cm Producer Masterclass SOLARDO

Solardo’s blend of big bass and house might be riding the crest of a wave, but for one half of the duo, it’s been a long and sometimes difficult journey. Ahead of dissecting his latest CR2 Records release, we talk tech with Mark Foster, discover how Aphex Twin brought dubstep to the world, and learn why setting trends rather than following them is key. And then he reveals something incredibly spooky…

Mark Foster is certainly in a reflective mood, but with over two decades of music production in a wide variety of styles – perhaps too wide as we eventually discover – he’s got a lot to reflect on. After discovering music production by way of cheap looping software, he fell in step with Reason, became something of a dubstep and grime pioneer in the 2000s before a brush with celebrity and taking his eye off the ball left him with ‘one more shot’ at making it in music production. In Solardo and new music partner James Barlow just that shot presented itself… and he’s taken it with gusto.

The duo have certainly made waves with their cutting-edge blend of bass house that initially saw them borrow from the very roots of Manchester music – with acid house motifs and beats – to produce an updated Manchester house sound that’s won them fans from many genres, and collaborations/remixes with everyone from Calvin Harris to Duke Dumont and Gorgon City.