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B I O G R A P H Y
Born in Astoria, New York, Slau began playing guitar at the age of five. Throughout his childhood, he performed in various choirs and ensembles while also studying mandolin, bandura and piano. At age 13, he formed his own dance band, playing weddings, proms and parties in the New York City area. Within three years, he was playing some of Manhattan's top clubs as a member of "The Special Guests" and later with Khari Paige's "Erocktica." Some of these gigs were held at venues such as the The Red Parrot, The Underground, Magique and The Fun House, where producer Jellybean Benitez recorded the band.
By age 17, Slau was working as a session musician for commercial jingles and film scores. The many hours spent in those studios made an impression on Slau that would eventually lead him into the recording studio business. Having built a small home studio, he began writing songs and recording demos. One of those early songwriting efforts eventually earned Slau a semifinalist position in Musician Magazine's "Best Unsigned Band" contest.
In the fall of 1982, Slau enrolled in the School of Art and Design at Pratt Institute in Brooklyn, New York, hoping to explore other creative interests. Two years later, while pursuing a bachelor's degree in industrial design, Slau began experiencing vision loss and was diagnosed with retinitis pigmentosa, a retinal degenerative condition for which there is no medical treatment. By 1985, he was legally blind with a central field of vision less than 20 degrees. Eventually coming to see it as a blessing in disguise, Slau realized it gave him an opportunity to return to his original passion--music. Slau would later comment in a 1995 interview with Newsday, "I probably would have ended up doing music full-time anyway but this definitely accelerated the process. It's not the road I would've picked to get here but I know this is where I was meant to be."
In 1987, Slau began a seven-year-long collaboration with singer Daria Konopada, whom he married in 1990. Under the name "Darka & Slavko," the duo released four albums into the world music market. With their newly formed band, the couple performed across North America and Europe where, in 1989, they won the "Best International Band" award at the legendary premier Chervona Ruta Festival in Ukraine. By 1997, Darka & Slavko's collaboration, as well as their marriage, had come to an end.
By this time, Slau's concentration had shifted away from songwriting and performing and toward recording other singer/songwriters and bands at his studio, BeSharp, in Astoria. While running the studio part-time, he attended Five Towns College in Dix Hills, New York, studying jazz/commercial music with a concentration in audio recording technology. After he graduated with honors in 1996, BeSharp became his full-time occupation. As a member of the Audio Engineering Society (AES) and the Society of Professional Recording Services (SPARS), Slau found himself becoming more deeply involved in the technical side of the recording industry. While working on an album project in London, England, he contributed to Sound On Sound magazine, Europe's premier audio industry publication. In 1999, Slau was pictured in Billboard magazine along with some of New York's top engineers at Avatar Studios, where they were evaluating Quantegy's new GP9 analog recording tape.
Slau's focus would again begin to shift. This time, it was back to songwriting and performing. The week that the Billboard article appeared also saw Slau's first solo performance as part of the New York City "Songwriter's Circle" at The Bitter End on Bleecker Street. Among the songs he premiered that night was "Cold One," which was featured in the 1998 ASCAP Songwriter's Workshop.
In 2000, while once again operating the studio part-time, Slau began production on his debut solo album. The CD, entitled The Weight of Words, was released on May 18, 2001, along with Slau's official web site: slau.net. Currently, Slau is promoting the album online and planning east coast appearances with his new band.
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photos: Roman Iwasiwka