Solarstone

Overview: For over a decade Solarstone (Richard Mowatt) has been bringing gridlock to dancefloors with a convoy of revered club classics, all-out anthems & critically-acclaimed long-players. As a DJ, he spins weekly at clubs around the planet and for globally-recognized names like Cream, Amnesia, Ministry of Sound, Gatecrasher, Full-On-Ferry, Zouk & numerous others. Releases from Solarstone’s label projects Solaris Recordings, solarSwarm, Crashing Waves & Molecule are instrumental components of his individualistic sets and are consistently supported by the trance & prog spinning elite. Solaris International - his weekly show - enjoys a dedicated fan-base and is broadcast across some 50 FM & Internet stations.
Solarstone – The Music: Originally a 3 piece, Solarstone blazed a trail through the emergent days of trance, founding their name with the club hits like ‘Green Light’ (1995), ‘The Calling’ (1997) and ‘The Impressions EP’ (1998). As the first trance wave peaked in 1999 Solarstone left an indelible mark on the scene with the Top 40 hit ‘Seven Cities’. The track - one of, if not the first Balearic Trance anthems - has been re-released 3 times and has sold in excess of � million copies. Remixed in 2002 by Armin van Buuren, its instantly-recognizable sunset-sound legacy can still be heard in tracks today.
Over the following 6 years Solarstone continued to feed the masses with floor-busters like ‘Solarcoaster’ (2003), ‘Speak in Sympathy’ (2004), ‘Eastern Sea’ (2005), ‘Like A Waterfall’ (2006) & ‘The Calling’ (2007). In May 2008 he released ‘RainStarsEternal’ – an album described by DJ Mag as “a consummate all-rounder from the UK’s original trance master”. ‘R.S.E.’ spawned six singles including ‘Spectrum’, ‘4ever’ & ‘Late Summer Fields’ - the latter of which Richard produced, sung and wrote the lyrics for. In the autumn of the following year its remix companion piece ‘RSEMIX’ was released with refashioned tracks from the likes of Ferry Corsten, Probspot, Stan Void, Jaksaw & Pedro del Mar.
June 2010 brought ‘RainStarsEternal’s successor … ‘Touchstone’. The album was a concentrated effort by Richard to chart the inspirations & influences that had gone to make up his musical psyche. They ranged from some of the most famous artists of the last 50 years to some of the most niche & hidden. To date it has generated the singles ‘Slowmotion’, ‘Electric Love’ and the title track (which DJ Mag called “energy-inducing” and Mixmag said was: “essentially the summer of ‘99 recalibrated and refined for 2010”). Its concept was embraced widely by press & fans (with Tilllate calling the album “"fantastic”, “beautifully produced” & “littered with club hits”). As with previous projects the album came with several groundbreaking multimedia angles. These included a revolutionary viral campaign involving the dissemination of Widgets & an online globe (or ‘Mindmap’) which allowed fans to exam all the influences in detail.
On the compilation front in 2006 he released the 99-06 compendium album, ‘AnthologyOne’ and in the spring of 2009 Richard launched his next compilation series, Electronic Architecture. Born from his longstanding love of pop art, it won plaudits and acclaim around the world for its imaginative concept. It was hailed as “a magical blend of music, art and design” by Tilllate Magazine and in March 2010 was nominated for an IDMA award in the Best Full Length Mix category. In July of 2010 Richard had began to compile tracks for a second album in the series, provisionally titled ‘Elec2ronic Architecture’.
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 careers. Richard brings together a clear love of melody with an intrinsic, perceptive aptitude for floor-quaking performances. Since learning to spin in the late Nineties, he’s played some of the most renowned names (inc. Cream@Amnesia, WMC, Full On Ferry, Ministry of Sound & Gatecrasher) and spun alongside the worlds best-known DJs many times over. Unlike many other spinners he also maintains a huge home-country following, playing almost as much to UK audiences as to ones abroad. Richard's worldwide travels have also taken him to some of the biggest events and festivals across the globe, and also 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.
Solaris International – The Solarstone Show: Solaris International is Richard’s long-running and widely-syndicated radio show. Working on a fully fleshed-out 2 hour format of features, interviews, guest mixes and regular spots, it has developed over two years from a cult following into a weekly essential tune-in for large sections of the electronic dance community. Presented on alternate weeks with Robbie Nelson, Solaris International broadcasts across some 50 FM & Internet stations including the Passion FM network to a listenership of over 8 million. In 2010 it celebrated its two hundredth show.
Solaris, Crashing Waves, Molecule & solarSwarm – The Solarstone’s Labels:
Opening for business in August 1999, Richard co-owned, a&r’d and managed the Deepblue imprint - the launch-pad for a multitude of club hits (including ‘Like a Waterfall’, ‘Jump the Next Train’ & ‘Why’). He eventually parted company with the label in July of 2008. Alongside his progressive/experimental imprint Molecule and Crashing Waves, which releases more uplifting fare, he also owns and manages the Solaris Recordings, which has become the spiritual home of Solarstone’s recordings.
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 ground-breaking move solarSwarm became the world’s very first social network record label. Managed and A&R’d by the Swarm, it quickly became a wildly popular endeavor and now has over 200 members regularly contributing to its output.
Solarstone – The Aliases: In order to showcase different musical perspectives & sounds, Richard has also recorded under a number of pseudonyms. In 2002 he initiated the 80’s-referencing Young Parisians outfit, scoring a big debut with lamenting ‘U Write the Rules’. The act then skyrocketed with one of the 2004’s defining trance/prog tracks ‘Jump the Next Train’. In 1999 he released the underground anthem ‘The Hymn’ by Skyscraper on 4D Recordings, latterly re-releasing it on his own Deepblue label. He also has recorded alongside Andy Bury as Liquid State for Perfecto & Space Kittens for Hooj Choons. 2008 saw him commence a new chillout-orientated pseudonym with the release of 2nD Element’s Underwaterfall’.
Solarstone – The Remixes: Over the years Solarstone has always maintained a rigid dichotomy between original production tracks and remix works. He has remixed for A-list names like Paul Oakenfold (‘Bullet in The Gun’), Ferry Corsten (on Moonman’s ‘Galaxia’ and most recently ‘Gabriella’s Sky’) & BT’s ‘Calling Your Name’. He has also stepped outside his traditional zone to refashion tracks by legendary acts like Radiohead, The Human League & Sarah McLachlan. Most recently he has worked on remixes of 00DB’s ‘Oxygene’, Tenth Chapter’s ‘Ghosts’ & ‘Winterlight’.
Quotes
What the Magazines say:
“’Touchstone’, Solarstone’s new artist album will shake up expectations of what trance should be.” DJ Mag (UK)
“Solarstone has definitely delivered an amazing piece of work on Electronic Architecture and understood perfectly how to combine different styles on this compilation.” Raveline
“A magical blend of music, art and design” that “recalls the understated magic of Sasha and Digweed’s first Renaissance albums”.” Tilllate Magazine (UK)



