SLOW DAKOTA RELEASES AN OPUS ON MYSTICISM AND MAGICAL THINKING

TORNADO MASS FOR VOICE & SYNTHESIZER ALBUM

OUT TODAY ON MASSIF RECORDS

“....a record which seems perfectly fitting for uncertain times even if it wasn't planned that way... which is at times mystical and enchanting, other times dark and haunting, as Sauerteig's voice sometimes draws hints of Death Cab frontman Ben Gibbard with flares The National's Matt Berninger.” - VARIANCE MAGAZINE

LISTEN TO TORNADO MASS FOR VOICE AND SYNTHESIZER : HERE

Chicago’s Slow Dakota, the songwriter and label owner from Indiana (by way of New York) has released an album for our times Tornado Mass for Voice & Synthesizer. Sauerteig wrote songs for this album over the course of several years and although the album was not purposely scheduled to come out during a global pandemic the songs on Tornado Mass for Voice & Synthesizer very spiritual, alluding to a looming disaster on the horizon, which could not be more timely. As a whole, Tornado Mass for Voice & Synthesizer encourages listeners to indulge in magical thinking and to give them a sense of escape into a beautiful musical landscape steeped in hope and mysticism.

"Timing is everything, isn’t it?" Sauerteig told Variance Magazine. "I started writing Tornado Mass years ago, about the custom of small, rural communities coming together to rebuild after deadly tornado strikes. Donating food, showing up to volunteer, expecting nothing in return. It’s a very beautiful and holy thing to witness back home in the Midwest. It feels strange to release the album in this cultural moment of COVID, wrought with destruction on a much more global scale."

“ In contrast with the space-y, almost post-rock sound of the song, Sauerteig’s vocals have a certain early 00s indie feel to them, think Ben Gibbard as a reference point.” - MXDWN (on “Coming to the Nuisance”)

Slow Dakota mastermind PJ Sauerteig is a practicing lawyer, and was writing the album while in law school,which is reflected in the songs such as “Force Majeure” and “Coming to the Nuisance,” both of which are legal terms. The latest single, “Burial,” released Easter Sunday was inspired by superstition and mysticism that shrounds burial practice even today. As technology advances, and people leave religion behind, still these traditions remain: the black, the reading, no expense spared for the great and lavish wooden box. Although the sign strongly resonates with the amount of loss in the word today due to COVID-19, Suaerteig initially wrote the song about Global Warming, and the byproduct of disaster that would result from the planet warming up.

“This new single is oddly, but perfectly timed as it is about preparing for a mass disaster. When it was written Sauerteig had global warming in mind, but it seems all too fitting these days.” - The Deli (on “Coming to the Nuisance”)

The name Slow Dakota comes from Sauerteig's great grandfather who spent his final years in and out of hospitals and the occasional psychiatric institute. As his mental health started to deteriorate he began writing letters to The President of the United States, and would always sign them “Yours, Slow Dakota.," although having no relation to North or South Dakota. During one family visit to the hospital when Sauerteig was only 5 or 6, his great grandfather slipped him one of these letters and asked him to deliver it. The letter was addressed to President Lincoln. So, years later, when Sauerteig began releasing music, Slow Dakota felt like an appropriate pen name. Long letters to no one. 

Sauerteig’s music is known for blending baroque pop, folk, classical, and electronic influences like Vangelis and Sufjan Stevens. Sauerteig often employs "spoken word" interludes, and his lyrics fixate on myth, rural folklore, and fairy tales. In 2016, he was nominated for a Pushcart Prize. Sauerteig began releasing music as Slow Dakota from his Columbia University dorm room in 2012. As an undergraduate, Sauerteig pursued Creative Writing and Psychology, and quietly released his first few albums: Our Indian Boy (2012), Bürstner and the Baby (2013), and The Junior EP (2015). While at Columbia, Sauerteig also founded a small record label, Massif Records, to release his own music, and the music of close friends – including the lovely Margaux. Sauerteig spent two years recording in various cities and tapped longtime producer, Sahil Ansari, and legendary mastering engineer, Greg Calbi for Tornado for Voice and Synthesizer.

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