The legend that is Solarstone (Rich Mowatt) left an unforgettable mark on the Trance scene back in the late 90s with his Top 40 hit ‘Seven Cities’, which went on to sell in excess of half a million copies. Since then his tracks such as ‘Solarcoaster’, ‘3rd Earth’ and ‘Falcons’ have firmly cemented his place as one of the main names within the Trance scene. In 2012 Solarstone’s Pure Trance concept was born. Aimed at pushing through the sound of driving, melodic & captivating trance music, his highly acclaimed Pure Trance album and performances have only helped Solarstone’s popularity increase even more. On Saturday 16th March Rich will headline Trance Sanctuary’s 2nd Birthday at Egg Nightclub in London and we thought it was rather appropriate to find out a bit more about the man himself.
Hi Rich, first of all has 2013 been treating you?
It’s been a good year so far, although the last two weeks have been taken up with trying to get over a stubborn illness, which kept me out of the studio entirely. I’ve been catching up with other things, my Molecule label was recently adopted by Black Hole for distribution so I’ve been working on the next 6 releases, plus finalizing releases for Touchstone & Solaris too. Thankfully now my ears are working properly again so I can get back on the production next week.
Let's rewind back, how much of a Clubber were you when you first started taking an interest in dance music and what inspired you to make music as well as DJ?
I guess I was quite a serious clubber, in Birmingham and the surrounding area. I split myself between underground Gay nights where early trance was played, and underground techno nights like Atomic Jam and House of God. I’ve not really though about it much but those nights must have had some kind of influence on the way I DJ – as a DJ you need to know what works well both on and off drugs – those clubs were very ‘user intensive’. I ‘grew up' with the EDM scene so to speak, producing and DJing were a natural thing for me. I was also in an indie-dance band for a few years in the early 90’s, playing keyboards, so I’ve had experience of most elements of the dance music world.
In 1999 your track Seven Cities charted in the UK top 40. At that time what was it like to be able to produce underground tracks that also had a commercial appeal?
At the time ‘Seven Cities’ was anything other than ‘underground’. Trance was practically mainstream by the time that record was a hit. It was great to be able to earn a decent living from producing and selling records, but of course mainstream popularity is transient, it was never going to last long. Unfortunately you can’t be both cool & underground and also commercial. Commercial means you sell a lot of units; you can’t do that and be genuinely cool too. Morrissey summed it up perfectly when he sang ‘We hate it when our friends become successful’.
Your life seems to be very busy with your own labels, DJ sets, productions and a radio show. Can you talk us through an average week for you?
Sure. Well, Monday is Radio Show day, where I listen to all the new promos and record the show. The rest of the day is usually record label work – arranging remixes, signing material, doing contracts, writing promotional prose, deciding on artwork etc. I try not to let the business side of things dominate but it is time consuming, and I’m passionate about my labels. Tuesday to Friday are studio days (in theory) but other things often get in the way. I sort of juggle everything about to make it work. I do a lot of stuff on the plane on my way to gigs.
How many new tracks do you get sent every week to listen to?
This is a bone of contention. I get hundreds upon hundreds, way too much for anybody to listen to properly. I love getting new music, but there are far too many labels which are run by people with no sense of ‘quality over quantity’ – labels that send out a new release every week, that is not possible unless you have a large team of A&R signing music. The quality is just not there, 95% of the music should not be released. I used to listen to everything, but no more. I have to be brutal with it, so I focus on labels that I know & trust, and artists that I know & trust. I will give a new label a chance, but if I recognize a label as one which I have never liked anything on, I just delete them. New labels need to invest in decent name remixes etc. so show that they are serious. If you pay peanuts, you get monkeys. Most of the promos I get deleted unfortunately. My sets are made up for 95% my own material or music on my labels, so there’s not much room for other stuff – it has to be brilliant.
Away from DJing and making music what else do you like to get up to?