“Electronic Architecture is a very strong and original compilation to say the least. Nothing of the typical uplifting trance sound, but very innovative and one that will last for another 10 years!” Release Magazine (Belgium)
“Solarstone has amassed a worldwide following from clubbers and DJs alike”
M8 Magazine (UK)
“(Electronic Architecture is) a very different compilation than the ones we are accustomed to hearing. Without resorting to the obvious and commercial, it is one of the best shots of 2009!” DJ Sound Magazine – Brazil
“Solarstone has always been about quality rather than quantity”
BPM Magazine (Canada)
“Top dog when it comes to the melodic monsters”.
Mixmag (UK)
“Richard Mowatt proves his class. In the times of electro-trance stuffed with buzzing basses, he brings a unique beauty to his sound. It's the kind of that we have seriously missed.”
DJ Mag (Poland)



What the DJs and Producers say:
Armin: 'Solarstone sets the standard for the best in Balearic dance music'.
Paul van Dyk: 'I've been playing his music for more then 10 years now. Really looking forward to the new album!
Ti�sto: 'Solarstone never disappoints… warm, beautiful and just amazing music'.
Ferry Corsten: 'Always been a fan of Solarstone. The new single Rain stars Eternal is an amazing track'.
Above & Beyond: 'Solarstone is the REAL DEAL!'