Refusing to be pigeonholed into any one dance genre, the UK’s Solardo has long proven their ability as musical chameleons, resulting in a growing discography that’s as impressively varied as it is seamless. From huge techno chart-topper “Riser” to outdoor anthem “I Can’t Wait” alongside Tiësto and Poppy Baskcomb or 2019’s revision of Marshall Jefferson’s timeless “Move Your Body,” it’s clear that Solardo can simply do no wrong. Solardo’s latest release, “Big Talk”, sees the duo take it to the studio with Idris Elba for the first time, dimming the lights for a sizzling production that’s been turning the heads of many already.
From playing for epic crowds at festivals like Glastonbury, Tomorrowland, EDC Las Vegas, Ultra Music Festival Miami, Creamfields, and Parklife to some of the world’s biggest superclubs as well as some of the world’s most respected clubs, Solardo adapt to whichever crowd is put in front of them. Next to their history of releasing on the biggest labels in the game, from Ultra to Hot Creations to Relief to Toolroom, they focus their A&R efforts on their three labels: Sola Music (representing the kind of dancefloor-focused tracks they play in their sets), Sola Nauts (for their crossover output) and Sola Eclipse (for darker, more late-night minimal sounds).
James Eliot and Mark Richards cut their teeth on the underground of the Manchester club scene, and even years into their career they could still be found fraternizing with their fans at afterparties—a clear sign of their dedication and love for the club scene. From those early days playing local Manchester haunts to playing every major festival in the US and Europe, they have come an incredibly long way and continue to propel higher up the ranks of dance music.
Their innovative sound has evolved from the popular tech house template to incorporate elements of techno, house, progressive, electro and trance in one heady blend, and now has become the dominant style in the bigger house clubs and festivals across the world—with over 200 million streams to their name, and their huge ‘XTC’ becoming one of the biggest tracks in Ibiza in its year of release. “We just make whatever we’re making, but we just don’t really categorise it” they explain. “We just make tunes, ideally, just for the dance floor and whatever it gets classified as, is what it is. We definitely don’t go out and start thinking—oh, we’re going to go techno—because we just evolved our sound massively from when we first released music to now. And it will continue to keep on evolving and we’ll just keep on doing what we’re doing and whatever that might be, where it gets classified as whatever. As long as all the clubs and the festivals are loving it, we’re more than happy.” With Solardo’s latest releases ‘Adidas & Pearls’, a massive collaboration with Vintage Culture and LOWES, and their long-awaited collaboration with Tiësto on “I Can’t Wait” ft Poppy Baskcomb, their 14-week residency at Ushuaïa Ibiza and a sold out UK Tour, the Mancunian duo has dominated 2022.
Whatever they put their touch to seems to turn to gold, and it’s an incredibly exciting prospect to see where they take things next on their incredible journey. Now, with eyes on 2023, the two Brits are set on keeping their throne and will be kicking the year off with yet another strong collaboration alongside the legendary Idris Elba.