If you spend any time at all on social media platform TikTok, there’s a very high chance you would have been introduced to BOY LOCO’s catchy hit ‘Slow Dancing’. Blending together Celtic influences with modern pop music has helped this Irish duo, comprised of Irish singer-songwriter Flynn and Welsh multi-instrumentalist Tudor, stand out of the crowd.
Flynn and Tudor have had an incredible musical journey so far. Flynn, a native of Mullingar, Ireland, has made a mark in the music scene with his distinctive voice and songwriting talent. His body of work includes hit tracks such as ‘Bad Memories’ with Meduza, as well as partnerships with big names like Lost Frequencies and Alle Farben. Meanwhile, Tudor, whose emotive production skills add a unique depth to the project. Tudor’s also has an impressive discography, with over 250 million streams on Spotify and collaborations with top names like Diplo and Hayden James. Together, Flynn and Tudor are creating music that resonates with audiences worldwide – and have done just that with their current smash hit ‘Slow Dancing’.
As the track continues to take the world by storm, we caught up with the duo who opens up about the global impact of the track, their musical careers so far and so much more.
How did the two of you decide to kick-start the ‘BOY LOCO’ project?
After being mates for years & years and both having our own journeys in music, a few Guinness later one evening at our local bar we came up with the idea of starting a project together. We had no idea what it would sound like so we booked a cabin by a lake somewhere rural to setup a studio for a week. During that week both Slow Dancing and the name Boy Loco was born and here we are!
How important is it for you to add Celtic elements to your music and how does it feel seeing this so positively received around the world?
When we started to imagine what Boy Loco was, we knew that the music had to be something that felt real and authentic to us. We’re both from small towns in Wales & Ireland so having folky & Celtic touches in the writing and production was a must. It kinda happens naturally in the writing process so we don’t have to overthink it too much. The way our music is being received around the world right now is baffling to us. It really has blown our minds that Slow Dancing has connected with people the same way it hit us the night we made it.
What inspired the name of the group?
The name took a lot of brainstorming. We were running through tons of ideas and this part was probably harder than writing the songs! But Boy Loco ended up feeling so right. And for us it’s the same with songs, sometimes the feeling it creates is more important than the meaning behind it.
Let’s talk about ‘Slow Dancing’. It’s doing very well in South Africa. What inspired the track?
Huge love to everyone listening in South Africa! We’re hoping to visit as soon as possible! When we write songs we don’t usually go into them with a specific inspiration or idea. It’s a lot of shooting in the dark until we land on something that makes us both excited. Overall with Boy Loco we want to make music that feels like indie or folk music (think Vance Joy/ Ben Howard/ Milky Chance) mixed with a little more dance / electronic influences. And in the case of Slow Dancing, after a few hours of nothing quite clicking it was the first two lines of the chorus and the off-beat guitar chords that came out of nowhere. We immediately knew we had something so kept going until it all came together.
Why do you think so many fans around the world resonate with this track – especially reaching the very bottom of Africa?
Honestly we have no idea. But we’re just so glad and humbled by it happening. Also it’s opened our worlds to South African music. We sometimes do TikTok lives and our SA followers recommend amaaaazing music that’s coming out of South Africa right now so that’s been really eye opening and inspiring. Perhaps we’ll end up collaborating with some of your artists in the future if we’re lucky!
What made you fall in love with the dance genre?
Dance music has always felt like such an exciting and alluring place ever since we were young. Some of our earliest memories of being blown away by this music would have been Swedish House Mafia, Disclosure, Avicii and Calvin Harris. How these artists (and many many more) took the core elements of dance (4/4 kick, 909 inspired drums, bass, chords) combined them with really well written songs and made a ‘club’ genre more accessible and exciting to everybody is just amazing. We also love how dance music itself is capable of infinite evolution and is always moving forwards with advancement in technology. Different trends in dance production come and go (and often return again) and this life cycle of the music means there’s always something exciting happening and also just around the corner.
What has been the highlight of your careers so far?
Honestly it’s the sheer amount of people that want to get married to or have their first dance to ‘Slow Dancing’. That ceremony is such a special and important day to people so for our little song to be chosen over the millions of other amazing options is really quite an honour.
While we continue jamming to ‘Slow Dancing’, what else can we expect from you guys in 2024?
Our first ever live shows, more music and more ‘Warning: this song will…’ TikTok posts.
Listen to ‘Slow Dancing’ below and read more music news here.