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The Slants

The Slants are an Asian dance/rock group from Portland, Oregon. The band was founded by Simon Young, formerly of The Stivs. They are one of the only Asian bands in the electroclash scene, combining traditional electronic dance/snyth pop sounds oft compared to Depeche Mode, or Joy Division with a modern, aggressive edge.

The Slants competed in the Northwest Semi-Regional Finals for the Bodog Music Battle of the Bands for the opportunity to be featured on the Fuse TV reality show and compete to win a $1 million dollar recording contract. The band consistently placed at the top of the competition early on. However, when they learned that they would be required to sign a 73-page non-negotiable contract in order to continue the competition, they dropped out. The band reasoned: "This was just not the right fit for our band at this time – or any band, really."

The Slants have garnered a niche fan-base of otaku as a result of their appearances at anime conventions. The band has also been featured in the shōjo manga magazine Shojo Beat, as well as partnering with the magazine and Sakuracon for a Hello Kitty guitar contest. The Slants are also a Fender Music spotlight artist

Their debut Slanted Eyes, Slanted Hearts was listed in the top 5 Asian-American albums of 2007 by AsiaXpress. Slanted Eyes, Slanted Hearts was independently produced and released. With the initial pressing of the album now out of print, the band remixed and re-pressed the album with new artwork.

Formation

The band was formed after posting ads to local classifieds, Craigslist and locations such as Asian supermarkets. The process took 2 years to finalize a line-up.

The band name, The Slants, is derived from an ethnic slur for Asians. Of the band name, bass player Young has said:

"We want to take on these stereotypes that people have about us, like the slanted eyes, and own them. We’re very proud of being Asian — we’re not going to hide that fact. The reaction from the Asian community has been positive.