Solardo Sessions at Oval Space London review

Ben Jolley attended the London leg of the Solardo Sessions tour.

Date published: 26th Feb 2018

Image: Oval Space (source)

Is there a bigger name in dance music right now than Solardo? Having packed out venues in Milan, Barcelona, Edinburgh, Leeds and Bristol as part of their massive Solardo Sessions tour over the last two months alone, the tech-house duo brought their high-energy bass-heavy selections to London for an all-night party at Oval Space. Unsurprisingly, it sold out way in advance...

Before Solardo though, another fast-rising Manchester producer, Mason Maynard, demonstrates why he’s such an exciting producer and DJ. Playing from midnight until 2am, he effortlessly warms up the crowd with pumping, vocal-led selections like ADR’s unreleased yet undeniably massive ‘These Hoes Ain’t Acid’ and DJ Haus’ piano-led groover ‘Gotta Luv Me’. 

Taken under Solardo’s wing, Mason has released banging EPs on Sola Records and collaborated with the legendary Green Velvet for a release on his label Relief Records: all this and he’s only just turned 21. It’s easy to see why he’s such an exciting artist after just a few minutes in control of the decks too; dropping Earls Boooom’s ‘Thank You’ spreads smiles across the crowd before Harry Romero’s ‘Revolt’ sends arms in the air as one guy up front swings his t-shirt around... Mason knows exactly how to keep a crowd engaged and energised - a hugely exciting producer destined for a massive 2018...

Arriving onstage in their trademark colourful, patterned shirts and backwards caps, Solardo make it look so easy behind the decks: bringing their deep and rumbling 4/4-driven tech-house to a thousand trendy twenty-somethings packed inside the white walled venue ready for a four-hour set. 

The Mancunian pair, whose 2017 included huge releases on Hot Creations, Toolroom Records and taking their own label Sola Records to new heights, have an undeniable knack for crafting grooving, infectious club anthems - and that’s exactly what was on the menu for the next four hours. 

Even by 4am, guys on the front row are sporting sunglasses as the pair drop bombs on the crowd with Green Velvet’s ‘Laser Beams’ and mixing Waze & Odyssey’s ‘Down With Tha’ into Mylo’s dancefloor classic ‘Drop the Pressure’; fusing older floorfillers with newer club anthems.  

It’s an ideal opportunity to catch the party-starters in a relatively intimate setting too, before they jet off to America for Miami Music Week then play practically every festival possible back in the U.K. before heading to Ibiza for the summer - they’re taking over room two at Hï Ibiza as part of Eric Prydz’ residency. Solardo certainly aren’t slowing down. 

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