I spent my free time with my family, what there is of it. Music is my life and it doesn’t leave much room for extra curricular activities! I love walking in the countryside and cooking but neither gets much attention.
You launched your Pure Trance concept last year with a new mix CD and club night. This has become a real talking point within the trance scene, are you though surprised at just how well received your concept has been?
I was initially surprised, but now I understand that we found a legitimate gap in the market which desperately needed to be addressed. So many people share my love of ‘Pure Trance’ that the concept has not really needed to be sold to the public, they have embraced it. It’s given me a new sense of worth and purpose as an artist. The love that people have for this music goes way beyond a fad or a trend, it is deeper than that. This music moves people in a spiritual way. When other people slag off trance or try to belittle it, I pity them.
Who are your favourite artists at the moment that are making that Pure Trance sound?
As far as other artists embracing the Pure Trance sound goes, it is building up nicely now. I’m not going to start labelling other artists as pure trance – that is something they need to do for themselves, but of course artists like Orkidea, Giuseppe Ottaviani are up there.
Your latest track Jewel charted inside the Beatport top 10 and has been supported by the likes of Armin Van Buuren. How did you go about making that song?
Jewel is one of 4 songs I recorded with Clare Stagg last year. We write very naturally together, it’s kind of hard to pin down the writing process into a series of steps, it just happens organically every time really. Jewel is a love song, pure & simple, I think it’s a very joyful song, I love it.
You will be playing at Trance Sanctuary's 2nd Birthday in London on Saturday 16th March, what have you already heard about the party?
Some friends of mine attend religiously, so I’ve heard nothing but good things about the events – the club Egg is an amazing venue too and I have nothing but respect for people who try to do something different! I’m looking forward to it.
You will be sharing the main room stage with Dan Stone and Suncatcher. Have you played alongside them before and are they two artists that you support?
I’ve not played with either before on the same night, but I support both of them in my sets regularly, and actually, recent productions from both of them fit nicely into the Pure Trance sound – so they are both a perfect fit for the event! I used a Suncatcher track on the Pure Trance album, and ‘Made In Bahrain’ by Dan is one of my favourite trance tracks of recent years.
Tickets
£7 Early Bird SOLD OUT
£10 Standard
Available from
Skiddle - http://www.skiddle.com/events/11778258/
View Tickets - http://tinyurl.com/b9tlwhc
If Trance Sanctuary is on your birthday weekend, we'll make it extra special by giving you and a guest free entry. Just send us an email with your name and d.o.b. (and remember to bring ID)!
Hot on the heels of our sell out New Year's Eve event, join us for what will be an incredible occasion to celebrate Trance Sanctuary's 2nd birthday.
After 11 successful parties, TS is fast becoming one of the most talked about events in the UK Trance scene due to it's fresh line ups and great atmospheres.
Following November's epic party at Egg, we will be returning to the venue in Kings Cross for another one of our daytime events spread across 3 rooms. Headlining will be the man of the moment Solarstone, Anjunabeats star Dan Stone as well as Suncatcher & Skytech who will both be making their UK Debuts.
Main Room - Progressive/Uplifting
Solarstone (Exclusive Pure Trance Set) - www.facebook.com/solarstonefanpage
The legend that is Solarstone (Rich Mowatt) left an unforgettable mark on the Trance scene back in 1999 with the Top 40 hit ‘Seven Cities’, which went on to sell in excess of ½ million copies. Since then his tracks such as ‘Solarcoaster’, ‘3rd Earth’ and ‘Falcons’ have firmly cemented his place as one of the main names within the Trance scene. In 2012 Solarstone’s Pure Trance concept was born. Aimed at pushing through the sound of driving, melodic & captivating Trance music, his highly acclaimed Pure Trance album and performances has only helped Solarstone’s popularity increase even more. As a DJ, Rich spins all around the world and it's an absolute pleasure to welcome him to TS for a very special Pure Trance set.
