Issue Six- December 2019:

By Mercedes Barreto

soleDrummer is an EDM artist who takes his music to the next level. Based in his home music studio, and has performed with various punk rock bands in the past, soleDrummer is a very uncategorized type of musician who gets you the music you love but doesn’t usually tend to hear.

What began your musical career as Soledrummer, in the EDM genre?

“I’ve always been interested and involved in music. Years ago I played in various punk-rock bands as a drummer and vocalist. I and my bandmates had the looks and we had the passion.

We did not really have the skills yet, but that did not stop us. 

Life got in the way, as they say, and creating and performing music had to be put on hold. But music was always present around me. Gradually I moved from punk-rock to new wave, and then fully embraced EDM, especially nu-jazz, house-jazz, various forms of techno, progressive house, trip-hop, downbeat and chillhouse.

I discovered and got in love with numerous artists that became a huge influence for me: Underworld, Kaya project, Four tet, Bonobo, Lemonjelly, Air, Orbital, DJ Shadow, …there are so many.

Some 5-6 years ago, I set up a full recording and producing studio in my house and started producing my own music. It took a lot of effort to select Studio One from Presonus as my main DAW, and I lost track of the number of virtual instruments and effects I gathered over time. 

The first few releases were more jazz heavy, but I moved slowly towards the more techno/trip-hop/chill style that I really like. I officially released 3 full albums, one EP, and 2 singles. My first album, “small talk”, is a house-jazz fusion. I relied heavily on brass instruments, and jazzy bass lines, as well as drum patterns.

Since then I moved into more downbeat/chill vibes with “people and places”. Every track on that album is about a place I visited or a person I knew.

My latest release, “Tales from the East”, is moving even closer to some of my heroes: Underworld and Lemonjelly, to name just these two.” 

 What would you say is the most unique thing about the music you make every day? Has your music been noticed a certain way?

“I am trying to make the music that I’d buy if I could find it.

I am trying for that sweet spot, where one can listen to my tracks in a lounge, chilling, but one could also dance if one wants to do that.

I am still enjoying the post-rave music of the early/mid-2000s, sometimes referred to as armchair techno, ambient techno, and electronica.  

The dance music for “the sedentary and stay at home”, as one critique once called it. I want my music to be versatile: you could hear it in a movie, or a cool lounge, or on a beach, or in a concert hall. 

Most of the comments I received from various music sites, or random listeners, do seem to pick up on the fact that, although my music is electronic, it is hard to place it in a particular category. Is it techno? Is it deep-house? Nu-jazz? Downbeat?

Hard to tell. For me, if I got excited in my studio when producing it, then it is good enough. I can only hope that others will feel excited about it as well.”

If you could show your music to someone, who you feel inspired by, who is also a large influence in the music industry, to expose your music to a large group of listeners to promote your music, who would be that one inspirational figure who you’d choose to promote your music to make you more known amongst the industry? Why?

“I’d love to be able to play my music for as many people as possible.

I know it is not too “mainstream”, but I also know that there other people out there craving to listen to the same music that I am looking for and trying to produce.

Definitely, getting my music heard by some of the key people that I listen to and have been influenced by would be the ultimate goal. Karl Hyde, are you reading this? (Karl is one of the two members of Underworld.)

The current music landscape is packed with producers and performers. As a listener, it is so hard to search for music. As a producer, it is virtually impossible to break through on your own. Way too many people are in this space. 

So, magazines like yours, blogs, reviews…are the starting point. It takes time. And, more often than not, it does not lead to anything. One has to do it for the love of it.

In the music space that I love, there are several individuals that I’d love to meet and, hopefully, get promoted by. 

Ludovic Navarre (known as St Germain), the one giant that started a new stream in electronic music with his album “Tourist”. Karl Hyde and Rick Smith from Underworld. They’ve been at the forefront of techno (their own flavor of it) since the late 1980s.  The song that propelled them to stardom, “Born Slippy” is still played all over the world!

Simon Green, known as Bonobo. His mixing of samples, live instruments, vocals….is impressive and inspirational.

There are so many labels and so many artists that are a huge influence on me. Their input and support would be priceless.”

What progress do you envision yourself achieving in a given time span with your music? In two, five, or ten years?

“From the very beginning I have been driven by my love for the music. My love for the creative process… I am still excited and buzzing every time I go in my studio and I lay down a cool drum pattern, or a hook, or a killer loop.

As long as I feel this way, I’ll keep doing it. 

My progress is measured by how close I get to producing the music that moves me. I hope to get better at it.

I would love for others to have an opportunity to listen to my music and get to appreciate it.

I hope this will happen with hard work, inspiration, and a bit of luck.”

If you could perform anywhere in the world, where would you perform your EDM music, and to what kind of crowd, preferrably?

“Ibiza, for sure. I can see a crowd of cool, good looking people, with fancy drinks, discussing philosophy while my music plays in the speakers. (I’m kidding).

I think my music would fit the best in some cool, relaxing, lounge. I would still use the very old category of Intelligent Dance Music (IDM) to describe my music.”

If there were a message you could share simultaneously to all your future fans or followers, then what would that message be, and why?

“Music is to be listened to. It’s a language. It speaks to us.

When an artist plays something for you, it is like she/he speaks to you. Listen, and feel.

I really don’t like the term “background music”. For me, music is always in the foreground. And, I can always discover new things and get enjoyment from that.

So, my message to all my followers (present and future ones), as well as to all the music listeners out there is:

Make music part of your daily life.

You’d be all the better for it.”