The singular DJ speaks of slow house, fraud players, and the pop future of dance music

"Oh, the slo-mo thing. I guess I can see how people came to associate me with that." DJ Slow Hands, a.k.a. New York's Ryan Cavanagh, was playing down his status as poster boy for the slow house movement. 

A couple of years ago, some DJs, mainly from the East Coast, started slowing things down to a sultry 100 beats per minute from the standard, boppy 120 BPM. And Slow Hands -- a fast talker, I learned, in wide-ranging phone interview anticipating his appearance this Fri/16 (9 p.m., $15 before midnight, $20 after. Beat Box 314 11th St., SF., www.ayli-sf.com and Facebook) -- came to the fore, with a dynamic combination of disco-dubby aesthetics, a willingness to let songs breathe a little, and an impeccable instinct for track selection. Does it hurt things that's he's rather dreamy in the brains and looks department? It certainly does not.

Read more »