Solarstone - Seven Cities - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=m1j_aOZk-v4
Dan Stone (Anjunabeats) - www.facebook.com/DJDanStone
Having played at our first ever event as well as our 1st Birthday, Dan Stone is well and truly part of the Trance Sanctuary Family. 2012 was an extremely successful year for Dan which saw him play in LA and India as well as gain the coveted 'Tune Of The Week' status on ASOT for his remix of Extravagance ST - Nightshift. With new material to feature in his forthcoming set, we can't wait to see one of our favourite DJs in action once again.
Extravagance ST - Nightshift (Dan Stone Remix) - www.youtube.com/watch?v=Pl5V7Sdtonw
Suncatcher - UK Debut (Enhanced Recordings) - www.facebook.com/suncatchermusic
With Armin Van Buuren describing his music as "Beautiful Trance", Suncatcher has become a big talent within the Uplifting Trance scene. The Romanian has received regular support on ASOT with his remixes of tracks such as 'Fire Sign', 'Behind Your Smile' and 'Without Warning' the latter of which gained a place in the top 10 of the Beatport Trance charts.
Behind the decks, Suncatcher has been gaining nods of approval from around Europe and at our Birthday event it's time to unleash him for the first time on the UK crowd.
Exostate - Without Warning (Suncatcher Remix) - www.youtube.com/watch?v=gFYoPAS9ZdQ
Supporting our main room headliners will be our tried and tested Resident/Co-Promoter Mark Landragin, Leolife who impressed many with their debut set at TS back in May 2012 and a very lucky competition winner. Check out www.trancesanctuary.com/#!__main/dj-comp. for details on how take advantage of this great opportunity.
Room 2 - Chunky
Skytech - UK Debut (Coldharbour Recordings)
Headlining the impressive 2nd Room is one of Markus Schulz's favourite artists. Skytech has been causing major dance floor mayhem ever since his debut release on Coldharbour Recordings at the age of just 15. 5 years on, the Pole has been producing huge chunky bass led tracks such as 'Comet', 'What's Wrong' and 'Lights Out'. His latest track 'No Need For Words' has been been supported on on ASOT and will no doubt make a big impression in the download charts, so make sure you can say you were there to see Skytech play his first ever set in the UK.
Skytech - No Need For Words - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=73iP_ltWio4
Supporting Skytech will be Lewis Duggleby and Matt Van Driver from Elevation Audio who will be playing an extra special B2B set. Also on the decks will be Resident/Co-Promoter Messy A who has quickly been gaining new followers from his Trance Sanctuary sets as well as Craig Gordon who will be making his very first appearance at TS having previously played at venues such as Ministry Of Sound.
Room 3 - Progressive/Melodic
In the fantastic surroundings of the Indoor Garden, we are pleased to welcome a quintet of DJs all wanting to give that that good first impression when you first enter the club. A favourite with Hernan Cattaneo, Scotty.A shows why he is such a favourite at Electronic Sessions and Bedrock. Vivien Markey from YouBroadcastRadio will swap the airwaves for the decks for the night. Having previously warmed up for the likes of Paul Van Dyk and Andy Moor, Gary Optim returns to Trance Sanctuary, as does Steve Holland who's trademark Anjunadeep sound went down a treat back in May 2011 at TS. Finally JD Love, a familiar face to many at TS will get his chance to shine behind the 1s and 2s.
Main Room - Basement
Solarstone (Exclusive Pure Trance Set)
Dan Stone (Anjunabeats)
Suncatcher (UK Debut - Enhanced Recordings)
Mark Landragin (Trance Sanctuary)
Leolife (InfraProgressive)
Competition Winner - http://tinyurl.com/axys6ge
Room 2 - 1st Floor
Skytech (UK Debut - Coldharbour Recordings)
Lewis Duggleby B2B Matt Van Driver (Elevation Audio)
Messy A (Trance Sanctuary)
Craig Gordon
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