Solardo: ‘Parklife was one of our favourite shows to date’

After being crowned as DJ Mag Best Breakthrough Act of 2016 and Resident Advisors top 100 DJ’s list, it was no surprise that it was hard to pin down Manchester DJ duo Solardo for a little chat.When we did finally catch up with Mark Richards & James Eliot it was refreshing to see that the boys are still so down to earth. Here, they reveal the secret behind their name,  why Manchester will always be home and where their large collection of wacky shirts come from…

Very well thanks, we’re just on our way down to Glastonbury catching up on real life stuff.

It’s really cool. We’re just happy to be a DJ/production duo in the house scene, but to have people really into what we’re doing is an especially good feeling.  When we started out we just wanted to get music out to the masses and contribute towards people having a good time. We honestly never thought it would kick off as much as it has but were sincerely grateful that it has as its changed our lives and helped us achieve our dreams.  

At first we didn’t really think about a name, we were more concerned about the music and to be honest we didn’t really think too much about DJing and becoming an act. It was more about us just doing something that we loved and then seeing what could come of it.  When we had a load of tracks together we suddenly thought to ourselves that if we’re to send them out we’re going to have to come up with a name. Originally it was just our own names which aren’t that cool. So we sat around for ages toying loads of different options. We were literally looking everywhere for something different. Eventually we just came up with Solardo, which has absolutely no meaning, but we thought it sounded sort of cool. So we went with it.

It was incredible. We closed the Elrow stage on the Saturday night, which was a massive honour especially as we were in our hometown of Manchester. The arena was completely rammed and the atmosphere was electric. The support we have received from everyone in Manchester is honestly something else. It’s like we’re mates with everyone in the city and we all just party together. It was a special night and one of our favourite shows to date.  

Unfortunately not! There were loads of people we would have loved to have seen, but we were playing at Detonate Festival in Nottingham earlier in the day and literally got to Parklife with only half an hour to spare.  The WHP and Kaluki stage looked incredible, had we had more time we would have defo gone and spent some time over there.  

 As Manchester based boys, is it still one of your favourite cities to

Without a doubt! Every show in the last year we have played here has been career highlights. Our Solardo Sessions tour date at the Albert Hall was on a different level to anything we have ever done before. Like nothing even comes close to it. Everyone in Manchester knows how to party, but that night there was something we will never forget.

The feeling of selling out 3000 people at the Albert Hall in your hometown was amazing! When we walked on stage just before our set there was a huge cheer from the crowd and then every tune we dropped after got huge reactions.  Warehouse Project have been a huge support on our journey and they seriously pulled out all the stops on the production of that show- they helped make it a special night. 

How has Manchester influenced your music? 

Manchester has always been at the forefront of music scene dating back
to the acid house days. We’re really into the raw pure sound of acidhouse and it influenced our earlier tracks in a big way. Whatparticularly intrigued us about the Manchester Acid House scene wasthat it was so innovative and different to what was out there at thetime. That really inspired us to look for a sound that we could callour own and was something slightly different from the norm.  

Are you still based in Manchester? 

Yeah. We’ve only been home for around 5 days in the lastmonth, so it doesn’t feel like it at the moment, but we wouldn’tchange it for the world. 

How did the tour go? Which city was your favourite? 

The Solardo Session’s tour was wicked. Every city sold out and allthe shows went off. We played for 3-4 hours each night which we lovedas we got to play loads of new music.  Since then we’ve been on tour to Australia, America and around Europe as well.

Have you got any funny stories or memories from the tour? 

There’s quite a few but none of them are suitable… haha!

Which other festivals can we be expecting to see you at this Summer? 

There’s quite a few… Glastonbury, Hideout, Kendal Calling,Bestival, Boardmasters, EDC, Crssd (San Diego), El Dorado, Lovebox,Sandfest, Leeds Festival, T Party, Boomtown, Sundown, Creamfields,Ostend Beach (Belgium) and a load other all over the show.  We’re doing a few really big ones in the States, South America, and over Christmas and New Year we’ve got a few in Australia.

VIVA are loving your new single ‘On the corner’, how is it doing?

It’s out now and currently number 1 on Beatport.

Is there any more new music coming out soon? 

Yeah we got another EP on Hot Creations, another EP on our label Solaand a few remixes lined up so far. 

We really want to know, where do you get all your wacky shirts from?!

Everywhere! We spend a lot of time trying to find them. We go to a lotof vintage shops around Manchester, as well as second hand shops whereyou can sometimes find some real gems.  

Last question, where do you both see yourselves in 10 years’ time,
what is the ultimate goal? 

Hopefully still alive haha and doing what we love!