SOLARSTONE

From scene founding father to ringleader and flag-bearer of the Pure Trance movement, Solarstone (producer, composer & DJ Richard Mowatt) enduring influence stretches back almost as far as the genre itself. Releases like ‘Solarcoaster’, ‘The Calling’ and ‘Seven Cities’ are all benchmark classics of its pre-millennial period. The latter track – among the first of the Balearic trance anthems – has been re-released 3 times, and now sold in excess of ½ million copies.

Remixed by Armin van Buuren amongst others, its instantly recognizable sunset/sunrise-sound legacy is still heard in tracks today. With the albums ‘Anthology One’ ‘RainStarsEternal’, ‘Touchstone’, ‘Pure’ , ‘One’ and most recently ‘island’, he’s also released a sextet of critically revered longplayers.

Solarstone has long brought his sound to some of the most famous clubs, arenas and festivals on the planet. In Europe, those have come to include Tomorrowland, Cream Ibiza, Creamfields A State Of Trance & Global Gathering, whilst further afield he’s rocked TomorrowWorld, Dreamstate, Ultra Music Festival, FSOE and numerous others.

Pure Trance: Having championed trance’s true nature from his very first release, the last 10 years have seen Solarstone push its origin sound – almost singlehandedly – back to the top of the genre’s agenda. Through his gospel of #PureTrance – modernizing the genre’s heart, whilst ring-fencing its soul – he caught the disposition of the scene with zeitgeist timing. Within its first year, Solarstone’s ideology of Pure Trance had developed into a bona fide musical movement. It’s one which has been captured by a major a mix-compilation series, worldwide Pure Trance club and festival shows, four record labels & its weekly radio show.

Now standing at ten volumes, the Solarstone Presents Pure Trance series has seen Solarstone team up with co-mixing likeminds including Orkidea, Giuseppe Ottaviani, Bryan Kearney, Gai Barone, Sneijder, Forerunners, Robert Nickson, Factor B, Kristina Sky, Lostly and Stoneface & Terminal to mix-comp-define the movement’s sound. DJ Mag said of its 4th edition: “Pure Trance has established itself as the genre’s new bedrock… and a firmer one, few could wish for”.  Having now touched every electronic music capital, the Pure Trance tour has sold-out shows in spots including Miami, Ibiza, Amsterdam, New York, Los Angeles and Sydney.

Pure Trance Radio is the latest incarnation of Richard’s long running, widely syndicated radio show. Its weekly hour-long format includes features like the Progressive and #WeLikeItPure Selections, Not The Kind of Thing We Usually Play, the Big Tune and the Chill Out Moment. Pure Trance Radio is now broadcast across some 30+ FM & Internet stations to a listenership now in excess of 8 million. Receiving its first airing on every Wednesday at 19:00 CET on Twitch, the spring of 2024 saw it reach its landmark 400^th show.

With the launch of Pure Trance Recordings & its sub-labels Pure Progressive,  Pure Trance NEON and Pure Breaks, the Pure Trance label group has risen to a position as one of the best sellers on Beatport. In partnership with esteemed Dutch music house Black Hole Recordings, it brought a label platform to the movement’s most gifted music makers. Its discography includes work from M.I.K.E. Push,  Robert Nickson, Ferry Tayle, Driftmoon, Gai Barone, Sneijder, Orkidea, Basil O’Glue, Forerunners, Lostly, Salt Tank and Slam Duck.

Solarstone – The Music: In 2012, following the release of the Anthology One’ ‘RainStarsEternal’ and ‘Touchstone’ albums, Solarstone released ‘Pure’. A reaction to the ever-greater federalisation of trance’s sound, he used the album as a means of sonically clarifying his position. It spawned seven singles, including ‘The Spell’ (“a revelation” – EDM Magazine), ‘Fireisland’ (with Aly & Fila), its title track, as well as ‘Falcons’ with Giuseppe Ottaviani (a MIXMAG Tune of the Month), ‘Jewel’, ‘Please’ and ‘Lovers’. ‘Pure’ became the birth point for the Pure Trance movement.

2014 to 2016 saw a clutch of additional hits including ‘Once’ (with IKO), ‘Nothing But Chemistry Here’, ‘Shield’, ‘Lost Hearts’, ‘Infatuation’, ‘Fata Morgana’ (w/Gai Barone) and ‘Herald’ arrived, elevating Solarstone’s profile to the international DJ A-List.

