Various Artists: Sola’s Summer Of Rave 2021 [Sola]
Legendary Manchester duo Solardo wave goodbye to a pandemic existence and signal the return of crowded dancefloors and wild weekend antics with a monster new VA – Summer Of Rave – released on July 30th on their revered Sola imprint.
“Our Sola compilations allow us to showcase some of the best up and coming talent that we’ve handpicked from the scene. So many artists that have previously featured on our comps have gone on to absolutely smash it either with EPs directly with us or with other premium labels, and we’re so glad that we can be a part of that journey. Our newest comp, Sola’s Summer Of Rave 2021 sees newcomers to Sola like Hannah Laing with her huge tune “Records” and Morgan Cole with his twisted take on house with his track “Acid Talk” stand shoulder to shoulder with Sola alumni who’ve released with us before such as Andrew Meller. We cannot wait to play out all these tunes on a huge set of Funktion Ones when the clubs start reopening and the raves finally return!” – Solardo.
The VA bursts open with rising Scottish talent Hannah Laing and Records, a gritty and pumping tech cut with big room energy and raw melodies. The prolific Jay De Lys follows with Stay, a soul-driven rolling groover crammed with delightful percs and deep tones. Jamie Fielding comes next with Leak Of Courage, an analogue-heavy, stripped-back minimal tech number with glitchy energy and quirky wobbliness. Luke Lamor’s Wind Up Your Body kicks things back up a gear with rambunctious tech flair, blistering drums, eerie piano lines and potent vocal arrangements. Reblok & Andrew Meller follow with Espresso, a punchy terrace bomb with racy rhythm, hypnotic plucks and ripping synth lines. Lost On Mars comes next with Jungle Flute, an upbeat fusion of tribal and tech with a driving bassline and velvety flute riffs.
Mauro Venti’s Space Metrics hits you head-on with scattered hats, fluid rhythmics and a reeling acid bassline. Fabri Tacc, Ren Phillips & YINGYANG (UK) are next up with Brazy, a skipping tech cut with creative fills, a fetching bassline and catchy vocal hooks. Mandalo’s Soft Impact is an interesting mix of energetically rolling percussive-led tech and captivating vocal presence. Alvaro Smart follows with Latina, a thumping 4/4 lightning bolt infused with Latin sampling and a rumbling sub. Dubesque’s You Jack is a hip-shaking house cut with heavyset drums, blistering percussive flair and creative arrangement. Newcomer Morgan Cole comes through with Acid Talk, a skippy acid-led tech jam with a dominating vocal driver.
Brett Gould’s Brutal Game rumbles with low-frequency potency and gripping melodics from start to finish, making it a definite choice for those packed dancefloors. Niteplan is next up with Work For It, a punchy, pacy and raucous number with climactic FX and huge drops. Charlie Rice follows with the acid-led Night, another fast-paced and gritty tech weapon with coarse melodies and a hypnotic vocal. Mike Catherall’s Access Denied dives back into hip-shaking territory with a robust swinging groove and huge rhythmic sub. K-Mack and Andre Salmon come together on a huge collab named Muma destined to dominate dancefloors and finally Sola regular Alan Nieves closes the compilation with Predator, a delightfully underground and stripped-back groover with subtle tones and dusty percs, twisted and stretched throughout the track to keep you in a trance.
