I mentioned getting more and more into my deep house having moved to Australia. Maybe it's the weather, or something in the water - who knows. So I've turned my attention back to an old friend - the
Resident Advisor Podcast - and found another former music companion in
Solomun, who recently recorded a mix for them.
As if reliving a past life, I reverted to a habit I used to exercise weekly, sometimes daily, and jumped into the podcast comments to dig out the tracklisting from the ever-present trainspotters. It was great to hear that distinctive Solomun sound again with some new twists (
Kate Bush on an RA Podcast anyone?!). The mix was more commercial than the style I'd remembered him for, but it figures as I've since learned that Solomun is pretty much dance music royalty now, having secured two major residencies in Ibiza this year. He recently featured on the front page of
Mixmag - safe to say he's come leaps and bounds since the early days as an undercover minimal house producer.
What I was surprised at, however, was the amount of negativity and abuse towards him in the forum. I'm all for healthy debate, but the level of criticism seemed extremely harsh for someone who's produced countless quality tracks championed by such world-beating DJs as
Dixon and Âme. It's just a shame that the house scene clearly continues to be 'dominated' by haters, which is a great shame, and part of the reason I got out. It's sad that people get more caught up in the scene's politics than the the music. Is it just me? Am I completely out-of-touch? Maybe it's my age talking - after all, I've gone from playing in dark, dank basements until 6am to spending my weekends listening to neo-soul and funk records...
Anyhow, I digress; personally I enjoyed the mix and it got me thinking back to five years ago when I was heavily into minimal. So here are a couple of highlights from Solomun's RA mix, a personal favourite via his
Diynamic label from 2007, plus a wicked 4-hour
Boiler Room mix by Dixon and Âme from October last year. Loving the return to house - like an old friend, it never fails.
Clark & Pudell - Zashu
(Viper Strike Beats & Bass Edit) (Pole Position, 2013)
Solomun & Stimming - Eiszauber (Diynamic, 2007)
Boiler Room - Dixon & Âme 4-Hour Mix
