For over a decade Solarstone (Rich Mowatt) has been creating dance-floor traffic jams with a convoy of revered club classics, all-out anthems & critically-acclaimed artist albums. As a DJ, he spins weekly at clubs around the planet and for global super-brands like Cream, Ministry of Sound, Gatecrasher & Full-On-Ferry. Releases from his label projects Solaris & Insatiable are instrumental components of his highly individualistic sets and are constantly supported by the trance & prog spinning elite. Solaris International (pka Deepblue Radio), his weekly show, is broadcast across some 34 FM & Internet stations, including Ministry of Sound.com & the south coast’s Passion FM network

We are delighted to have Solarstone playing @ the opening night of Sonictonic @ The Custard Factory 12th September.

Now let's get cracking with the interview...

You’re coming to play for Sonic Tonic @ The Custard Factory on 12th September 09. Can you describe the ‘Solarstone’ sound that we will experience from your set?

I guess the ‘Solarstone sound’ is quality non-cheese progressive and trance which avoids the stereotypical abrasive noises which many non-trance fans associate with the genre! I’ve always strived for warmth and emotion in my music, and I try to make my Dj sets representative of that too, I also try to mix it up a bit, throwing in some different genres occasionally to keep it interesting. My CD wallet is always packed with unreleased exclusive stuff on my labels which makes a Solarstone Dj set a bit more unique too.

Solarstone - Seven Cities is one of my all time favourite trance classics, released back in 1999. How do you think the trance sound has changed since that ‘classics’ period?

The ‘trance’ sound is constantly evolving – look at now with many producers beginning to introduce ‘minimal’ sounds into their productions – Ferry Corstens new remix of my track ‘Late Summer Fields’ is a good example. The tools at producers’ disposal have a lot to answer for to – take side-chaining for instance – it’s a neat studio wiring trick that has completely changed a lot of producers’ methods of engineering – when something like that catches on the genre mutates. I think that Trance has definitely taken a positive turn recently, the tempo is slowing down thank god, I cannot stand all that 140bpm stuff that sounds like a jack-hammer going off in an aircraft hanger.

Which do you enjoy the most, DJing or Production?

Djing kind of follows on from production for me, I create the music then play it out, it’s not really something I could put a favourite to if I’m honest. If I had to give up one or the other I would continue producing, because Djing would be kind of pointless without my own records to play!

With the introduction of new technology such as CDJs and software like Ableton; how do you think this has changed the art of DJing & has it changed it for the better?

It’s certainly made it more interesting for sure, it’s like a guitarist having new effects to play with. I have to say though, I don’t see the point in mixing Trance with Ableton, I do use it for producing the radio show but I prefer to be more hands on than that, when I see a Dj using Ableton they often just stand there looking like they are checking their email. It also kind of takes some of the skill out of Djing – the beat matching, the spontaneity of it. Or maybe I’m totally wrong and need to explore it a bit more!

Being an international DJ you get to travel the world. Where is the best place you’ve ever DJ’ed?

Gosh that’s a toughie, but I’d have to say Brazil (where I am whilst typing this!). Brazil is one place I would love to settle down a little later in life, the people are so friendly, the food is fantastic, it’s just amazing. I always have a good time playing in Brazil. Australia is another great place to play – Aussies are a really good bunch too.

Electronic Architecture is your new album. Can you tell us more about this album and how it was compiled?

I wanted to raise the bar a bit, edm comps have become so generic and a little stale and Electronic Architecture is a conscious attempt to do something a little different. The listener entrusts the dj to take them on a journey - I wanted to make that journey a little more challenging... new artists and new music instead of the usual predictable combination of big tunes and big names. Over the years I have found that often an artist's first few tracks are amongst their most interesting, and as I get sent so many unsigned demos for my labels and radio show, it made sense to cultivate some of them for the project. I worked together with many of the artists over the web to polish the records up to the required standard. Back in the halcyon days of Renaissance and Northern Exposure a lot of attention was also paid to the packaging of the music. It was beautiful to look at and the art was an integral part of the experience. Also the in-club visuals played an important part in the whole thing. With E.A we have created a combination of music and imagery in which to wrap the listener up... its more of a total experience than just an auditory one. I wanted to create an album which your finger would pause upon whilst browsing a dusty CD shelf in a few years time. In terms of the mixing itself, I used many tools in the creation of the mix, it is a real montage of different elements, in fact the names of the tools and techniques play a part in the visuals for the album! However, unless you are familiar with the original versions (which most people won't be as 95% of the tracks are previously unheard in any form!) you won't know what has been done, but all the cutting, pasting, filtering, warping etc adds to the overall sound. Any dj that just sticks a bunch of tracks end to end when we have so many amazing tools at our disposal is really wasting a big creative opportunity!

Thanks for taking the time to answer our questions Rich. We can't wait for your set @ Sonictonic.

You can buy Solarstones amazing album Electronic Architecture by clicking here.http://www.solarstone.co.uk/shop/pr...?product_id=139

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