Mixed by: Solar Suite
Location: Melbourne, Australia
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Melbourne based rising talent Benjamin Stendell aka Solar Suite FKA Reallynicedad in controls for guest mix #87. With releases on Gestalt Records and Rodeo already under his belt his cosmic take on forward-thinking electronic music is bound to raise interest this year with as string of releases in the pipleine. His solo debut vinyl is coming on Echocentric Records late 2020/early 2021 and it's going to be massive. Benjamin mixed a really nice (pun intended!) set of breaks, bleeps and cosmic synths.
Hello Benjamin, thanks for taking the time to make a mix for DR! Can you introduce yourself briefly?
Hey! Thanks for having me and I’m more than happy to contribute to deeprhythms. I’m a producer as a hobby on the side of all the other things going on in my life. Living in Melbourne I’m surrounded by incredible musical talent and I’m just trying to nudge into a little niche here with some spacey frequencies.
What’s keeping you busy currently as a DJ & producer? There’s a stellar ep coming out later this year on Echocentric Records at least ;)
I mean it's hard to keep busy given the global circumstances we’re living in at the moment but basically I’ve been spending my spare time searching for new music, old and new. Aside from this there’s an exciting forthcoming 12” you mentioned with a very special guest remix, and another V/A appearance later in the year. Super keen to get this music out there!
What drove you to electronic music and producing & DJ’ing, and how did you get started?
I suppose I’ve always listened to electronic music since I was young but I started messing around on Ableton just after I finished high school and basically kept using it every day since trying to teach myself the ins and outs over the last few years purely from trial and error.
DJing came secondary to this as I felt it may be a good idea to learn and start playing at clubs though, however, I haven’t played too much though it is a very fun hobby of mine.
What was the first record or a song that made a lasting impression on you?
It’s definitely the majority of Boards of Canada but I’ll go with Olson for now. They absolutely nailed that trademark warm and nostalgic synth sound - you can’t go wrong with BOC.
How have you evolved as a producer? Solar Suite is your new alias, what made you change it to that from Reallynicedad?
So I decided to move away from Reallynicedad because it had been my alias since I started uploading all my demos starting back in 2014 and it honestly originated as my gamertag as a little kid - it kinda just stuck.
I’m not sure if I have evolved sonically, though I did need to move on from that alias as it harbours my adolescence and it was time to change into something more serious and fitting to the space and sound I’m aiming for in my music. I am maybe a little too obsessed over an outer space sound and aesthetic but I’m sticking to my guns for now and hopefully I don’t regret it...
Are there any new tools or musicians or artists who recently inspired you?
There’s always plenty of inspiring producers out there for me. The first thing that comes to mind is Adam Pits. He’s an extraordinary producer out of the UK and is putting out some of the most interesting and exciting pieces of dance music I’ve listened to in a while.
On top of this is Liam from Desert Sound Colony and his excellent label Holding Hands. This label not only puts out phenomenal club heaters but they have a great podcast that dives into all aspects of producing and label management. Shout-outs to DSC’s patreon too while we’re here!
Name 5 tracks or releases that’s currently on heavy rotation at Solar Suite HQ?
Dashiell & Same Brickell - Run Out Groove:
DJ Healer - Der Traum:
Henry Gilles - Disc 9 Side Two:
Maruwa - Ultraworld:
Ruxpin - Palace Midas:
Melbourne. There’s a steady stream of very forward thinking music coming from the city. What makes the scene so fertile there?
Look I’m probably not the best person to ask about this but I’ll just say that there are so many creative producers, DJs, and promoters doing as much as they possibly can - well at least they were before the pandemic.
Melbourne is slowly running out of staple clubs in this scene so it is interesting to see where and how similar events pop up. I’d say park parties and hopefully in the future some low capacity camping ‘festivals’ that can cater to our restrictions. This sort of thing breeds creativity so I can wait to see what happens.
Can you name a few local acts that you follow closely?
Honestly the list could go on forever so I’ll stop here.
So the mix, can you tell us a little something about that?
This is something I recorded back in March and is basically a bunch of music that I was listening to at the time. A mix of old and new numbers which I had some fun playing around with. Hopefully everyone else likes it!
Many thanks Ben, anything else?
That's enough talking about myself... Enjoy the mix and thanks again Timo!!!
playlist
01. From the Mountain - Amestub
02. Rabblerouse - Lusine LCL
03. Inertia - E.B.E
04. I Like My NudeIn Fried - Nathan Micay
05. Tension - Pakzad
06. Escape Artist - Designer Reality
07. Twenty Minutes of Disco Glory (Acid Rock Remix) - DJ Garth & ETI
08. Cue Connected - A.M.S & Dogworld!
09. Green Pond - Sleep D
10. News - Tim Schlockermann
11. Chaos - James Infiltrate
12. Snapped - Cabin Fever
13. Aquaplaning - Tom Joyce
14. Offensive Username - Bliss inc.
DJ profile
Solar Suite
Location: Melbourne, Australia
Insta | Soundcloud
A producer and a DJ living in Melbourne surrounded by incredible musical talent and just trying to nudge into a little niche with spacey frequencies.
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