the direction of Carl Cox. "It took me a really long time until I tied the knot. 

"It took me a really long time until I tied the knot.That moment only came when I met Carl Cox at Mysteryland and he told me how enthusiastic he was.Then I got excited about the idea myself and started working with the pile of tracks I had.The whole album is based around two synths and a drum machine."

On ‘Now I Understand’, we hear that De Sluwe Vos is comfortable in his skin and dares to be more personal in his compositions. "A lot of peace came into my life when I moved to Deventer. That peace of mind gives me a lot of confidence and takes away a lot of doubt, so I dare to be closer to myself and express myself more in my music. 

So that environment has played a very important role in the creation of the music." Initially, there was no intention to release the songs, which made him feel freer in the creation process."That makes it exciting to share them with the outside world.They are also tracks that represent a time when I started to trust more in myself and my intuition. So it's an ode to the people around me and to my city."

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‘Now I Understand’ will be available on July 5th, 2024. The first single ‘Let’s Keep Floating’ is now available.