They were followed in spring of 2017 by the 8-track album ‘. – – – -’. Ciphered in Morse code, it was Richard’s enigmatically minimalistic encouragement to fans to look deeper into what it was they were seeing & hearing. Its debut single, the 11-minute odyssey ‘A State Of Mind’, was called “lavish”, “hypnotic” and “epic” by DJ Mag, who further stated that the track was “trance at its timeless best”. That single was followed by the Meredith Call sung ‘I Found You’, which featured a remix by Solarstone’s PureNRG partner (see Aliases & Collaborations section below), Giuseppe Ottaviani.

Widely praised as a standalone item, its ultimate purpose was (and is) yet to be fully clarified. With one less dash, but an extra Morse dot, one album became two in April 2018 with the release of ‘ . . – – -‘. From shocking pink, we go into the blue: again made up of eight pieces of music, trading between instrumental compositions and vocal ones.

In 2019 Solarstone released the third and concluding longplayer in the series ‘. . . – -‘ but also the album works as they were always intended, united together as ‘One’. The culmination of a project that now comprises 27 pieces of music, delivered over a 3-album/4-year arc – all heralded by many a meaningful dot and dash. With the first two longplayers respectively marked as ‘deep’ and ‘uplifting’, it was clear at its earliest production stage that this would be the ‘collaboratory’ one. That’s born out by its extensive list of co-producers, writers and singer/songwriters. The album features team-ups with fellow studio-heads including Robert Nickson, Orkidea, Lostly, Future Disciple, Gabriel & Dresden, Activa, and Gai Barone. Further it’s afforded Richard the opportunity to re-team with Julie Scott and Betsie Larkin – two of the voices behind some of his most applauded contemporary work.

Electronic Architecture: The Pure Trance series aside, Solarstone’s also the helmsman of the highly successful mix-compilation project Electronic Architecture. Born from his longstanding love of pop art, its first edition won immediate acclaim for its imaginative concept. It was hailed as “a magical blend of music, art and design” by Tilllate Magazine, a “genuine gem” by DJ Mag and in 2010 was nominated for an IDMA award in the Best Full Length Mix category. A progressive-trance Yin to the ‘Pure Trance’ Yang, two years later Electronic Architecture² (Or Electronic Architecture Squared) was released to similarly high praise, with MIXMAG’s giving it an Album of the Month award and saying it “captured the essence of what we all love about trance”. Triple-Disc compendium EA³ – released April 2014 – won further critical acclaim with EDM Magazine calling it “modern Trance perfection”. After a 7 year hiatus, the fourth epic ‘Electronic Architecture’ was released in May 2021, timelessly picking up exactly where ‘EA3’ left off – whilst also giving us a highly desirable musical anchor to the last decade. Tonally & thematically, ‘EA4’ owns the equidistant middleground between the ‘Northern Exposure’ and ‘Renaissance’ albums. Never seeing the electronica-extremes of the former, nor quite as floor-intense as the latter, their progressivism hits the perfect median between.

Solarstone – The DJ: Solarstone behind a pair of CDJs is something that every electronic dance music lover, planet-wide, should witness at least once in their clubbing lifetimes. Worldwide his Pure Trance shows have captured the imagination of hundreds of thousands in electronic music hotspots like Miami, Ibiza & Amsterdam. Since learning the craft in the late 90s, he’s played some of the most renowned names (inc. Tomorrowland, A State Of Trance, Dreamstate, Creamfields, Ultra Music Festival & numerous others) and spun alongside the worlds best-known DJs many times over. Richard’s worldwide travels have also taken him to some of the biggest events and festivals across the globe, as well as some of the most remote. Over the years these have included islands in the Philippines, bush parties in Australia and massive festivals in the heart of Brazil.

The Labels: over the course of his career, Solarstone has owned, co-owned and A&Rd many other successful labels. Included among them have been Touchstone Recordings Solaris Recordings, Deepblue, Molecule and Crashing Waves. At the start of 2009, Richard launched solarSwarm, an online community record label for die-hard Solarstone fans. In the summer of the same year his insatiable label morphed into solarSwarm Recordings. In a groundbreaking move solarSwarm became the world’s first social network record label.

Solarstone – Aliases & Collaborations: In order to showcase different musical perspectives & sounds, Richard has also recorded under a number of pseudonyms. In 2002 he initiated the 80’s-influenced Young Parisians outfit, who subsequently scored substantial club hits with ‘U Write the Rules’ and ‘Jump the Next Train’. The natural successor to Young Parisians, 2012 saw him reteam with Ben Lost & Dave Moth as Federation – a new band-based live act. Drawing on an even greater range of influences, from several decades, it was signed to Paul Oakenfold’s Perfecto Flouro and resulted in 4 Beatport top 10 charting singles. In 2022 the band released their first album, F.

Launched in the spring of 2015, PureNRG was Solarstone’s LIVE fusion with Giuseppe Ottaviani. A connection of musical minds, creative ability & on-stage magnetism, it has since seen the duo grace festival stages like EDC Las Vegas, Tomorrowland, A State Of Trance and Electronic Family. To date, the pair have released five singles together, including the “uplifting” (DancingAstro) ‘Secret Of The Sahara’ ‘Pump Up The NRG’, ‘Era’, ‘Scarlett’ and the DJ Mag Single of the Month ranked ‘Prophecy’.

Solarstone – The Remixes: Over the years Solarstone has always maintained a keen production/remix balance. Most recently he has worked on remixes for names like Royksopp (‘I Had This Thing’), Emma Hewitt (Children), Aly & Fila (‘The Other Shore’), Hurts (‘Blind’) London Grammar (‘Wasting My Young Years’) & MarKus Schulz (‘Facedown’).

renowned and adored for her cinematic soundscapes and ethereal performances, South African-born, Swiss-based Queen of deep house, Nora En Pure, has spent the last few years working relentlessly to reach the pinnacle of the dance music scene. Proving her eminence with every performance, playing stand out shows at the likes of Coachella, Burning Man, Tomorrowland and Panorama NYC, Daniela Di Lillo is a true force with an indomitable work ethic and an eye for immaculate detail.

2009 saw the beginnings of her musical career, releasing her debut productions via the Enormous Tunes and Tokenish imprints, as a core member of Zürich’s Helvetic Nerds group. In 2013, her breakthrough track, ‘Come With Me’, catapulted her into the spotlight, garnering extensive support from industry greats. Gracing the airwaves with countless fan favourites, including ‘Morning Dew’, ‘Lake Arrowhead’, ‘Tears In Your Eyes’, ‘We
Found Love’ and ‘Birthright’, Nora En Pure’s impressive production output led her to create official remixes for industry icons Faithless, Above & Beyond, Eelke Kleijn and Sofi Tukker. Her 2016 BBC Radio 1 Essential Mix helped solidify her reputation and showcase her distinctive sound. Securing residencies in iconic locations, including Wynn Las Vegas and Privilege Ibiza, her fan base spans the globe, reaching over 2.6 million
listeners on Spotify per month.

Seamlessly connecting disparate sounds and styles, Nora En Pure’s name has become synonymous with organic instruments, emotive piano leads and enchanting melodies. Nurturing her Purified brand with expert precision, Purified Radio blossomed into a weekly show, premiering every Saturday evening on SiriusXM Chill with an hour-long dose of the finest deep, melodic and tech house music. Curating lineups and hosting soldout Purified events in Miami, New York, San Francisco, Palm Springs, Zürich, Prague, Montréal, London and Washington, DC, Purified has welcomed the likes of Pete Tong, Gorgon City, Kidnap, Moonwalk, Eelke Kleijn, Sonny Fodera and Cassian behind the decks. Launching Purified Records in November 2019, the imprint works hand in hand with the events label, releasing music from revered producers such as Eli Brown and Moonwalk, as well as hotly-tipped talent that also work their magic in Purified events around the world.

Celebrating her 200th episode of Purified Radio in June 2020, Nora En Pure treated fans to a spectacular extended set, filmed in the Swiss mountains of Gstaad. Perfectly pairing the soundtrack to the majestic landscape, the set has amassed almost 6 million streams on YouTube alone. Winning the award for Best Female Artist (House) in the IDMA Awards in 2019 and 2020, and receiving a nomination for Best Podcast/Radio Show for Purified 2019, she entered the DJ Mag Top 100 in 2020 at #73, and #10 in the DJ Mag Alternative Charts powered by Beatport. Keeping momentum high in 2021, she climbed to #59 in the DJ Mag Main Chart and maintained her position at #10 in the Alternative Charts.

With the return to live events in 2021, Nora En Pure reconnected with fans near and far, and hosted sold-out Purified shows at New York’s Brooklyn Mirage and Echostage in Washington, DC. Putting her passion for wildlife into action, Daniela announced her long-term partnership with leading Ocean Conservation Nonprofit Organisation through the release of her nature-infused track ‘Aquatic’. With a steady stream of original
gems including ‘Thermal’, ‘Oblivion’, ‘Won’t Leave Your Side’, ‘Life On Hold’, ‘Tantrum’, ‘Luscious Rain’, she also delivered an official remix of Swedish pop sensation Tove Lo’s smash hit ‘Cool Girl’. Entering 2022 in emphatic fashion, she delivered two official remixes of Claptone & Dizzy’s ‘Queen Of Ice’, as well as her clubready original ‘Reminiscing’. Working tirelessly on her label, radio show and own releases, this critically acclaimed artist continues to soar further into a league of her own.

Dj